Location: San Francisco
Applicants: 3 (spouse & 5 yr old)
Total Appointment Time: 1 hour
First, thanks to this group for all the helpful info on relocating to Portugal. We took this process on ourselves and felt prepared and confident going into our VFS appointment because of all the available information.
Let's dive in:
Getting a VFS appointment was probably the most stressful part of the process. After having our access restricted a dozen times from logging in too much, it didn’t take long to realize our chances of getting an appointment when we needed to were slim. We saw recommendations for services that helps us find appointments and went with VisaFetch.com. After months of trying, I was able to grab our appointment within 2 weeks.
We arrived about 20 minutes before our appointment and walked into the vfs waiting room, which is directly in front of the elevator on the 2nd floor.
Security asked for the vfs appointment confirmation paper. I had my wife and child with me but only booked one slot. He said that it needed to show 3 people on the confirmation and I politely said this rule changed for Portugal a few months ago and only 1 appointment was needed. He said no problem and that he typically works on the UK side. What was interesting is that the VFS Officer also hesitated when I said I only had one appointment booked for all 3 of us, so I said the same thing and mentioned I realize I need to pay for 2 more appointment fees.
The security person asked to see the visa application fee money orders, handed us 3 short courier forms to fill out while we were waiting (for sending the passports back), and handed us the token number (small piece of paper). Every month the National Visa application fees change and remain the same for that month. These fees are posted on the Portugal Consulate website.
We sat in the waiting area about 30 minutes past our appointment time before getting called. We didn't bring anything with us except our documents, phones, and a small snack for our toddler.
When our number was called, I walked up by myself and mentioned I had my wife and child with me. They were sitting behind me and I would call my wife up when she needed to sign something and to show her drivers license.
We had all the documents needed and the only thing she had to print was the checklist for my wife and child. I had the D8 checklist for them, but they needed to have a specific one for family members accompanying the primary visa holder.
Here is what was requested (in this order):
- Visa appointment confirmation and receipt
- Passports and 2 passport photos for each applicant.
- FBI background checks for both adults (copies also required).
- Visa applications: we waited to sign these in front of the VFS officer, who then verified and glued a passport photo onto each application.
- Driver's license copies for both adults. She also asked to see our physical licenses, but only to confirm they matched the copies.
- Courier form: handed to us upon arrival and filled out on site. She entered the information into the system, printed our FedEx labels, and had me review each one to confirm the address was correct. We then signed each label and received a copy to keep.
- Notarized passport copies: a notarized color copy of each passport.
- Apostilled marriage license and birth certificate for our child. We brought the originals plus one additional copy of each; she said the copies were fine and kept those.
- Portuguese background check authorizations: we waited to sign these in front of her before handing them over.
- Apostilled FBI background check copies: one copy each for my wife and me.
- Personal motivation letter: I wrote one letter for the whole family and printed three copies. We waited to sign these in front of the VFS officer.
- Portugal lease agreement: copies for each applicant, along with the Finanças receipt and the signed landlord declaration.
- Travel insurance: two back-to-back 6-month policies per applicant, providing a full 12 months of coverage.
- Terms of Responsibility: I filled one out for each my wife and child, signed and had it notarized. Not entirely sure if it needed to be notarized, but I learned throughout this process that having more is better than not having enough.
- NIF documents for each applicant.
- Portugal Bank Account Statement: Statement from your PT bank that shows sufficient proof of funds.
- US bank statements: only the last 3 months were requested. We also included a savings bank statement to show additional funds; this isn't required but can help support proof of finances.
- Employer declaration form: proof that I'm employed, cleared to work remotely, and that my income does not originate from Portugal.
- 1040: she was fine with my 2024 return along with proof of extension for 2025.
- Pay stubs: only the last 3 months.
- Child’s School Enrollment Receipt and acceptance letter: this was not required but we added it anyway for additional support for our application.
Because there were three of us, I had three separate folders with about 12 dividers in each. Then I put numbers on the tabs and made a “locator” list that I printed, which listed where a document was located and in which folder. A copy of each document on the list above went into each of the 3 visa submission packages. At the end, I paid the ~$40 appointment fee for my wife and child and the $35 courier fee (x3). They have a terminal on their desk to pay via credit card.
You can't track your application, but apparently that changes this summer when they make the transition to their new software system, which is supposed to include a tracking system.
I asked the vfs officer if she only does Portugal, and she said no (there are several countries and visa types in this office). That helped me understand why you hear inconsistent stories of people getting asked for different documents. And chances are, if you made it into that seat at a VFS appointment, you may know more about the specifics than the VFS Officer. She wasn’t rude but straight to the point. Everytime she requested a document she would just sit and wait for it.
All in all, while there was anxiety going in, it went smoothly due to helpful people like you all, extensive months of research and preparation, and triple checking everything. For those just starting this process, all the information is already here in Facebook groups like this. I didn’t use random websites on Google or blogs, etc, because of how frequently things change, which makes info on these types of resources out-of-date quickly.
Happy to answer any questions!