One of the things that is required to be submitted with the long term visa application in Portugal (and probably several other countries) is a report from the FBI including a set of fingerprints. Barb and I were talking about this last night and kind of laughing about it, but we decided that we would make a ‘test run’ when she is here this summer just to see what’s in the report. The one that gets submitted with the application has to be sealed and unopened, so you don’t really know what it says. We decided that, just for fun, we would request ours this summer and open them knowing that we will have to request another copy closer to when we actually submit the application.
Neither of us are expecting any adverse information but thought it would be interesting to see what such a report contains. Given my work in the defense industry for most of my career and the many clearances I held, I often tell people the government probably knows more about me than I know about me. Likewise, Barb has no arrest record, but we thought it would be an interesting exercise and good practice for when we have to do it for real. I’ll report back on what we find just in case anyone else has to go through a similar exercise!
As I have mentioned before, there is a very robust expat community in Portugal who have all been through these bureaucratic processes before. There are several websites/Facebook groups that are great resources for how to navigate the sometimes cumbersome and confusing procedures. We will be drawing heavily upon all of this information as we move forward. The ultimate prize will be getting our passports back with the long-term (D7) visa stamped in the pages.
Of course, that is only step one. Once that visa is issued, and after you have moved to Portugal, there will be a subsequent meeting with the immigration officials in country to finalize the process. Assuming that is successful, a renewable two year visa is granted and you are pretty much good to go. It’s kind of the equivalent of a green card in the US.
However, the real benefit of establishing residency in Portugal is that it gives you the freedom to move around the countries in the Schengen Zone (27 European countries) without being subject to the 90 day limit on staying in the Schengen Zone. Many people don’t realize that such a limit exists because they don’t stay in Europe for an extended period of time.
For example, if you spent a month in Portugal, a month in France, and a month in Spain, you would run up against that 90 day limit and would be obligated to leave the Schengen Zone, i.e. leave Europe. And you could not return for another 90 days. I actually have an app on my phone that tracks the amount of time I am allowed to stay in the Schengen Zone at any given time. In any case, establishing long term residency solves that problem.
In some respects, submitting the visa application is almost like preparing to submit an application to your top university pick. You fill out the application, get your transcripts all lined up, write your essay, drop it in the mail and wait hoping that you will not be rejected!! Or, probably even more relatable, getting all of your financial ducks in a row to apply for a mortgage and waiting to see if the underwriter accepts or rejects your application. I guess this whole process of having your life path hinge upon what a bureaucrat decides lasts your whole life!!