How much does a Portugal visa cost in 2026: consular fee, BLS services, insurance, residence permit

The main thing: what the visa cost consists of at all

The first thing that's important to understand: there's no single "Portugal visa price". The final amount is made up of several independent payments, and each goes to its own recipient. The consular fee goes to the state, the service fee to the BLS visa center, you buy insurance from an insurance company, translations and apostilles from a bureau and notary, and the plastic residence card fee is paid already in Portugal to the AIMA migration service.

So the answer to "how much does the visa cost" depends on which visa you're processing and up to what point you count expenses. You can stop at the consular fee, or you can calculate the whole path - up to the moment you have the resident card in hand.

• The consular fee- a fixed state payment, depends on the visa type (C or D).
• The BLS service fee- payment to the visa center for accepting documents.
• Insurance- a mandatory policy covering medical expenses.
• Translations and legalization- document translation, apostille, notary.
• The residence card fee- paid at AIMA after entering the country.

Below we'll break down each item separately, and at the end gather everything into a single estimate table. We keep a detailed step-by-step breakdown of the procedure itself in our article onhow to get a visa to Portugal.

Visa C or D: why these are two different prices

The main fork in the estimate is the visa type. Both the consular fee and the trip scenario itself depend on it. They're often confused, yet these are two completely different documents.

Category C Schengen visa (short-term)- this is a tourist or business visa for trips of up to 90 days within six months. It doesn't grant the right to live and work in Portugal, and a residence permit can't be processed on it. It's a "come and go" visa.

National category D visa (long-term)- this is an entry visa for long-term stay purposes: work, study, rentier passive income, remote work, family reunification. It's exactly visa D that's the first step toward a residence permit. On it you enter the country, and inside Portugal you process the residence card at AIMA.

The consular fee price difference:

• Visa C (Schengen):for Russian citizens the fee is 90 euros. After the suspension of the visa facilitation agreement, the discounted 35-euro rate for Russians no longer applies.
• Visa D (national):110 euros. This rate was raised from the previous 90 euros in early 2025.

If your goal is relocation and a residence permit, you need exactly visa D. Read about what documents to gather for it in our guide ondocuments for a Portugal visa.

Consular fee: 90 and 110 euros in 2026

The consular fee is a fixed state payment for reviewing the visa application. It doesn't depend on the visa center and is the same in all countries for a given visa type. It's paid for the fact of the review itself, not the issuance: if the visa is refused, the fee isn't refunded.

Current 2026 rates:

An important caveat for Russian citizens: until 2022 a visa facilitation agreement was in effect, under which the Schengen fee was 35 euros. This agreement is suspended, so in 2026 Russians pay the full 90-euro rate for visa C, like most other countries outside the EU. For citizens of other CIS countries, conditions depend on whether similar agreements exist with the EU and are checked separately.

The consular fee is paid for each family member separately. A family of three for visa D will already pay 330 euros in consular fee alone - and that's just the first line of the estimate.

BLS visa center's service fee

You can't file documents directly at the Portuguese consulate in most cases - intake goes through the authorized visa center. For Russians this is BLS International: centers operate in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Kazan, Samara, Nizhny Novgorod, and Novosibirsk.

The visa center charges a separate service fee for its services. This isn't a payment to the state, but to a commercial organization for accepting and processing documents, and it's added to the consular fee. Under EU rules, the service fee in countries where Portugal has no consulate of its own generally shouldn't exceed a certain ceiling, but in practice the final amount per person is made up of several items.

• The base service fee- approximately 40-80 euros per person (the exact figure depends on the center and visa category).
• Additional paid services- SMS notifications, courier passport delivery, form filling, photographing, copying.
• Premium options- a dedicated hall, expedited filing (where available).

It's easy to overpay here: many accompanying services are voluntary, and you can do without them. The basic scenario is to pay only the mandatory service fee, and prepare the form, photos, and copies yourself in advance.

Medical insurance: the mandatory policy

Without a valid medical insurance policy, the visa won't be issued - this is a mandatory condition for both Schengen and the national visa. Coverage requirements are set in EU rules and Portuguese legislation.

Policy parameters:

• Minimum coverage- at least 30,000 euros in medical expenses.
• Coverage area- the entire Schengen area.
• Term- for the entire stay period. For visa C - for the trip dates, for visa D - an annual policy covering the time until the residence card is processed.

