Work out whether Portugal is the right country.
This is genuinely first, and it is where files most often go wrong. See the main destination section below.
Portugal Visa from the UK: The Complete Guide for Non-UK Nationals
If you live in Britain on a visa or with settled status and you are travelling to Portugal, this is what the application asks for, what it costs, where you go, and what most commonly goes wrong.
Written and kept current by an independent Schengen visa consultant in the UK. It is the same advice we give a client before a Portugal application is prepared.
Had a Schengen visa refused before? That changes what your file needs. See our refusal reapplication FAQ below, or read what to do after a refusal.
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Independent consultancy. Not affiliated with any government, embassy, consulate or VFS Global, who are Portugal’s appointed visa processor in the UK. Official fees are paid directly to the relevant authority.
Flypass Holidays is a private consultancy, not a government body.
Who this is for
Do you actually need a Portuguese visa?
If you hold a British passport, no. You can travel to Portugal and the rest of the Schengen area for up to 90 days in any 180-day period without a visa. This page is not for you. Once ETIAS starts, you will need an ETIAS travel authorisation, which is applied for online and is not a visa.
If you are a non-UK national living in Britain, it depends on your passport, not your UK status. If your nationality requires a Schengen visa, you need one, and indefinite leave to remain, a work visa, a student visa or an eVisa does not exempt you.
What your UK status does decide is where you apply. Because you live here, you apply from here.
The rest of this page is for that second group.
Three separate costs
What a Portugal visa costs from the UK
The official Schengen visa fee is EUR 90 for an adult and EUR 45 for a child aged six to eleven. Children under six are free. The fee is set by the European Union, is identical for every Schengen country, and is not refunded if your application is refused.
| What it is | Who you pay | How much |
|---|---|---|
| Official Schengen visa fee | The consulate, via VFS, at your appointment | EUR 90 adult · EUR 45 child aged six to eleven · free under six |
| VFS Global service fee | VFS Global, in advance, before your appointment | Set and published by VFS Global; check their current figure when you book |
| Our consultancy fee, if you use us | Flypass Holidays | From £95, confirmed in writing before any work begins |
Optional extras such as courier return or premium lounges are sold at the centre and are not required. Decline them if you do not want them.
We never collect, handle or forward official fees.
The VFS route
How a Portuguese application works
Portugal handles UK applications through VFS Global, the official partner of the Embassy of Portugal, which runs Portuguese visa application centres in London, Manchester and Edinburgh. VFS is not the decision maker. They collect your file and your biometrics and pass them to the Portuguese consulate, which decides.
Complete the application form and gather your documents.
VFS publishes the Portuguese checklist for UK applicants. Use that one, not a generic Schengen list, and read the notes on stays with family or friends.
Book through the VFS portal and attend in person.
VFS says appointments can only be booked through its online booking portal. You give fingerprints and a photograph and hand over your file. Nobody can attend in your place.
The consulate decides.
VFS returns your passport by collection or courier once the decision is made.
You may apply up to six months before you travel and no later than 15 days before it. Applying early is the most useful thing you can do and it costs nothing.
VFS Global’s Portuguese centres open Monday to Friday mornings: London 08:30 to 13:00, Manchester and Edinburgh 08:30 to 12:00. Use the checklist for the centre you will actually attend, not a generic list from elsewhere.
Four attention points
What a Portuguese application asks for
The core Schengen document set applies: a valid passport, the completed application form, a compliant photograph, travel medical insurance with at least EUR 30,000 of cover, proof of your UK residence status, financial evidence, and evidence of your travel plans.
Four things deserve particular attention on Portuguese files.
Staying with family or friends needs the host’s declaration of responsibility.
Portugal expects a signed declaration of responsibility from your host, the termo de responsabilidade, with a copy of their identity document, covering the nights you are with them. Hotel bookings cover the rest.
Madeira and the Azores count, and so do the flights between.
Both are part of Portugal and of the Schengen area. If your trip includes an island, the itinerary needs the domestic flights and the accommodation there, not just the Lisbon leg.
Proof of UK status now usually means an eVisa share code.
Your permission to live in the UK should run comfortably beyond your return date. Most people now generate a share code rather than presenting a card.
Appointments only through the VFS portal, and mornings only.
The centres open Monday to Friday mornings and VFS says bookings are made only on its online portal. Anyone offering to book you a slot another way is describing something that does not exist.
The main destination rule
Applying to Portugal when your trip covers more than one country
Apply to Portugal only if Portugal is your main destination, meaning usually the country where you will spend the most nights. If you will spend more nights in Spain or France, your application must go to that country’s consulate instead, even if you fly into Lisbon or Porto first. Where nights are split equally between two countries, the main purpose of the trip decides, and failing that, it goes to the one you will enter first.
This catches people out constantly, because Lisbon is a common first stop on a wider Iberian trip. A fortnight split between Portugal and Spain is a Spanish application if Spain has more nights, whatever the flights say.
Apply to the wrong consulate and your file is sent back unexamined. The visa fee is refunded, but the appointment, the visa centre’s service fee and the time are lost, and in a busy season that can cost you the trip.
Count your nights before you do anything else.
Flypass Holidays is a private consultancy, not a government body.
A separate route
If you are the family member of an EU citizen
There is a separate route for spouses and family members of EU or EEA citizens, and it is not the same application. The requirements differ, and in many cases the visa fee does not apply at all.
If you are married to or the close family member of an EU or EEA national and you are travelling with them or to join them in Portugal, check this route before you start a standard tourist application, because the evidence you need is different from the beginning.
We prepare EU family member applications as one of our standard services, so if this is your situation, say so in your first message and the file is built on the correct basis from the start.
Casework patterns
Where Portuguese applications run into trouble
Most refusals are not caused by a missing form. They are caused by a file that does not hold together.
