Under the D7 Visa program, in order to keep your residency permit renewable, you have to comply with the following in-country presence requirements as stated on the SEF website under the “Duty To Communicate” heading:

The minimum time required in Portugal is as follows, as per information published on the SEF site as at 13 July 2022:

UNDER THE 2 YEAR TEMPORARY RESIDENCY PERMIT (24 MONTHS)

  • 16 months out of the total 2 years (24 months) for which the initial residency permit is valid, assuming you spend 8 months outside of the country during a number of separate trips. If you are absent for a single, uninterrupted period of time, the minimum period for which you’ll have to be present in Portugal is 18 months out of the 2 years for which the initial temporary residency permit is valid (e.g. a 6-month absence).

UNDER THE 3 YEAR SUBSEQUENT TEMPORARY RESIDENCY PERMIT (36 MONTHS)

  • 28 months out of a total of 3 years (36 months), assuming that your time spent out of the country consists of a number of trips. If you’re only going to be absent from the national territory for a single maximum period of 6 months, the minimum in-country stay requirement is 30 months.

Failure to meet this requirement will likely lead to your residency permit not being renewed. While there may be some instances where spending less than the required minimum time in-country may not lead to non-renewal, it is advisable to assume that it will, and “do your time” commensurately.

The following additional notes on the SEF website refers:

  • “The holder of a temporary Residence Permit who intends to be absent from Portugal, during the validity period, for a timeframe exceeding six consecutive months or eight non-sequential months has a duty to inform SEF before leaving national territory.”

  • “Failure to comply with the duties of communication and regular entry and legal permanence will result in administrative offenses in accordance to the Aliens Act.

  • This list of rights and duties is merely informative [purposes] and does not replace full reading of Act 23/2007 of 4 July, as amended by Act 29/2012 of 9 August, no. 56/2015 of 23 June, no. 63/2015 of 30 June, no. 59/2017 of 31 July, and no. 102/2017 of 28 August, and associated regulation.”

If you are NOT able to spend the minimum required times in Portugal, the Portuguese Golden Visa or the HQA Visa Program may be better suited to your needs.

IMPORTANT: THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION, SOURCED FROM A GOVERNMENT SITE, IS SUPPLIED FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY, AND IS BY NO MEANS GUARANTEED BY THE PUBLISHERS OF THIS SITE. IT IS ALSO SUBJECT TO CHANGE AT ANY TIME.

ALWAYS CONSULT SEF.PT FOR THE LATEST, ACCURATE INFORMATION.