LISBOA
An informal guide by & for Erasmus Mundus students
Collaborators: Alessandra Gallerano
Becky Chen
Izabela Araújo
Lorenza Tiberi
VISAS
If you are not European, chances are you will need a visa to come live in Portugal. If that is the case there are steps to be taken before and after you arrive.
Before you arrive
Ask for a student’s visa at the Portuguese Consulate or Embassy in your country. Check which documents you will need in order to start the process. You should arrive to Portugal with a visa.
After you arrive
Even though you have a visa, you will notice that it will probably expire before you leave Portugal. If that is the case, here is what you have to do:
@ Call SEF-Serviço de Estrangeiros e Fronteiras at 808 202 653 and schedule an interview to renew your visa. You will have to hold on the phone for a really long time, so the best to do is to try to call either in the morning, when they open at 8h or in the evening, when they are about to close at 19h. Your call is more likely to be taken at these times.
@ After you schedule your interview (probably in a month’s time) you will need to gather the documents they ask for you to renew your visa, which will probably be:
- Application form, signed (available at www.sef.pt).
- Valid passport
- Proof of funding: will be stated by the university in a letter.
- Proof of accommodation:
If you live at Lumiar: this will be included in the letter from the university.
If you don’t live at Lumiar: you will need to go to Junta de Freguesia (which is a kind of city hall of each neighbourhood) and ask for a comprovativo de morada. 
That might be a little complicated given that at Junta de Freguesia they will ask for two witnesses to confirm that you really live wherever you say you live. It’s certainly a good way to practice your Portuguese! If you have received any commercial letters, i.e. bank, newsletters, at your Lisbon address, I believe that might work as well. You should find that out. Here http://www.cm- lisboa.pt/?id_categoria=6 you can find a list of all the Juntas de Freguesia of Lisbon.
- Police registration (Registo Criminal) in case you renew for more than 90 days. You can get this document from the Police Office at Loja do Cidadão either in Restauradores (M: blue line, Restauradores) or at Laranjeiras (M: blue line, Laranjeiras).
- Transportation ticket that ensures return in case you renew for less than 90 days.
- 2 passport photographs
- Health insurance: show your card and any other documents that prove that we are covered by the Erasmus Mundus health insurance.
- Letter from the university stating the period you need to stay in Portugal. Ask for this letter at the Erasmus Office (7th floor, right hand side, Torre A). Please note that you will have to pay to get the comprovativo de morada, the police registration, and the visa itself. DO NOT GO TO SEF BASED ON THIS LIST ONLY. Ensure that these are all the documents you need before you go; things change and this list might be out-of-date by the time you arrive in Lisbon.
After you gather all these documents you go to SEF, wait for many hours (even though you have scheduled an interview), and pay. Then you receive a receipt that you MUST keep, for this will be the only proof that you have renewed your visa. Give one to two months for your visa card to be finally ready. You might even have left Lisbon when your card finally arrives!
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