My wife and I have appts at the San Francisco consulate at the end of October 2024. We plan to fly back to Portugal to wait for approval or 3 months. We have a hose rented and will be there. We want to know how long did it take to get your passports back after the interview. We need to book our flights and can’t until we have an idea of wait time. This is for D7 retirement visas. Thanks so much for your help. We also plan to pick up our passports at the consulate.
Our appointments with VFS San Francisco were on June 2, 2021. At that time, it took 5-6 weeks to get our D7 visas approved. We left our passports with VFS since it was during COVID and we weren't planning on traveling internationally.
We had flight reservations for August 27th.
It is impossible to predict how long the approval process will be. For some people it's 2 weeks, for others it's 2 months or more. If there's a denial or a request for additional documents, that can delay the process.
I know this isn't the answer you're hoping for but it is unfortunately, the reality. My suggestion would be to make flight reservations that are fully refundable or changeable in the event that you need to move your travel date to a later time. -CW
KP - Thanks for your comment. In our case, we registered with Social Security for online access to our accounts. From there, we were each able to print out Verification Benefit Letters stating what our monthly payment was. I have not heard of the requirement to have this document 'officially' signed and apostilled (not even sure it could be), and the printed out copy was sufficient for VFS in San Francisco. The letter, when printed out has the official letterhead and seal.
Just to be clear: I'm not an expert in D7 visas but am providing this information based on personal experience and what I believe to be the current requirements. - CW
Thank you Carol. You are the first that I have read that submitted the same copy I was able to print out through my online account. I can't even get an answer through VFS or the Portuguese Consulate's office as they only respond with automatic templates that don't answer the question. Very frustrating but your answer gives me hope that I only need to present the online copy.
If you're already receiving Social Security payments, they should show up on your US bank statement as deposits every month. You will most likely be asked for your US bank account statements at VFS. I would think this would be proof enough that you receive these payments each month as per the Benefit Verification Letter. - CW
This was actually very helpful. But I do have one question that I seem to be getting many different answers for. The Social Security Verification Benefit Letter - how did you present the letter? I'm reading that it must be signed by the Acting Commissioner on SSA letterhead with a seal and according to my local SS office - this is impossible. Actually, they never even heard the term apostille which will also be required in order to present the letter to the VFS agent. Were you able to get a signed letter and if so - how, how how???? This is driving me crazy. I have everything but this d... letter.
Thank you for your detailed description about your portugal d7visa. I it is possible, please send me the name of your attorney or other authorized attorney. Thanks again.
Hello G.B. - Thanks for your comment. I'm happy to provide you with the information you requested. You can contact me by using my email address which you can find on the home page of my blog: https://www.ourportugaljourney.com/. Click the About tab on the top of the page and scroll down to "Have a Question?". You'll find my contact information there. - CW
We're a retired American couple living in Thailand (Chiang Mai) and are looking at either Italy or Portugal to relocate either this year or next. We're heading to Porto and Lisbon in March to do our research and would very much appreciate getting the name of an accountant and/or attorney to meet with while we're there to go over taxes, services, etc. We generally use agents for our visa issues, particularly for the first time in a new country. Just easier that way. Any guidance you could offer would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Thanks for your message. I can provide some recommendations to you. Because Portugal is strict about attorneys and accountants advertising their services, and I don't want to cause any problems, I'll send an email to you directly with some contacts. Please let me know when you receive it.
Yes, I can send it to you but it will be to your email address. In Portugal, attorneys and accountants cannot advertise their services and I want to respect that and be compliant. So, be on the look-out for an email from Our Portugal Journey. Obrigada!
I love how detailed you are! I am a detail oriented person & will do exactly as you did with our documents. I’ve been reading so much information that it’s getting overwhelming, but also coming together (in my head). We are about a year out for our target departure date, and also be applying in San Francisco. I don’t retire until December. I’m wondering if you could share information about your Portuguese accountant & attorney? Were they expensive? Did you think their services were required to complete the visa process? I’m usually a do-it-yourself kind of person, but not against help if needed. Thank you for sharing your experience!
Thanks for your comments and for subscribing, Veronica. Since accountants and attorneys in Portugal cannot advertise their services, I'll send you an email with their details since I don't want to get in trouble for posting their info online:)
I believe it's a very similar experience for Canadians. I don't think there are VFS Global offices that process the applications. You'll most likely have to apply to a consulate. This link describes the requirements for a Residency Visa in Canada: https://toronto.consuladoportugal.mne.gov.pt/en/consular-matters/visa
It definitely did take a lot of time and preparation. But it can be done with a little luck and a lot of patience! Thanks for taking the time to comment.
Laurie Lewis 09/26/2024
My wife and I have appts at the San Francisco consulate at the end of October 2024. We plan to fly back to Portugal to wait for approval or 3 months. We have a hose rented and will be there. We want to know how long did it take to get your passports back after the interview. We need to book our flights and can’t until we have an idea of wait time. This is for D7 retirement visas. Thanks so much for your help. We also plan to pick up our passports at the consulate.
