Rental lease and obtaining a D7 visa for Portugal

  My experience was that my D7 visa approval took 6 weeks from application. Getting the appointment took 3 months (USA). 

My residency permit was issued 6 weeks after the Visa. The timing on the appointment date depends on where you are applying (the country and the local consulate). Timing on the residency permit depends upon the local office in Portugal you are assigned  (rural is less booked and quicker)

  My experience with the lease was that a Landlord is only going to give you a lease that starts around when you execute the lease. Some people do a lease for a small room at a very low cost. A one year lease in Portugal can be cancelled after 7 months under rent control.

Wow!  6 weeks seems pretty fast to me, but the scene changes constantly.

At any rate, you can live in your Portugal accommodations before you get a resident visa.  Common tourist "visa" that you automatically get when you arrive is limited to 90 days, but if you haven't used up much of it already, you could still be here when the visa comes through.  The resident visa is then good for 4 months if I remember right, and you're supposed to be able to get into an immigration interview during that time.

So ... I'd say, get the basic low commitment details out of the way:  NIF, bank account,  travel around Portugal to make sure you really know what you're getting into.  When you have a fairly reliable idea of how you're going to deal with accommodations, set up the visa interview.  Which will be at least a month or two out, so you have this time to nail something down.  I have never tried to rent in Portugal, so I have no idea how a foreigner would go about that - references etc., search me.

    Hello, this is my first time posting a question. I'm planning on retiring to Portugal and have done a lot of reading but haven't started paperwork yet.  I've read several times that it takes about a year to get the D7 visa and whatever else you need to live there. I've also read that to get the visa, you have to have a one-year lease. If these things are accurate, how do you get a landlord to give you a lease that won't start for a year -- that is, the year it takes to get a visa? Maybe what I've read is wrong. But if someone Could explain this, I'd be very appreciative! Thank You,Maureen        -@mgorman339

Hi.

There is a lot of variability in Portuguese administration so if, for someone else, one part of the process took 6 weeks it does mean it will take you 6 weeks.  Here there is generally lack of suitable rented accommodation, made more difficult as landlords +agents like to meet their prospective tenants then view a property before taking them seriously. Landlord +agents want to rent out continuously and as there's a lot of people looking for accommodation they just want a simple old tenant leaves then new tenant moves in.If your particular  situation does not fit into this, like wanting a lease starting in the many many months time,  then you may find it very difficult.  You could try contacting rental agents (look for some links on this forum) and asking the questions of them to find if there's an possibility. 

It does make far more sense that if you are serious of moving here then you visit different areas as much as possible "on holiday" to decide the areas you would like to live and do all the basics like NIF and bank account and meeting LOCAL agents in the areas you like to discuss/view local accommodation and get listed on their books. Also not all accommodation here is listed on the interwebs and some listed is not available.   Sorry if that sounds negative but things here are not specifically set up for people looking for D7 visas.

Good luck.

There are several serious misinformation statements in these replies. You MUST enter on your visa to establish residency from your home country, for one. Yes you can come before you get the visa if you respect the 90/180 Schengen rules. You must arrive within 60 days of your visa start date, etc.  Be very careful of advice from non-vetted people or advice that is not current. Portugal's visa landscape has changed considerably in the last few months, alone.

@hbinder36  Would you be able to correct some of the "serious misinformation statements" you mention?

@donn25 did you read his post? he did correct the misinformation 

I did read his post.  What I can't find, is the misinformation - I don't see anything contradictory here - so it seems I may  be missing something.  Have any idea?

Thank you to all who responded!

Maureen