The cost depends on the term, age, and risk set. An annual policy for the national visa at Russian insurers starts at around 100 euros for the "economy" rate and reaches several hundred euros in premium options with extended coverage. For a short tourist trip the policy will cost several times less, since it's calculated per day.

The policy can be arranged electronically: it's enough to print it and attach it to the document package. A useful life hack - many insurers issue the policy in English for free, which spares you an unnecessary translation.

Translations, apostille, and notary

This expense item is often underestimated, and it can be significant - especially for visa D, where the document package is bulkier. Some papers (certificates, records, statements) need to be translated into Portuguese or English and legalized if necessary.

What the expenses consist of:

• Document translation.Income certificates, bank statements, birth and marriage certificates, lease agreements - everything the filing requires. The price is calculated per page.
• Apostille.A stamp confirming the authenticity of an official document for use abroad. It's placed on the originals of certain documents (certificates, criminal record checks).
• Notarial certification.Certifying copies and translator's signatures - depending on the requirements for a specific document.

The exact amount depends on how many documents and what volume need to be translated and legalized. For a family with children the package is bigger: children's birth certificates, consents, and so on are added. Realistically budget from several dozen to a couple hundred euros per applicant for this item.

Tip: clarify legalization requirements in advance, so you don't get an apostille on documents that don't need it, and don't overpay for unnecessary translations.

The AIMA residence card fee after entry

This is the item almost everyone forgets when calculating "the visa cost". Visa D is only an entry document. The residence permit itself (the plastic resident card) is processed inside Portugal at the AIMA migration service, which replaced the former SEF agency in 2023. And issuing this card also requires payment.

What's important to know about AIMA rates in 2026:

• The standard residence card- approximately 150-170 euros per person.
• A rate increase.As of March 1, 2026, AIMA raised fees for processing and renewing residence permits - for a number of items the increase reached noticeable amounts, so the current figure should be checked directly.
• Renewal.The fee is paid again when the card is renewed.

For a family, the residence card is paid for each member separately. That is, on top of the visa consular fees, another one-and-a-half to two hundred euros per person will be added on the spot, in Portugal. That's exactly why a estimate must reach this point, not stop at the consular fee. Current rates are published on the official portal ofPortugal's government services (gov.pt).

Full expense estimate: economy and realistic

Let's gather all the items into one table. We'll give two scenarios: "economy" - when you do the maximum yourself and take base rates, and "realistic" - an average case with normal-coverage insurance, translations, and no skimping on small things. The calculation is given for one adult applicant on national visa D with residence card processing.

For a family of three, the realistic estimate multiplies almost linearly and easily exceeds 1500-2000 euros, since the consular fee, insurance, and residence card are paid per person. These are base state and service payments - not counting the cost of housing rental in Portugal, tickets, and income confirmation that the visa itself requires.

Hidden and forgotten expenses

Besides the obvious estimate lines, there are payments people remember at the last moment. They're rarely critical in amount, but together add a noticeable share to the budget and sometimes delay filing.

• Proof of housing.For visa D a residential address in Portugal is needed - a lease agreement or booking. This isn't a fee, but a real expense item without which documents won't be accepted.
• Confirmation of financial funds.Account statements, bank certificates - sometimes with translation and certification.
• Certificate of no criminal record.With apostille and translation, per each adult applicant.
• Biometric-format photos.Per ICAO standard, sometimes retaken at the center itself for a fee.
• Courier delivery and SMS service.BLS's voluntary services that can be declined.
• A trip to the visa center.If there's no center in your city - travel and lodging.

The most common mistake is counting only the consular fee and insurance, and then discovering that half the budget went to translations, apostilles, and logistics. To avoid this, the estimate needs to be drawn up in advance and in full - with all family members and up to the point of getting the residence card.

Specifics for Russians and CIS citizens

For applicants from Russia and CIS countries, nuances are added to the standard estimate related not so much to price as to procedure and compliance.

What to pay attention to:

• The full Schengen rate.For Russian citizens the discounted 35-euro fee no longer applies - the full 90 euros is paid for visa C. For visa D the 110-euro rate is uniform for everyone.
• Enhanced source-of-funds checks.When processing a residence permit, applicants from CIS countries are more often asked for detailed confirmation of the money's origin. This isn't a separate fee, but may require additional certificates, translations, and time.
• Payments in euros.Fees are pegged to euros, so the final ruble amount depends on the exchange rate at payment time.
• Everything strictly within the law.No workaround schemes - a correctly prepared document package and a transparent source of funds save both money and nerves at the review stage.

