Chicken and egg property situation

One of the D7 visa requirements is to prove that you have accommodation in Portugal.

https://eportugal.gov.pt/servicos/pedir … s-proprios

The accommodation can be proved through one of the following items:

(a) Proof of acquisition or rental of housing in Portugal;
(b) Invitation letter from a citizen legally residing in Portugal, saying that he will host you and your family. In this case, the declaration must be accompanied by a photocopy of the inviting person's identity card;

I might suggest you, when submitting the visa application, to have in your possession a rental contract for 1 year, to satisfy one of the conditions required by this visa.

After the visa approval, you can look to buy some housing or rent another one that suits you better. You can also cancel the rental contract you have previously submitted with your D7 visa. In Portugal, the tenant can cancel the rental contract by giving the landlord 120 days advance notice.


https://www.idealista.pt/en/news/proper … t-portugal

Note: Always make sure that this clause is in your rental contract.

This way, you don't need to buy any property to apply for a visa, so you have more time to look for what you want. And you don't need to sell anything in a rush either.

Please have a look at this link as well:

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=903722

Thank you for this.

Yes, another concern was booking somewhere long-term that didn't fit our needs.

Do you have a recommendation on finding a rental property? Would you suggest a local estate agent / realtor?

Many thanks.

I am not sure that it is relevant in this case, but when my partner visited me (non EU) , via a Schengen 90 day Visa, and because I rent in Portugal without a contract, we had no required evidence of her having secured accomodation.

We simply booked a low cost hotel over the three months with understanding that we could cancel without penalty in case Visa was rejected.

slugsurmamates wrote:

We simply booked a low cost hotel over the three months with understanding that we could cancel without penalty in case Visa was rejected.

Thanks for this, however I have read that the authorities frown upon hotel reservations and are more likely to refuse a visa this way?

Worked for us and we have applied for about seven UK and Schengen visas with no real issues.
Including a 10 year UK Visa.

Same with flight bookings.  Regulations ask for flight tickets yet they are aware that is crazy to do so before being awarded a Visa, so all simply accept a reservation instead, knowing that can be changed or cancelled too.
It's just a boxticking game IMHO.
Get inside their head of what they really are looking for.

As long as you do the homework previously.
My partner has no assets or income at all - for immigration authorities this is enormous risk.
Especially for awarding a 10 year UK Visa allowing 180days a time for a decade!
They simply want to ensure you won't become a burden on the State, go AWOL or don't have enough resources to return home.

Here's a tip that I use .
On every Visa Application I included a signed personal Statement, listing my resources, assets and anything else (credit history or employment history?).
This also includes a voluntary and personal offer of a financial bond that I will lodge with the authorities in order to guarantee the terms of Visa will be met.

That guarantee hasn't been taken up as yet, but it is an offer , together with a hotel booking, that is of far greater value to giving confidence than a rental agreement.
It's simply a risk game for immigration when considering a Visa application.
Just play the odds rather than the letter.

slugsurmamates wrote:

Here's a tip that I use .
On every Visa Application I included a signed personal Statement, listing my resources, assets and anything else (credit history or employment history?).
This also includes a voluntary and personal offer of a financial bond that I will lodge with the authorities in order to guarantee the terms of Visa will be met.

That's a great tip, thank you.

Also, yes I didn't think about flights, I'll need to find an airline that you can cancel if needs be. What about medical insurance? I guess the cost is minimal.

Don't get too concerned.
First application is most stressful.
If you miss anything fundemental they will tell you and you need to get it sorted.
Just leave enough time.
There are few airlines that will allow you to cancel.
I don't know of any.
Just go onto Skyscanner, Ryanair or whatever, print a scheduled flight intinerary that mirrors your plans and visa timing, print it out and include.
No need to book it, whatever Visa notes say!
Insurance is relatively simple.
Just book enough to cover the full term of visa term or take out annual itravel nsurance using a comparison website.
Moneysupermarket, Moneysavingexpert, Confused.cim etc.
I pay about £70/year.
My partner gets international healthcare insurance for 6 months for about same.
Hope this helps.  Don't fret.
Understand they country is offering a Visa because they want to visit too!
If you do your homework and provide ample evidence, and meet personal financial and security criteria, your success rate ought to be 90%+
Good luck.

Amazing, thanks so much for this!

Regarding the accommodation evidence, some online sources of information have quoted a hotel reservation as acceptable, but some Consulates do not accept this, because they apply the principle that a hotel reservation does not indicate an intent to remain permanently.

I did not put that hypothesis in my answer, because it is a bit uncertain. It may be accepted and it may not be accepted... It is better to have a more secure and comfortable solution for you. I also know of a person on this forum from Asia that applied for a D7 Visa and showed a rental contract for 4 months and the visa was refused because it was not considered permanent accommodation...

To find rental property with/without furniture you can search on the websites I have put here, to get an idea of prices charged per city, and only then look for a local estate agent. Most of them speak/understand English, so don't worry about that.

Renting Management Companies (Short/Long-Term Rentals):
https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=908693

_______

Tip: Explaining D7 Visa Portugal

Youtube has a lot of information in English: you can search for " D7 Visa Portugal"
Eg.
https://youtu.be/EQ6sLYQrhb4
(...)

Just as a side note, I had a rental contract from October until May (8 months total)  of the following year and the consulate in Canada accepted that, and I received my D7 visa based on that.

Hope that helps!

LorieAnneC - Where did you get a contract through?

My D7 visa was denied and we had 6 months worth of reservations at a B&B. We met all other requirements and we thought that includes this one. We were advised by our attorney to get a contract through an apartment.