Portugal visa refused: the common reasons, what the letter means and how to appeal

Karim applied for a Portugal D2 visa at VFS in Dubai in January 2026. In March, a letter told him the Portuguese authorities intended to refuse it, on three separate grounds.

He had ten working days to answer. He did, and his visa was approved that spring.

That first letter gives you a chance to answer before anything is decided. Online, you’ll also read that you have three weeks to appeal, or 30 days, or that you appeal to AIMA. None of those matches the official rules for a D7, D8 or D2 refusal.

This guide shows you which letter you have, the real deadlines from Portugal’s official sources, how to answer, and when applying again makes more sense than appealing.

This guide covers D7, D8 and D2 national visas decided by a Portuguese consulate. Schengen short-stay visa refusals follow a separate EU system, and AIMA decisions after you arrive, the Golden Visa and student routes follow procedures of their own.

In this guide10 sections

1. Which letter have you got: a notice of intention to refuse, or a final refusal?
2. What did a real answer look like?
3. Who decides your D7, D8 or D2 visa?
4. What are the most common reasons a Portugal visa is refused?
5. How long do you have to answer a notice of intention to refuse?
6. How do you answer a notice of intention to refuse?
7. What can you do after a final refusal?
8. Should you appeal or apply again?
9. Do you get your visa fee back if your visa is refused?
10. Is there an official refusal rate for Portugal visas?

Which letter have you got: a notice of intention to refuse, or a final refusal?

If the letter says the consulate intends to refuse and gives you a few days to reply, you have a notice of intention to refuse. If it says your visa is refused and lists ways to challenge the decision, you have a final refusal.

The difference matters, because each letter has its own deadline and its own next step.

The notice of intention to refuse

People call it a pre-refusal, a refusal proposal or an intent to reject. In Portuguese, it’s a notice of “audiência prévia”, which means a prior hearing.

Portugal’s administrative procedure code gives you the right to be heard before the final decision, and the notice has to tell you what the consulate is likely to decide.^[1] Here’s what that means for you:

• One notice, every reason. The consulate can hold only one prior hearing, and it must set out all the facts and legal reasons behind the likely refusal. A second hearing is only possible if new facts come up that change the decision.
• You can answer on anything. You can comment on the facts or the law, attach documents, and ask the consulate to check something further.
• It’s still open. Nothing is decided yet, so this is your chance to fix the file.

So read the notice as a list of everything you need to answer.

The final refusal

A final refusal is the decision itself. By law, it has to give you the facts and the law behind it, even if only briefly.^[1]

• It can reuse an earlier opinion. The refusal can simply say it agrees with an earlier opinion, such as AIMA’s, and use that as its reasons.
• Vague reasons can be challenged. If the reasons are so vague, contradictory or thin that they don’t explain the decision, the law treats them as no reasons at all. That alone is a ground to challenge it.
• Your options are on the letter. The refusal notice should list the ways you can challenge it and the deadlines.^[2]

What did a real answer look like?

Karim answered all three grounds, and his D2 was approved. You can read Karim’s full D2 story from Dubai.

His notice said:

• His funds weren’t in Portugal. He hadn’t opened a Portuguese bank account.
• His tax and social security position wasn’t clear. The UAE has no personal income tax, so he had no tax returns to show.
• The business plan didn’t convince them.

He called us the next day, and our partner immigration lawyer went through the notice with him a few days later. Then he answered it himself:

• For the funds, he opened a Portuguese bank account.
• For tax and social security, our team arranged his social security non-registration declaration.
• For the business plan, he rewrote it himself.

If a notice arrives, act the same week. The window is short, and some documents take days to come through.

Who decides your D7, D8 or D2 visa?

The Portuguese consulate decides. Before it does, AIMA and a border security unit must give an opinion on every residence visa, and a negative opinion binds the consulate.^[3]

So if AIMA’s opinion is negative, the consulate has to follow it.

If you’re Brazilian or from another Portuguese-speaking (CPLP) country, the AIMA opinion is waived for you.^[3]

Portugal’s immigration law gives the consulate 60 days to decide a residence visa application.^[4]

“Why is my letter so vague?”

It often is. In our partner immigration lawyer’s experience, reasons are often short and generic, things like “not convincing” or “not detailed”, especially for D2 business plans.

In her experience, you usually can’t see the AIMA opinion behind the decision either. That’s frustrating, and there’s no quick fix for it. The practical answer is to treat every ground as a question and answer it in full, even when the wording gives you little to work with.

What are the most common reasons a Portugal visa is refused?

