Being ranked among the top countries in the ease-of-doing-business (EODB), Portugal is a good destination for business. With the Portugal business visa, more and more businessmen are travelling to the country to take part in business meetings, conferences, etc.
Also known as the Portugal Schengen business visa, this endorsement allows you to enter Portugal and take part in business-related activities. Being a type of the Schengen short term permit, this is issued for a short stay duration of fewer than 90 days in a 180-day period. Depending on the number of times you would have to exit and enter the Schengen zone to do business, you can get this permit as single-entry, double-entry, or even multiple-entries.
The application for the Portugal business visa from India is dependent on the jurisdiction. However, the Portuguese diplomatic mission in India has outsourced most of the application process to the VACs (Visa Application Centre).
Applications from people who have a state of residence as Goa, Maharashtra, UTs of Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli must apply to the Consulate General of Portugal in Goa. All other states will have to make their application to the Embassy of Portugal in New Delhi.
Before starting the application, you must ensure that you are eligible to apply for the business visa. You must then obtain all the necessary documents for the visa. After this, you may proceed to make the application as follows -
At Consulate General of Portugal in Goa -
At the Embassy of Portugal in New Delhi -
Note that if you have submitted your biometrics for a Schengen visa in the past 5 years, you do not have to submit them again. Also, keep in mind that you must not submit any fake documents or false information. Doing so can get you a Schengen visa rejection.
To be able to travel to Portugal on a business permit, you must meet the following eligibility criteria -
As per the requirements of the Portuguese embassy, the following are the list of documents you must submit for a successful application -
Proof of occupation such as employment letter, Copy of business license, etc.
Financial documents such as bank statements of the past 3 months, Passbook copy, ITR, etc.
The processing time for the business permit is dependent on the validity, the number of entries, the volume of applications at the embassy or consulate, as well as your previous travel history. Normally, you can expect a processing time of about 15 working days. However, this can even take up to 30 days in a few cases, and even up to 60 days in extreme cases. As a result, it is suggested that you apply well in advance.
The application fees for the Portuguese business permit is dependent upon the currency exchange rates, as well as the embassy decision. The embassy has the right to change the fees without prior notice. Apart from the application fee, there will be biometric charges, delivery charges, as well as any service charges levied by the VAC. As a result, you must check the exact amount before starting the application.
Entry | Stay Duration | Validity | Fees |
---|---|---|---|
Multiple entry Normal | 90 days | 3 months | 9755.0 |
Multiple entry Normal | 90 days | 3 months | 9755.0 |
Once you have submitted your application, it is then forwarded for processing. If you have submitted at a VAC, they will then send it to the respective diplomatic mission for processing. Note that the VAC has no control over the processing. They are simply handling the administrative part.
Once the visa is approved, you can pick up the passport directly from the VAC/embassy/consulate, or you can have the VAC deliver it to you for an additional delivery charge.
You can check the status of your Portugal business visa by visiting the online portal of the Portuguese embassy and logging in using the username and password if you have applied to the consulate in Goa. If you have applied at a VAC, or to the embassy in New Delhi, you can check it by entering your reference number and date of birth here.
On successful receipt of your visa, you must keep in mind the following factors to ensure a pleasant travelling experience.
It is not possible to extend the Portuguese business permit under normal conditions as it is a Schengen short term category. However, in certain cases such as a Force Majeure, or other humanitarian reasons, you may be granted an extension. In all other cases, you must not try to extend it and must leave the country before expiry.
Since there is no stay back period allowed, after you have expired the permit, you are not supposed to stay back in the country for any amount of time. As per the laws, you must leave the country before the expiry date. Staying back after this period is considered illegal, and can get you deported, and in some other cases even be banned from entering the Schengen region again.
Since the business visa is issued only for a short stay duration of fewer than 90 days, there are no mandatory medical test requirements. The long term categories will require medical tests as per the individual type. Either way, it is suggested that you get a health checkup before travelling to a new country.
No, it is not possible to convert any of the Schengen category permits into another type. You are also not allowed to take part in paid work while you are on this permit. You can, however, take part in unpaid voluntary work. If you do require to work, you must apply for a visa once you are back in your home nation.
Yes, you are permitted to travel to other Schengen countries on this business visa. Being a Schengen country, Portugal facilitates a visa-free agreement with other Schengen countries. You can, however, travel to only the European countries that are also a part of the Schengen. Despite this, there are a few non-European countries that allow you to enter them with a Schengen visa. Eg:- Croatia.
Since it takes around 15 working days to process the application under normal conditions, it is suggested that you must apply at least 15 days before the date of travel. However, you are not allowed to apply for more than 3 months before the travel date.