How I got my Portuguese study visa

After 1.5-year hiatus from the blog, I am back to re-writing my travel experiences! That 1.5-year worth of stories will be up soon but first, I would like to start again with something simple: How I got my Portuguese study visa. I thought this is appropriate since I am currently based in Faro, Portugal and to remember the details that happened not too long ago is a lot easier than recalling all the trips I did in 2019-20.

A small note here is that I am applying for the visa using a Brunei passport, therefore some differences may exist with other nationalities.

Having to apply for a Portuguese study visa is also odd for me because my course mates and I didn't have to apply for a Spanish study visa when we were enrolled for a semester in Spain. We only need to apply for a Spanish residence permit. The same thing for my course mates who continued their semesters in Italy; only the renewal of the Italian residence permit is asked for, and not a new visa.

I thought it must be for the $$$ visa fee €90 $$$ that the Portuguese administration is collecting?

Assumptions aside, here you can find the list of the documents you will need for a Portuguese study visa:

1. The official application form (either downloaded from the official website, or like in my case, sent to me by the consulate via email and the form was in English); 
2. Your passport;
3. 2 identical passport photographs;
4. Transport document (your mode of transportation to enter Portugal);
5. Número de Identificação de Estrangeiros, NIE (in my case this is my Spanish residence permit); 
6. Valid travel insurance covering necessary medical expenses, including emergency assistance and repatriation;
7. Security form by Serviço de Estrangeiros e Fronteiras, SEF (they insists that this form is to be filled in-person, at the consulate);
8. Criminal record from country of origin or country of residency for over 1 year (in my case, I presented both from Brunei and from Spain); 
9. Proof of means of subsistence;
10. Document issued by the institution and document certifying enrollment (by the university); and 
11. Proof of housing in Portugal. 

-> Regarding #4 Transport Document

My friends showed proof of bus tickets purchased to enter Portugal form Spain. I used a flight booking as I was in Germany at the time to enter Portugal. The date doesn't matter very much, but we all made sure to enter Portugal only after submitting the visa application. We were worried about the travel restrictions due to Covid as we didn't want to be stuck in Portugal without a valid visa.

-> Regarding #11 Means of subsistence

Again, this doesn't matter if it is a temporary accommodation like a 1-week stay in Airbnb. It is very common that students got into a new country for studies and finding home while in the country. In my case, I booked a 1 month stay at an Airbnb and used the receipt as a proof for the visa application.

-> Regarding #7 Security form by SEF

This was a straightforward procedure for you to just sign a document to give permission to the Serviço de Estrangeiros e Fronteiras, SEF - a police service integrated into the Ministry of Internal Affairs - to use your data and do sort of like a background check on you. For me, you can easily do this part online or through a print-sign-post but unfortunately the consulate insists it to be done in-person. As a matter of fact, I had to come to the Portuguese consulate office in Seville, Spain, in the middle of a pandemic, to come and do this bit. This was the only way because at that time, my valid document to stay in Europe was with the Spanish residence permit. Hence, I had to apply for a Portuguese visa through Spain.

There is no train options between Faro and Seville and I had to take one of the remaining buses still operating the route (as it was significantly reduced due to the pandemic!). The inbound journey with Royal Express was excellent. I was on a comfortable 2-storey, clean bus and the journey took just under 2.5 hr.

The outbound with Union Ivkoni was terrible for me and this is why I never liked taking bus trips. I always prefer train or plane. I was waiting in Seville for a long time for the bus which was delayed for 2 hr. The journey took over 4 hr even though it was supposed to be 2.5. The driver took every small roads possible and seemed to stop randomly for a smoke and rest. I thought he was going to miss the turn to Faro and had to alert him myself as I was monitoring the map on my phone.

The chance to spend the night in Seville again wasn't so bad. I went to see the beautiful Plaza de España again. This is where they filmed movies like The Dictator (Sacha Baron Cohen), Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones and Lawrence of Arabia. Seville is such a nice city to stroll and enjoy, and I got to say hi to one of my course mates, David from Ecuador for a coffee.

After 1.5 month, I got notified that my visa is ready and I should plan another journey from Faro to Seville with my passport so they can place the visa sticker inside. I thought, "Ugh!!" This was too much for me having to choose the same bus trips again (there wasn't other choice - not during the pandemic!) and make my way to Spain. But, a serious thing happened at that time (end-January to February 2021): Portugal recorded the worst in the world for number of infections and deaths rate by Covid. And so, the consulate decided that it is not safe for me to travel to Spain and that I can deliver my passport by post. They made an exception for my case and I truly appreciate that.

I had the Express DHL and it arrived in 2 days at the consulate (though my passport had to travel to 6 cities in Portugal, Spain and Germany before it made its way to Seville). I also paid for the same service to pick up and post back to Faro. I was very pleased with that. Paid €48 one-way and I got to track the passport. Everything arrived on time and I was even called by DHL on the morning of the arrival date that they are coming in 10 minutes.

At least, paying for DHL is still cheaper than having to spend 1-2 nights in Seville, bus fares and food..

That's my story of getting the Portuguese study visa done!

Let me know if you need some help and stay tuned for my next post.