In our partner immigration lawyer’s experience, the reasons that come up most are money that doesn’t meet the rules, accommodation the consulate won’t accept, missing or expired documents, and questions about a criminal record. Some reasons come straight from the law, and others come from what consulates ask for in practice.

Reasons written into Portugal’s immigration law. A residence visa is refused if you:^[3]

• have an entry ban from Portugal, or a Schengen alert from any Schengen country ordering your return with an entry ban;
• can’t show you have enough money to live on;
• don’t have a valid passport or travel insurance;
• are considered a threat to public order, security or public health;
• were convicted of a crime that Portuguese law punishes with more than a year in prison, even if you never served the sentence or it was suspended.

A past illegal entry or stay in Portugal can block a visa too. And the consulate looks at why you want to live in Portugal, so your purpose has to make sense on paper.

On the criminal record rule, what matters is how Portuguese law punishes the offence, whatever sentence you actually got.

You need a criminal record certificate from your country of nationality, or from any country where you’ve lived for more than a year.^[5] If you’ve lived in Portugal, here’s how to get a Portuguese criminal record with an apostille from abroad.

In our partner immigration lawyer’s experience, consulates ask questions whenever there’s any criminal history, even an old case that didn’t end in a conviction. The way to deal with it is a full answer backed by official court documents.

Reasons that come up in practice. These come from what consulates ask for and from our partner immigration lawyer’s experience, and they change with the visa.

If you’re applying for a D7

• Savings presented as income. Savings don’t count as passive income. The D7 visa needs both: in 2026, €920 a month in passive income plus €11,040 in savings for one adult.
• Money in the wrong place or for too short a time. Our guide to how much money you need in your Portuguese bank account, and until when covers the figures and timing.
• Short-term accommodation. In recent files, hotels, Airbnbs, rooms and short lets were refused for the D7 and D2. A lease that isn’t registered with the tax office causes problems too. Plan on a registered 12-month lease, a host’s declaration or a deed if you own. Here’s which accommodation proof works for your Portugal visa.

If you’re applying for a D8

• Income below the threshold. The D8 digital nomad visa needs an average of €3,680 a month in 2026 from work for clients or employers outside Portugal.
• A short let. AIMA has indicated a short let can be enough for the D8, but VFS centres may still refuse it. A registered lease is the safer plan.

If you’re applying for a D2

• Funds outside Portugal. The law asks D2 applicants to show money available in Portugal.^[3] Karim’s first ground was exactly this.
• An unclear tax and social security position. If your file doesn’t show where you stand on tax and social security, the consulate can raise it.
• A business plan that doesn’t convince. This is where the reasons tend to be most generic. Our D2 visa page explains the route, and if you want help with the plan itself, see our D2 business plan service.

If your partner or family applies with you

• An unregistered relationship. In our partner immigration lawyer’s experience, proving a relationship with photos and shared accounts is fragile and often refused. Marriage or a registered partnership is the simpler route.

And for every visa: a missing apostille or documents past their age limit. In recent files, a criminal record certificate older than 90 days or a marriage certificate older than six months caused problems.

If you haven’t applied yet, this is the easiest moment to catch any of these. Our Visa Check-Up costs €530: our partner immigration lawyer reviews your whole dossier, including your family’s documents, before you submit, and sends written feedback by email. An extra review round is €60.

How long do you have to answer a notice of intention to refuse?

You have at least 10 working days, counted from the day after you’re notified.^[1]

Portugal’s administrative procedure code sets the minimum at 10 days and explains how to count them:

• The day you’re notified doesn’t count. Day 1 is the next day.
• Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays don’t count.
• If the last day falls when the office is closed, the deadline moves to its next working day.

One consulate’s own guidance says it plainly: you can send documents and information within 10 working days, replying to the email you received.^[6]

Here’s an example. Say your notice arrives on a Monday. Day 1 is Tuesday. Count only weekdays, skip any public holiday, and day 10 lands on the Monday two weeks later.

The law says “at least” 10 days, so a consulate can give you more. Always use the deadline printed on your letter.

In some cases the consulate can skip the notice altogether, for example when the decision is urgent or you’ve already given your views on the same points. The final decision then has to say why it skipped it.^[1]

How do you answer a notice of intention to refuse?

You answer it in writing, ground by ground, with documents, before the deadline. Here’s how to do it, based on our partner immigration lawyer’s experience:

1. Read every ground. If the letter is in Portuguese, get it translated the same day. List each reason on its own line.
2. Find proof for each ground. Match every reason with documents that answer it.
3. Write a full reply. Answer each ground in the order the letter gives them. A two or three line email isn’t enough.
4. Tell the same true story. Don’t change your story halfway, for example by switching from freelancer to company owner. Karim told the truth and backed it with documents.
5. Send it the way the letter says, often by replying to the consulate’s email. Keep proof of when you sent it.

