If you need assistance with the SEF in Portugal, here is our attorney's contact info:
Rita Avelar
(961) 614-883
ritaquintinoavelar.advogada
Pc Dr Francisco Sá Carneiro, Lt A - 9353, 1º Dto.Cascais

Rita works the full Lisbon area, speaks English and helped us with our original SEF appointments.

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A few thoughts....
I only know of/have worked with Rita. She's a small practice owner and I liked her personal attention. We met with her in her office...if you are not in Portugal and trying to reach an attorney via email, you will find that they rarely answer emails. Portuguese prefer to conduct all business in person. We dealt with the Resident Visa process ourselves--it's detailed but it's easy, especially if you follow my guide. Then, Rita's role started when we applied for the Resident Permit. She reviewed updated laws, ensuring we had the docs and info needed to get our initial and renewal Residence Permits; went to SEF with us and spoke Portuguese on our behalf; kept the SEF officials from adding unnecessary requirements, as they tried and she thwarted.

Sure, you can do a lot of the application process from Portugal, but you will have to be in the US for the final step of getting your Resident Visa--that step is submitting your passport to the Consulate, having them insert your Resident Visa, and then traveling to Portugal, thus activating the Visa.

We started it all from Portugal, but not on purpose: we were here on a trip and decided to stay. Just in case, in preparation, we had already completed the FBI Criminal Background check process and had all the forms and documents we needed with us. We submitted our full application package to our appropriate Consulate in the US by mailing it in; we had a friend in the US receive and send to us all responses from the Consulate. We returned to the US for that final step I noted above.

You should check with a one of the channelers at the FBI site about your fingerprints. If they weren't 'good', why would the police office taking them of you give them to you? Perhaps the channeler can determine if they are OK or if you can send them a set taken in Portugal. I truly don't have any experience or data on your issue.

I'm uncertain why you believe the Visa process is more than you can handle, and hope my advice can boost your confidence.
Susan

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Where in Portugal are you considering to move to? SEF in Lisbon does not have anyone fluent in English. If you are considering the Algarve (southern beach area) the SEF agents in Portimao speak English very well.

If you know you want to live here almost full time, from the beginning, do reach out, vial email works, to the Portuguese Consulate covering where you live. They will tell you exactly what you need to do.

Or you can try what we are doing. We came to Lisbon for three months & decided we wanted to stay longer. So, because of the 90 day limit on US visa. We scheduled an appointment at SEF for the week we returned from a quick visit back in theUS just a few days before our 90 days were up. At that time we applied for a 90 day visa extension, which allowed us to stay, but only within Portugal. That was OK for us, as there is much to explore here, and we wanted to be certain that we wanted to go thru the Residents permit process. Also, that 90 days counts as "away time" so that after our visit with family in US these next 2 weeks, when we return, we are on a new 90 day US visa & can travel everywhere.

While we are back in the US for the summer, we will complete the Residence Visa process. It is good to live here for a while to determine that we do really want to be here for more than 6 months a year.

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When we went to SEF in Lisbon we were able to talk to an English speaking clerk with no issues.

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Please be aware you have to apply to the SEF office that serves your area. We tried to apply in Lisboa and because our permanent address was going to be Lagos we had to apply in Portimao.
Also I recently posted about my problem with finger prints and the FBI. The officer that takes you finger prints to send to the FBI has no idea if they will be excepted by the FBI. I recommend you use a channeler.

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Choosing an expat health insurance provider is an important decision. Get a quote from our trusted expat health insurance partner, CIGNA. With Cigna Global Health Options, you can create an international health insurance plan that's perfectly tailored for the needs of you and your family.

Susan,
Does Rita have an email address? I am in the process of compiling my paperwork in the US now but it will be good to have an immigration contact in Portugal when I get my visa completed.
Thanks for the information,
Mike

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Rita is at: ritaquintinoavelar.advogada@sapo.pt

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Thanks for the information and your posts have been very helpful.
Mike

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We are US citizen too and we have been working with http://www.eimigrante.pt/. They have been so impressively responsive, caring and wonderful to work with. We are closely working with Daniel Reid, Carla and the Ines and I simply can't complain a bit. They also helps us to find house and school , opening bank accounts and almost everything essential. Such a relief since we don't speak the language and not physically there. Highly highly recommended.

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