San Fran always requires more than is legally required....why don't you ask them why? Send them the list of what is stated at Schengen and SEF as requirements? Advise them that requesting a copy of the citizen ID card is against the privacy act? Push back...others have and they have not had to send the unnecessary data. OR, do as they ask--your realtor might be a reference for you and might not care that the ID card has to be copied and sent; the privacy act makes it illegal to ask but not illegal to comply.

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Hi,
I did my visa through the SF Consulate. Do you know anyone from the EU? A guarantor does not have to be someone from Portugal. All they have to do is provide a short statement saying that they know you and your interests in moving to Portugal and then have that statement notarized. It has nothing to do with how much funds you have in the bank.

Here is the response from the SF Consulate regariding a reference/guarantor...

"Reference has nothing to do with where you are living, it is someone who is a citizen or resident of the EU, someone declaring to know you and your desire to reside in Portugal, having that statement notarized and includes copy of their national ID or residence permit."

Do you know anyone from the EU that resides in US, because that can work as well as long as they have EU id. I believe you are working with Venceslau? He was super helpful throughout the entire process and was always responding to my emails/questions.

Hope this helps.

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The point is that a reference is NOT an authorized requirement. In addition, for a couple applying for the Type 1 visa, BOTH need to apply at the consul. See this comment I received today from the Washington DC consul about this:
1 – If husband/wife are going to work in Portugal, only the spouse that has the job applies for a visa. Once in Portugal, the other spouse needs to apply for a visa at SEF.
2 – Applying for residency visa, not a work visa, both spouses apply at the Consulate at the same time.
3 - Reference is never necessary and sending a copy of national ID is frowned on due to privacy matters. Financial guarantor can be required if the applicant lacks sufficient funds.

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Thanks everyone. My nephew lived there for 3 years but recently moved back to the USA and they had to turn everything in so he said they'll no longer be in the system. Unfortunately I don't know anyone else from the EU. The SF consulate says that every consulate had the right to require what they want for the application so their requirements will be different than what the Washington DC office requires. I actually sent them the link yesterday that talks about the privacy laws so I'm waiting to hear from them now. And I don't have a realtor her because I'm not planning to buy and will only rent once I get there and decide if I'd prefer to stay in Lisbon and explore it or just stay in Cascais for the first 6 months to a year.

Thanks for all of your help. If anyone has more suggestions/ ideas I'm still trying to figure out how to do this. Does anyone have a realtor or attorney I might ask? I may need to hire someone (if they even do this!).

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Hi Yummmmmyme,

There are folks who take care of all of these details for you, for a fee. My good friend in Cascais knows someone who has recently helped friends of his come over from the US and he said they were very efficient, thorough, and trustworthy. He gave me their contact info but I'm having trouble finding in all of my emails.
I'll try and get it to you.

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I recently asked the SF consulate to clarify a few points for me. Here's what they wrote back:
"Couples and or families, only one files, the spouse and children obtain their permit directly from SEF when the one member has successfully been granted their visa or have already secured their own permit.

We do ask that you use the Schengen form as indicated. Not all fields are appropriate for long term applicants and it is ok to mark NA as necessary. We will make the necessary corrections on our end so the appropriate visa for retirement is processed, not Schengen." They are aware that my husband and I wish to move to Portugal to retire. There process seems backwards from the rest. Good luck and I hope things work out for you!

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I would REALLY appreciate that information. I tried contacting the consulate again, this time telling them how much I actually have in my retirement account, that I could provide dozens of American references, and reminded them I'm sending the current FBI report, hoping they'd waive it for me. I was extremely nice and respectful.

I'll share what he sent back to me, for everyone's information:

You may not apply without a reference. Your reference must be someone who is in Europe, not necessarily in Portugal but not abroad anywhere else who is ready to be interviewed, who can speak about you in at least some limited fashion who can prove they are citizens or legal residents of the EU in order to be qualified as a reference. It is a necessary element regardless if the agents in SEF choose to contact the reference nor not. It is our understanding that they do, and without the reference you would be wasting your time forcing the issue. Lodge an application only if it is complete. If we find something lacking like the reference or FBI, we simply will not process it as it will certainly either prolong the process or simply result in no clearance or altogether be rejected. Our resources are to scarce to process incomplete applications.

Looking forward to hearing from you wilsonworld, and thanks to all of you who have tried to help.

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I would REALLY appreciate that information. I tried contacting the consulate again, this time telling them how much I actually have in my retirement account, that I could provide dozens of American references, and reminded them I'm sending the current FBI report, hoping they'd waive it for me. I was extremely nice and respectful.

I'll share what he sent back to me, for everyone's information:

You may not apply without a reference. Your reference must be someone who is in Europe, not necessarily in Portugal but not abroad anywhere else who is ready to be interviewed, who can speak about you in at least some limited fashion who can prove they are citizens or legal residents of the EU in order to be qualified as a reference. It is a necessary element regardless if the agents in SEF choose to contact the reference nor not. It is our understanding that they do, and without the reference you would be wasting your time forcing the issue. Lodge an application only if it is complete. If we find something lacking like the reference or FBI, we simply will not process it as it will certainly either prolong the process or simply result in no clearance or altogether be rejected. Our resources are to scarce to process incomplete applications.

Looking forward to hearing from you wilsonworld, and thanks to all of you who have tried to help.

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I sent you a PM with the email/references for the folks I mentioned. Hopefully they can be of help.

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Wilsonworld...this is CASH...CAN you send that information to me as well ??

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Good luck and please post how things worked out here. My hubby and I will have to deal with the San Fran consulate in early 2018 if all goes as planned.

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Thanks everyone! The short answer is that if you don't have a person in Europe that you can use, there are several attorneys, realtors and others who will apparently help you for a fee. One attorney offered to write just the one reference letter for $500. Ouch! Ridiculous even by American standards! So shop around or counteroffer but on the West Coast if you're going through the SF Consulate you MUST as of this date, have a reference in the EU.

Thanks again for all of your suggestions and support. We'll get each other through this!

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