If you’re an American looking to apply for a D7 Visa, opening a Portuguese bank account is getting harder in 2023. Banks like Atlantico Europe ceased offering remote bank account opening for foreigners (aka non-EEA nationals) by as early as September 2021.

And sadly, Millenium BCP – one of Portugals largest and most respected banking brands – has just announced that foreigners without Portuguese residency status will no longer be able to open an account with them.

If you’re from the EU or the UK, getting a Portuguese bank account opened is still very doable. And the same goes if you’re a Golden Visa investor. But if you’re not – if you’re just a regular Joe looking to apply for the D7 Visa – things are getting a lot tighter – and fast.

A lot of people who were only after a Portuguese bank account might have opted for service providers like Bordr.io to open a Portuguese bank account in the past year or two. But after the most recent development, even this option may no longer be viable for everyone.

The good news is that we at D7 Visa have working relationships with a range of Portuguese banks, and we’re still able to facilitate the opening of a Portuguese bank account – even for American citizens.

But the reality is that things are getting more difficult on this front – especially for American nationals – so we recommend you get in touch today if you still need an account to apply for the D7 Visa.