Hello Laurie,
Thanks for your message.
Our appointments with VFS San Francisco were on June 2, 2021. At that time, it took 5-6 weeks to get our D7 visas approved. We left our passports with VFS since it was during COVID and we weren't planning on traveling internationally.
We had flight reservations for August 27th.
It is impossible to predict how long the approval process will be. For some people it's 2 weeks, for others it's 2 months or more. If there's a denial or a request for additional documents, that can delay the process.
I know this isn't the answer you're hoping for but it is unfortunately, the reality. My suggestion would be to make flight reservations that are fully refundable or changeable in the event that you need to move your travel date to a later time. -CW
KP - Thanks for your comment. In our case, we registered with Social Security for online access to our accounts. From there, we were each able to print out Verification Benefit Letters stating what our monthly payment was. I have not heard of the requirement to have this document 'officially' signed and apostilled (not even sure it could be), and the printed out copy was sufficient for VFS in San Francisco. The letter, when printed out has the official letterhead and seal.
Just to be clear: I'm not an expert in D7 visas but am providing this information based on personal experience and what I believe to be the current requirements. - CW
Thank you Carol. You are the first that I have read that submitted the same copy I was able to print out through my online account. I can't even get an answer through VFS or the Portuguese Consulate's office as they only respond with automatic templates that don't answer the question. Very frustrating but your answer gives me hope that I only need to present the online copy.
If you're already receiving Social Security payments, they should show up on your US bank statement as deposits every month. You will most likely be asked for your US bank account statements at VFS. I would think this would be proof enough that you receive these payments each month as per the Benefit Verification Letter. - CW
This was actually very helpful. But I do have one question that I seem to be getting many different answers for. The Social Security Verification Benefit Letter - how did you present the letter? I'm reading that it must be signed by the Acting Commissioner on SSA letterhead with a seal and according to my local SS office - this is impossible. Actually, they never even heard the term apostille which will also be required in order to present the letter to the VFS agent. Were you able to get a signed letter and if so - how, how how???? This is driving me crazy. I have everything but this d... letter.
Thank you for your detailed description about your portugal d7visa. I it is possible, please send me the name of your attorney or other authorized attorney. Thanks again.
Hello G.B. - Thanks for your comment. I'm happy to provide you with the information you requested. You can contact me by using my email address which you can find on the home page of my blog: https://www.ourportugaljourney.com/. Click the About tab on the top of the page and scroll down to "Have a Question?". You'll find my contact information there. - CW
Hi Carol:
We're a retired American couple living in Thailand (Chiang Mai) and are looking at either Italy or Portugal to relocate either this year or next. We're heading to Porto and Lisbon in March to do our research and would very much appreciate getting the name of an accountant and/or attorney to meet with while we're there to go over taxes, services, etc. We generally use agents for our visa issues, particularly for the first time in a new country. Just easier that way. Any guidance you could offer would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Hi Frank
Thanks for your message. I can provide some recommendations to you. Because Portugal is strict about attorneys and accountants advertising their services, and I don't want to cause any problems, I'll send an email to you directly with some contacts. Please let me know when you receive it.
Regards,
Carol.
Marcia,
Yes, I can send it to you but it will be to your email address. In Portugal, attorneys and accountants cannot advertise their services and I want to respect that and be compliant. So, be on the look-out for an email from Our Portugal Journey. Obrigada!
OMG! I love the details of the interview. Thank you so much! that really helped us.
So glad you found the article useful. Thanks for taking the time to comment!
I love how detailed you are! I am a detail oriented person & will do exactly as you did with our documents. I’ve been reading so much information that it’s getting overwhelming, but also coming together (in my head). We are about a year out for our target departure date, and also be applying in San Francisco. I don’t retire until December. I’m wondering if you could share information about your Portuguese accountant & attorney? Were they expensive? Did you think their services were required to complete the visa process? I’m usually a do-it-yourself kind of person, but not against help if needed. Thank you for sharing your experience!
Thanks for your comments and for subscribing, Veronica. Since accountants and attorneys in Portugal cannot advertise their services, I'll send you an email with their details since I don't want to get in trouble for posting their info online:)
I wonder how different it will be for us in Canada. I appreciate your thorough description of the experience!
I believe it's a very similar experience for Canadians. I don't think there are VFS Global offices that process the applications. You'll most likely have to apply to a consulate. This link describes the requirements for a Residency Visa in Canada: https://toronto.consuladoportugal.mne.gov.pt/en/consular-matters/visa
We knew it had taken alot of preparation but what an experience!!
You deserve to be there.💕
It definitely did take a lot of time and preparation. But it can be done with a little luck and a lot of patience! Thanks for taking the time to comment.