The foreigners who are in the following conditions may enter Portugal without a visa:
- The foreigners with residence permit, extension of stay or, for example, in case of the diplomatic and consular agents accredited in Portugal, with identity card issued by the Foreign Office, when valid.
- The foreigners who benefit of that faculty (visa exemption), according to the international conventions, to which Portugal belongs.
If you have come to Portugal without a visa, the following kind of visas can be granted at the border crossing points by the SEF (Foreigners and Borders Service) Director:
- Special visa
- Short stay visa
Because of humanitarian reasons or of national interest, recognised by the order of the Government Member responsible for the Home Affairs, a special visa can be granted for the entry and temporary stay in the country to foreign citizens who do not meet the legal requirements in this regard.
The foreigners who are relatives of Portuguese benefit of an identical regime to the granted to relatives of other citizens of the European Union, foreseen in the Law Nr. 37/2006, dated 9.August, Article 2 and 3 (this legislation is available for consultation at www.acm.gov.pt).
This visa aims to allows its holder the entry in Portugal for purposes that, being accepted by the competent authorities, do not justify the grant of another kind of visa, namely for the purpose of traffic, tourism and visit or accompanying family members who hold a temporary stay visa.
The short stay visa can be granted with a validity term (period of use) that can for up to one year, with one or more entries, not being possible that one uninterrupted stay or the total length of the successive stays, overcome 90 days per period of 180 days from the date of the first crossing of an external border.
