D7 visa stay requirements

Residencies & citizenships
1

Can anyone elaborate stay requirements under D7 visa:
As per the information available, I understood as :

  1. Initially D7 visa will be given for 4 months
  2. within this period get biometric done at SEF and temporary residence permit will be issued for 2 years
  3. stay minimum 6 months consecutive or 8 months with break in these two years
  4. renew residence permit and permanent residency permit will be issued for 3 years
  5. stay 24 ( at some sites, it is written as 28) months

I have two queries :

  1. in the first year the start date of your stay is the date of your entry using D7 visa or the date of getting temporary residence permit card.
  2. the stay requirements , after renewal to next 3 years is the same as in the first two years or different.
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2

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3

In-country requirements are stricter now than they were before Covid. This chart describes what is required.

The first 2 year permit and the second 3 year permit have different residency requirements.

The start of your residency is the date of your first card issued, so you can spend months in Portugal without “credit” for time in-country. Also, during the D7 visa period (4 months), you are only allowed two entries into Portugal.

4

@veryornery is correct. You can “simplify” the definition by saying you can be outside Portugal for a total of 8 months non-consecutively or 6 months consecutively per the duration of each temporary residence permit.

Since each permit has a different duration, the time required in Portugal varies from the first to second permit.

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5

The following is from the FAQ I wrote for, and posted to, the Facebook group ‘American Expats in Portugal’

How Long Can You Leave PT With a Residence Permit?

The table posted by veyorney has been posted in various versions over the years. Some contained errors. The law is the best source for how long you can be outside of Portugal while living there with a Residence Permit.

The D7 visa allows you to enter the country so you can apply for a residence permit. Residence permits have a absence from Portugal restriction. During the valid period of the permit you can be absent from Portugal for 6 months in a row, or 8 months otherwise. So, for a permit with a 2 year valid period, you must stay in Portugal for 16 months (24-8=16) or 18 months (24-6). For a permit with a 3 year valid period, you must stay in Portugal for 28 months (36-8) or 30 months (36-6)

Why Does SEF Limit Absences?

See LEGISPÉDIA SEF - Artigo 85.Âș – Cancelamento da autorização de residĂȘncia

The Comments section (not reader’s comments) of Article 85 explains why there there is a limit to absences:

“These prolonged absences indicate that the holder of the authorization no longer resides in the country, maintaining the title of resident for reasons of convenience, due to the facilities that it grants him, namely for the purposes of entry and circulation in the European Union.”

The law:
Article 85 - Cancellation of the residence permit


2 - Without prejudice to the application of special provisions, the residence permit may also be canceled when the person concerned, without reasonable reasons, is absent from the country:
a) Being the holder of a temporary[1] residence permit, six consecutive months or eight interpolated months, during the total period of validity of the authorization;
b) Being the holder of a permanent residence permit, 24 consecutive months or, in a period of three years, 30 interpolated months.

However,
3 — Absence beyond the limits provided for in the previous number must be justified by means of a request submitted to the SEF before the resident leaves the national territory or, in exceptional cases, after his/her departure.

[1]According to the law, there are only 2 types of residence permits - temporary and permanent. Temporary ones now have valid periods of 2 or 3 years. See Article 74. Item 2 in the Comments section provides more explanation.

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