The consulate can also ask for more documents or call you in at any stage of the process, so keep an eye on your email and phone.^[5]

“I can’t get the documents in 10 days. What now?”

Ask for more time in writing, straight away. Our partner immigration lawyer’s advice is to send the request first, explaining why you need it, for example because court records are coming from abroad.

It’s up to the consulate whether you get more time. So plan as if the original deadline still stands, and don’t let it pass while you wait for an answer.

Want a lawyer to read your letter with you?

Our partner immigration lawyer can go through it with you on a 45-minute call. She’ll tell you what each ground needs.

What can you do after a final refusal?

You can file a complaint with the consulate within 15 working days, appeal to the foreign affairs minister within three months, or take the case to court within three months.^[7]

Route	Where you file	Deadline	€75 fee?
Complaint to the consulate that decided	At the consulate or its visa centre	15 working days	Yes
Appeal to the foreign affairs minister	Lodged at the consulate	3 months	Yes
Court case	Lisbon administrative court	3 months	No

The 15 days follow the same counting rule as the notice, and one embassy states them as working days.^[8] Check the deadline on your letter. The three months for court are calendar months; if they end during court holidays, the deadline moves to the next working day.^[9]

What you need to know before you choose:

• You can combine the routes. They don’t exclude each other, and you can go to court while an appeal is still running.^[7]
• A complaint or appeal filed on time pauses the court deadline. The court clock starts again when you get the answer, or when the time the consulate or ministry has to decide runs out, whichever comes first.^[9]
• A complaint or appeal doesn’t suspend the refusal. While you wait, you have no visa.^[1]
• The €75 has to be paid within the deadline, at the consulate or the visa centre. If you don’t pay it, the complaint or appeal is dropped automatically.^[7][10]
• How you file depends on the consulate. Some posts won’t accept a complaint by email or post, and some want you in person at the visa centre. Read your letter and your consulate’s website.^[8]
• A complaint or appeal can say the decision is unlawful or simply wrong, and you can attach new evidence. In court, you can ask the court to order the consulate to grant the visa.^[9]

Each route takes time. You have no visa while a complaint, an appeal or a court case runs, and no one can promise how it ends.

Is it 30 days or three months?

For a visa refusal, the appeal to the minister has three months. The 30 days you’ll see quoted online apply to a different, mandatory kind of appeal. The visa appeal is optional, and the law gives an optional appeal the same deadline as a court case.^[1]

Should you appeal or apply again?

It depends on why you were refused. Our partner immigration lawyer’s approach:

• If the refusal came from a missing or weak document, applying again with it fixed is usually quicker.
• If you think the consulate got the facts or the law wrong, a complaint or an appeal is the route, because you’re arguing the decision itself.
• If you got a notice of intention to refuse, answer it well first. That’s usually the cheapest and most effective step.

Portugal’s immigration law sets no waiting period before you apply again for a D7, D8 or D2. A new application means a new fee and a new decision, and you normally apply in the country where you live.^[3][5]

Before you reapply, get the gaps checked. The Visa Check-Up works the same way before a second application. If you’d rather our partner immigration lawyer led your whole file, see Novomove Premium at €1,199.

Do you get your visa fee back if your visa is refused?

No. The national visa fee is €110, and it pays for processing your application.^[11]

Portuguese consulates state that the fee isn’t refunded if your visa is refused.^[2][12] Any visa centre service fee is charged separately.

If you challenge the refusal, each complaint or appeal costs another €75.^[10]

Is there an official refusal rate for Portugal visas?

No official refusal rate has been published for the D7, D8 or D2, as far as we can find.

The “Portugal visa rejection rates” you’ll see online come from EU visa statistics, and those count short-stay Schengen visas only. Long-stay visas follow national procedures.^[13]

A rate wouldn’t tell you much about your own file anyway. Your visa depends on whether your documents meet the rules, and that’s something you can check before you apply.

Frequently asked questions

Is a notice of intention to refuse a final refusal?

No. It’s a notice that the consulate is likely to refuse, with the reasons. You can still answer it before the consulate decides, as Karim did with his D2.

Do weekends count in the 10 days?

No. Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays don’t count, and neither does the day you’re notified. Always check the deadline printed on your letter, because it can be longer.

Can I ask for more time to answer?

