Portugal Highly Qualified Activity (HQA) Residency Visa
The Portugal HQA Visa is an Investor-Entrepreneur, business class residency visa designed to fast-track highly qualified professionals to Portugal. The HQA Visa permits priority entry to highly qualified professionals who wish to start business/ startup ventures and invest in Research & Development (R&D) activities. The HQA Program partners invite highly qualified professionals to become the founder of their own new Portuguese business.
The professionals must satisfy the eligibility criteria and other essential requirements to obtain the HQA Visa. This Visa is valid for the duration of three years during which the applicant will hold a Residence Permit. The permit can be renewed for applying for permanent citizenship if the applicant meets all the criteria. There are no business performance requirements for applying for permanent citizenship. The HQA Portugal Visa was introduced in 2019, and the two main components of the Visa are business formation in Portugal and investment in R&D activities.
Suitability for Portugal HQA Visa
The Portugal HQA Visa is suitable for entrepreneurs, investors, businesspersons, startup founders, and senior professionals who would like to start a venture in Portugal as well as invest in R&D activities through their ventures or through Portuguese institutes.
Requirement of the HQA Visa Law
The HQA Visa law requires the applicants to provide one of the following;
- An invitation letter issued by a research centre; or
- An invitation letter issued by a higher education institution or professional training institution; or
- Statement of responsibility provided by a certified company as stipulated by law; or
- An invitation letter issued by a company or institute developing a relevant cultural activity in the Portuguese territory, recognised by the government agency responsible for cultural activities, or as stipulated by the law.
How Does the HQA Program Works?
The HQA Program works in the following steps:
- The applicant enters a service agreement with the business incubator.
- The applicant must transfer €175,000 incubator fee to an escrow account. There are no extra or ongoing fees.
- The applicant works on their research project/ R&D project with a Portuguese university.
- The applicant receives endorsement from the partnered university which helps them meet the required criteria for the Portugal HQA Visa.
- After the applicant’s visa is approved, their three-year business incubation process begins. The applicant’s visa is renewable after 24 months with no additional or renewal costs.
Documents Required for Applying for the Portugal HQA Visa
HQA visas are priority permits. According to Portuguese legislation decisions, HQA visas must be issued within 30 days.
HQA business incubator Empowered Startups Portugal coordinates with its partner R&D institutions in Portugal to provide the official documents required for applicants to secure an HQA visa.
Required General Documents for HQA Visa
- Official application form, which is available online
- Passport or additional travel document valid for 3 months after the duration of the stay;
- Two passport photos, up-to-date and with enough quality to identify the applicant;
- Valid travel insurance
- Proof of being in a regular situation when from a different nationality than that of the country where the visa is being applied for;
- Request for criminal record enquiry by the Immigration and Border Services;
- Criminal record certificate from the country of origin or the country where the applicant has been residing for over a year
- Proof of accommodation;
- Proof of means of subsistence as stipulated by law;
- Proof of subsistence means can be made through a statement of responsibility, signed by a Portuguese national or a foreign national legally resident in Portugal.
Required Specific Documents Related to the Purpose of the Stay
- Work contract, work promise or service provider contract; or,
- An invitation letter issued by a higher education institution or professional training institution; or,
- Statement of responsibility provided by a certified company as stipulated by law; or,
- An invitation letter issued by a company or institute developing a relevant cultural activity in the Portuguese territory, recognised by the government agency responsible for cultural activities, or as stipulated by law; or,
- An invitation letter issued by a research centre;
- To determine means of subsistence: means obtained through a work contract or work contract promise should be considered. Proof of means of subsistence can be made through a statement of responsibility signed by the workers hosting entity.
Required Documents from Subordinate Worker
- Valid work contract or work promise, for a minimum period of one year and for a salary of 1.5 times the annual gross salary, or three times the indexed value for social welfare support;
- Professional certificate, when required, for regulated highly qualified professions, as stipulated by law or specific legislation referring to the recognition of professional qualifications necessary for the profession mentioned on the work contract or work promise;
- A professional certificate, in the case of unregulated professions, is adequate for the referred field of work or sector stipulated in the work contract or the work promise.
- To determine means of subsistence: means obtained through a work contract or work contract promise should be taken into consideration.
- Proof of means of subsistence can be made through a statement of responsibility signed by the workers hosting entity.
Renewal #1 of HQA Visa – Based on R&D Project
The application for the renewing of a residence permit shall be made online. The general documents required for the renewal are:
- Two recent, identical photographs, in colour with a blank background, and easily identifiable
- Residence Title valid or expired in the previous 6 months
- Passport or any other valid travel document
- Evidence of sufficient means of subsistence
- Evidence that the applicant has adequate accommodation
- Permission for SEF to check Portuguese criminal record (except for under 16 years old)
- Document proving the applicant’s tax situation
- Evidence of the regular situation within social security
The specific documents required for the renewal are:
- Contract for services; or
- Declaration of the research centre, teaching or vocational training institution or other public or private entity, namely companies, confirming the continuity of services rendered
The specific documents required from the subordinate worker for the renewal are:
- An employment contract of at least one year’s duration, corresponding to an annual remuneration of at least 1.5 times the national average gross annual salary
- Declaration of the research centre, teaching or vocational training institution or other public or private entity, namely companies, confirming the continuity of services rendered
Renewal #2 of HQA Visa – Based on Business Continuation
The application for the renewing of a residence permit shall be made online. The general documents required for the renewal are:
- Two recent, identical photographs, in colour with a blank background, and easily identifiable
- Residence Title valid, or expired in the previous 6 months
- Passport or any other valid travel document
- Evidence of sufficient means of subsistence
- Evidence that the applicant has adequate accommodation
- Permission for SEF to check Portuguese criminal record
- Document proving the regularized applicant’s tax situation
- Evidence of the regular situation within social security
Documents required from employed workers are:
- A declaration issued by the employer confirming the existence of an employment relationship or new labour contract
- Concerning self-employed workers: Income statement Service rendering contract or signed form for checking the Income Tax Declaration with the Inland Revenue Authorities, to produce evidence of the business continuation
Decision on Portugal HQA Visa
After successfully applying for the Visa and submitting the documents, by law, the HQA Visa decision is issued by Portuguese authorities within 30 days of receiving the application. The HQA Residency Permits are issued within 60 days.
Duration of the Portugal HQA Visa
The duration of the Portugal HQA Visa is three years which is the business incubation period. Applicants may apply for a visa renewal within the first 24 months with no additional renewal costs. The residency permits of the applicants can be extended for a total of five consecutive years. Those who wish to apply for permanent citizenship can do so if they meet the requirements. There are no business performance requirements or additional investments to be made for permanent citizenship.
What Can Be Done with a Portugal HQA Visa?
After obtaining the Portugal HQA Visa, the visa holder starts their three-year business incubation process. They also continue investing and providing R&D resources to startup ventures and institutions. Applicants can apply for renewal and subsequently for permanent citizenship.
We offer an outcome-based pricing and are very confident that we can get the result you desire, however in the event of no residency visa, we will provide a full refund (100%).
DISCLAIMER: The information on this page is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for the advice of a qualified legal or immigration expert. If you require any specific legal or immigration advice, you can seek the service by filling in the contact us form here. All rights reserved.