Financial evidence that does not support the trip.
Not whether you have money, but whether the trip you have described fits the financial picture your statements show. A large unexplained deposit shortly before applying invites more questions than a modest balance does.
Nights with friends or family left uncovered.
Covered above. Without the host’s declaration and identity document, those nights read as unaccounted for.
A stated purpose that the documents do not match.
If your letter says tourism and your itinerary is a week of meetings, the file contradicts itself.
The wrong consulate.
Covered above.
A previous refusal that has not been addressed.
Refusals are recorded and visible to every Schengen consulate. The notice states the grounds, and those grounds tell you what has to be answered rather than repeated.
Applying too late.
Appointment availability, not the decision itself, is usually the binding constraint. We set out the full picture on our Schengen visa processing time page.
Honest service
How we can help, and what we cannot do
What we cannot do. We cannot issue a visa, influence a decision, or obtain or accelerate an appointment. Anyone who tells you otherwise is describing something they do not control.
What we help with.
- The right consulate. We confirm Portugal is the correct country for your trip before you spend anything.
- Appointment strategy. Which centre your address falls under, when to apply within the windows, and what to have ready. The booking itself is yours to make.
- Your document set. Built around your actual status in the UK and checked against the current VFS checklist for your centre.
- Cover letter and itinerary. We draft your cover letter and itinerary so they reconcile with your bookings.
- Your finances. We read your statements the way a consular officer will and tell you what needs explaining before you apply.
- Employer letter and insurance. What your employer’s letter must say, and the cover Portugal requires.
- The final audit. Line by line before you attend, because catching a problem then costs an afternoon and catching it afterwards can cost the trip.
This is what we prepare.
Abdul Mateen, who founded the practice, reads the cases himself. Our fee starts from £95, confirmed in writing before any work begins.
And when you do not need us, we say so. If your case is straightforward, your finances are settled and you have time in hand, applying on your own works and plenty of people do it.
What travellers say
Reviews from people who sat where you are sitting
Read genuine, unedited client reviews on Trustpilot.
- August 2026
Emmanuel Lawal
Great customer service and explains every process clearly.
Review on Trustpilot - August 2026
Louie
Good customer service and with a well detailed information given each step of the way.
Review on Trustpilot - July 2026
Collin Moore
A great help in explaining the process and guiding us through all the required documents
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Frequently asked questions
Portugal visa questions, answered plainly
Official references: EU Home Affairs, Schengen visa policy · VFS Global, Portugal in the UK · Companies House, Flypass Holidays Limited
No. Flypass Holidays Limited is a private consultancy registered in England and Wales, company number 16891200. We are not affiliated with any government, embassy or consulate, nor with VFS Global, TLScontact, BLS International or Global Visa Center World. We cannot issue a visa and we cannot influence a decision.
If you hold a British passport, no, not for stays up to 90 days in any 180-day period. Once ETIAS starts, you will need an ETIAS travel authorisation, which is applied for online and is not a visa. If you are a non-UK national living in Britain, whether you need a Schengen visa depends on your nationality, not on your UK status.
No. Your UK eVisa proves your right to live in Britain. It is not a Schengen visa and it does not permit entry to Portugal. If your nationality requires a Schengen visa you need one regardless of your UK status. You will usually prove your UK status with an eVisa share code rather than a card.
Yes, if your passport requires one. Indefinite leave to remain is UK immigration status and it does not change what the Schengen area asks of your nationality. It does strengthen your application, because it is strong evidence that you will return.
The official Schengen visa fee is EUR 90 for an adult and EUR 45 for a child aged six to eleven, free under six. VFS Global charges its own service fee, paid in advance, before your appointment, and optional extras such as courier return are sold separately and are not required. If you use a consultancy that is a third and separate cost. Ours starts from £95.
Through VFS Global, the official partner of the Embassy of Portugal in the UK, which runs Portuguese visa application centres in London, Manchester and Edinburgh. Appointments are booked only through the VFS online portal. You attend in person to give your fingerprints and photograph. VFS collects the file; the Portuguese consulate makes the decision.
Only if Portugal is your main destination, meaning usually where you will spend the most nights. If more nights fall in Spain or France, the application goes there instead, even if you fly into Portugal first. Where nights are equal, the main purpose of the trip decides, and failing that, it goes to your first point of entry.
A signed declaration of responsibility from your host, known as the termo de responsabilidade, with a copy of their identity document, covering the nights you are with them. Hotel bookings cover the rest.
They are part of Portugal and of the Schengen area, so the same visa covers them. Your itinerary should show the domestic flights and the accommodation on the island, not just the mainland leg.
Monday to Friday mornings. London 08:30 to 13:00, Manchester and Edinburgh 08:30 to 12:00. Appointments are booked only through the VFS online portal.
The consulate’s decision follows the standard Schengen timeframe, and the appointment you attend beforehand is usually the longer wait. We set out the full timeline on our Schengen visa processing time page.
Yes. You need cover valid across the Schengen area for the whole of your stay, with a minimum of EUR 30,000. It is checked when you submit.
Yes. A previous refusal makes preparation more important, not less. The refusal notice states the grounds. We read those grounds, work out what was doubted, and rebuild the application to answer it rather than resubmitting the same file.
No, and no honest agency can. Decisions are made solely by the Portuguese consulate. What we control is the quality of what reaches them.
Flypass Holidays is a private consultancy, not a government body.
Ready when you are.
Tell us where in Portugal you are going and when. You will get a straight answer the same working day about whether Portugal is the right country to apply to, whether your timeline works, and whether your case needs us at all.
Flypass Holidays Limited · 50 Princes Street, Ipswich, Suffolk IP1 1RJ · info@flypassholidays.co.uk