Yes. Our partner immigration lawyer’s advice is to ask in writing straight away and explain why. It’s up to the consulate whether you get it, so plan to meet the original deadline.

Can I send documents I didn’t include in my application?

Yes. When you answer a notice, you can attach new documents and comment on the facts and the law. That’s the point of the notice.

Do I need a lawyer to answer the notice?

Not necessarily. Karim answered his himself. A lawyer can tell you what each ground needs, which helps when the reasons are vague.

Can I appeal to AIMA?

No. The consulate decides the visa, so a complaint goes to the consulate and an appeal goes to the foreign affairs minister, lodged at the consulate. A court case goes to the Lisbon administrative court.

How much does an appeal cost?

€75 for each complaint or appeal, paid at the consulate or visa centre within the deadline. If you don’t pay, it’s dropped automatically.

Does an appeal stop the refusal?

No. The refusal stands while you appeal, so you have no visa in the meantime. A complaint or appeal filed on time does pause the deadline for going to court.

Can I apply again straight away?

Yes. Portugal’s immigration law sets no waiting period for a new D7, D8 or D2 application. You pay a new fee and get a new decision, so fix the reason first.

Do I get my €110 back?

No. The €110 pays for processing, and consulates state it isn’t refunded on refusal.

What is the D7, D8 or D2 refusal rate?

We couldn’t find an official one. The EU figures you’ll find online cover short-stay Schengen visas only, which says nothing about national visas.

The reasons in my refusal are vague. Is that allowed?

No. A refusal must give the facts and the law behind it. Reasons too vague to explain the decision count legally as no reasons, which is a ground to challenge it.

Sources and how we checked

We read each official source in Portuguese and checked every deadline and fee against it. The article numbers below are for anyone who wants to check the text.

1. Código do Procedimento Administrativo (Decree-Law 4/2015), consolidated text, latest amendment Decree-Law 11/2023: right to a prior hearing and its content (arts. 121 and 122), counting of days (art. 87), cases where the hearing can be skipped (art. 124), duty to give reasons (arts. 152 and 153), administrative appeals, their grounds, effect and deadlines (arts. 184, 185, 189, 191 and 193).
2. Embaixada de Portugal em Brasília, consular section, visas (undated page, mentions a 20 July 2026 change): options listed in the refusal notice; visa fee not refunded on refusal.
3. Lei n.º 23/2007 (Portugal’s immigration law), consolidated text as amended by Lei n.º 62/2026 of 10 September 2026: refusal grounds (art. 52), AIMA’s binding prior opinion and the consulate’s power to refuse (art. 53), CPLP exemption (art. 52-A), purpose and 60-day decision time (art. 58), D2 means available in Portugal (art. 60).
4. MNE visa portal, national visas, “Prazos” (undated page): 60-day decision time for residence visas.
5. Decreto Regulamentar n.º 84/2007 (the immigration law’s regulation), consolidated text, latest amendment Decreto Regulamentar n.º 1/2024: criminal record from nationality country or any country of residence over a year (art. 12), requests for documents and interviews at any stage (art. 13), where to apply (art. 10).
6. Consulado-Geral de Portugal em Luanda, frequently asked questions (undated page): “10 dias úteis” to answer a prior hearing notice; administrative appeals pause the court deadline.
7. MNE visa portal, national visas, “Appeal mechanisms” (undated page; Portuguese version “Mecanismos de impugnação”): the three routes, their deadlines, that they can be combined, and the €75 fee, lapsing if unpaid.
8. Embaixada de Portugal na Índia, New Delhi, visas (undated page): complaint within “15 dias úteis” through the visa centre; no requests by email or post.
9. Código de Processo nos Tribunais Administrativos (Lei 15/2002), consolidated text, latest amendment Decree-Law 164/2026 of 6 August 2026: three-month deadline and how it is counted (arts. 58 and 59), pause while an administrative appeal runs (art. 59), order to grant a refused act (arts. 66 and 67), Lisbon court as the fallback venue (art. 22).
10. Portaria n.º 229/2021, consular fee table, consolidated text, latest amendment Portaria n.º 91/2025/1 of 10 March 2025: €110 national visa fee (art. 15(4)) and €75 per complaint or appeal (art. 15(5)).
11. MNE visa portal, national visas, fees (undated page): €110 processing fee for a national visa.
12. Embaixada de Portugal em Islamabad, consular section, visas (last updated 1 July 2026): fee covers processing only and isn’t refunded on refusal; complaints filed in person at the visa centre.
13. European Commission, Visa policy (current page): stays over 90 days follow national procedures; EU statistics cover short-stay visas only.