Please forgive me if there is already an answer available to this question, but I think there are multiple different responses:
How many days are to be spent in Portugal for the annual/bi-annual Mandatory Visits? Any guidance on this?
If we moved to Portugal, bought a property, live in it, became tax resident, even got employed locally, then do we still need a collection of receipts with our NIF on because we diligently quoted it at various shops daily and built up a sizeable pile of fading receipts when we arrived but we have stopped doing this for months now…
Hello all. We have been traveling to Portugal several times since 2019. Our last visit was for almost 2 weeks last year (2023) and we are planning to visit again for 8 days this Xmas. I am planning to start the GV application before the end of this month. Would any of these previous and coming visits be applicable toward the minimum stay requirement for the 5-year period? or should I postpone my next Xmas trip until I receive a confirmation of the GV application since it still might not be applicable? I’ve got most receipts and stamps from the previous trips and last year I got my NIF.
The 5 year period starts from the issue date on your GV residency card which will likely be at least 3 years after you submit your GV application so any visits you do to Portugal before you receive your card are irrelevant to the GV process.
If you wish to apply for citizenship eventually then you should see the current discussion thread on waiting time and residency as there is currently some ambiguity around when the start date for the 5 years residency test will be (submission, biometrics, card issued) but - again - no visits to Portugal taken before the original application will be relevant.
Your previous visits have nothing to do with a future GV application. Like @richn4 said, requirements stays only kick-in once you have a residency card in hand.
Has anyone on this forum actually had SEF/AIMA demand more than boarding passes? I understand people want to avoid any problems but I think some might be making this harder than it needs to be.
I renewed last year just with boarding passes showing entry/exit dates for international flights at Lisbon airport - no NIF receipts, no accomodation, no bank statements. That was the advice of our lawyers (a large reputable Portuguese firm). There was no argument from AIMA that more was required.
I guess the only issue might be if you entered from another Schengen country so didn’t go through passport check, in which case you would need other proofs.
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That’s why my attorney has told me…passport stamps and boarding passes should do it. I keep the rest just in case (hotels, not daily restaurants receipts)
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Here is my anecdote on somewhat similar lines. Visa required for entry into Schengen.
Indian passport holder.
I have a 5 year multi-entry Schengen visa, and in 2022 I visited Austria for work. After the work, we took a short holiday in Portugal, and flew back to India from Lisbon. The Lisbon departure exit stamp in the passport is so faint, it’s almost invisible.
A year later in 2023 I was travelling back to Austria, and the officer in passport control at Vienna kept flipping and searching in my passport. After the third time he did that, I asked if he was searching for something, and if I may help to find it.
He explained that he can see the Vienna entry stamp of 2022, but cannot find the exit stamp as to when I left the Schengen area. After searching in vain once again he gave up and stamped my passport and sent me on my way.
He must have thought - what the hell, this guy must have left the Schengen area sometime, as he is entering it again a year later, and was not overly concerned whether the previous visit was an overstay or not.
I agree that the automatic data sharing is not working at least in Austria.
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Supermarkets with self service checkouts (like continentale, pingo doce etc) have a question when you check out about asking if you want to put a tax number in. We just purchased a diet coke or similar each day and put that in (and kept the receipt too). I am hoping that helps!
thank you. that is great news! I was wondering how this was going to work at all.
You can print out a barcoded card of your NIF. Login here then scroll to bottom to “Cartão e-fatura”: acesso.gov.pt
When paying anywhere just show them your printed out card, they can scan the barcode and that puts your NIF on the receipt with minimal effort.
Some places like Torre de Belem, if you already have your residence card, showing the NIF will even get you free entry!
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Wow WISH I had known that. It’s also on my residence card, so I would just read it out (in Portuguese) where I could. Good practise for numbers!
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Thanks for the tip on the printed card with the bar code, that will make my life much easier on my next visit!
Each time I tried to scan it in the shops the cashiers looked at me as if they never saw that ‘e-fatura’ card before in their life. Maybe it’s just my place is too remote 
So I read it out loud anyways.
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I was having a hard time finding my boarding passes for a flight out of Portugal (I had copies of the tickets) and was able to make an online request for a “certificate of presence on board” from Air France, which is an official document from the airline confirming we flew on the flights we were ticketed on.
Anyway I am hoping/thinking this will be a suitable replacement for the boarding passes I misplaced. Our appointment isn’t until June, so won’t know until then.
Just to confirm, is the new stay requirement 14 days/every 2 years, and the initial 7 days in the first year has fallen away? I see one reply above mentioning this is what their lawyer has stated, but conflicting advice elsewhere (perhaps old). Apologies if I am missing this, but would be very grateful for other confirmation.
I’m checking with my lawyer as well but have typically found NomadGate to be more helpful and much faster than she is!
Official requirements from the law:
- 7 full days in the first year
- 14 full days in every 2 years thereafter
(as the law remained unchanged since the time the first card was issued for 1 year only)
Practical interpretation by AIMA as mentioned in multiple posts here referring to lawyers:
- 14 full days within each 2 years
(as to align with the card validity periods)
Added fun is that Real Estate ARI cards are renewed to a 3-year ‘special D2’, but the required stay still runs as above (again misaligned).
My personal recommendation is to follow the official law as much as possible to reduce any chance of mishap at your AIMA renewal, as you really would have no chance of going back in time and fill in the missing 7-days of stay in the first year, should AIMA agent decide to insist on it.
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That is super helpful and clarifies things. It seems like the one foolproof option is 7 days per year…
By RE options, you mean renewal? My lawyer mentioned they aren’t doing any renewals at the moment which I’m not sure how to understand in the context of eventual citizenship application.
FWIW, while it’s hard to disagree with the conservative position from @tommigun, my lawyer (from a big/multinational law firm that does a lot of GV) was also very adamant that 2 weeks in the first 2 years was fine. I guess you have to decide whether to take your chances.
RE=Real Estate