Otherwise, the estimate calculation order for CIS citizens is the same as described above. The difference is more thorough document preparation, which indirectly affects translation and legalization expenses.

How to legally save on processing

The estimate can be cut without harming the outcome - if you understand which payments are mandatory and which are voluntary. Here are working ways not to overpay.

• Decline BLS's optional services.Filling out the form, photos, copying, SMS - all of this can be done yourself for free.
• Get insurance with a policy in English.Many insurers issue it for free - this saves on translation.
• Don't get unnecessary apostilles.Clarify exactly which documents need legalization before paying for each one.
• Prepare documents in advance.Haste leads to expedited rates and repeat translations due to mistakes.
• Calculate for the whole family at once.This shows where a payment is duplicated per person, and the package can be optimized.

But here's what you can't save on: document correctness and translation quality. A mistake in the package turns into a refusal - and that's a lost consular fee (it's not refunded) and months of waiting for a refiling. A cheap but incorrectly assembled package ends up costing more than a proper one.

An expert's view: where people overpay most often

Over years of practice a clear picture emerges: people overpay not on the consular fee, which is fixed, but on everything around it. Let's break down the typical traps so you can avoid them.

• The visa center's package of voluntary services.A person automatically agrees to SMS, delivery, form filling - and the service fee quietly doubles.
• Excessive legalization.Apostille and notary on documents that didn't need it. Money and time wasted.
• The forgotten AIMA fee.The budget is planned up to the visa, and the Portugal residence card becomes an unpleasant surprise of one-and-a-half to two hundred euros per person.
• Refiling due to mistakes.The most costly item: the non-refundable consular fee plus a new round of translations.

The main principle is to calculate the estimate whole and in advance, up to the point of getting the resident card, for all family members. Then there'll be no surprises, and every euro will go to purpose, not extra services.

We'll help calculate the estimate and process the residence permit turnkey

A visa estimate easily gets out of control on small things: unnecessary translations, an unneeded apostille, overpaying for the visa center's voluntary services, and then a surprise in the form of the AIMA fee already in Portugal. We handle getting a Portugal residence permit turnkey: we select the right visa type for your situation, calculate the precise estimate in advance, prepare documents, and manage the case through to getting the resident card.

Discuss your situation with a BRIDGES GLOBAL consultant- we'll calculate the full cost specifically for your family and tell you where not to overpay.

The price depends on the residence permit type: D7, D8, and others

The consular fee for national visa D itself is the same - 110 euros regardless of subtype. But the total cost of the path to a residence permit differs, because different programmes have different income and document requirements, which affects accompanying expenses.

• D7 (visa for rentiers and retirees).You need to confirm stable passive income - a pension, rent, dividends. Expenses for preparing income documents and translating them are noticeable here. A detailed breakdown is in our article onthe D7 visa to Portugal.
• D8 (the digital nomad visa).For remote workers and freelancers with income around four times the minimum wage. Requires contracts, statements, employment confirmation.
• A work visa.The employer covers part of the expenses, but the applicant arranges translations and insurance themselves.
• A student visa.Its own document set and enrollment confirmation.

That is, the consular fee is a constant, but the volume of translations, notarial actions, and supporting documents depends on the programme. The more complex the income evidence base, the higher the accompanying expenses. We keep a general route overview on our page abouta visa to Portugal.

Bottom line: how much to budget

Let's draw a line. "A Portugal visa for 90 euros" is only the consular fee for short-term Schengen, and it has almost nothing to do with actual relocation. If your goal is a residence permit, aim for the national visa D and calculate the whole path.

A realistic 2026 benchmark for one adult applicant on visa D is around 450-700 euros from filing to getting the residence card, including the 110-euro consular fee, the BLS service fee, insurance, translations with legalization, and the AIMA card fee. For a family, multiply the amount confidently, since most payments go per person separately.

What's worth remembering:

• Don't confuse visa C (90 euros, trips) and visa D (110 euros, the path to a residence permit).
• The consular fee is just part of the estimate; the bulk comes from the service, insurance, and translations.
• The AIMA residence card fee is a mandatory final line item, it can't be forgotten.
• Rates were raised in 2026 - always check current figures before filing.

If you're planning not just relocation but also tax optimization, study in advancePortugal's tax regimes- this will help build the whole strategy, not just get through the visa stage.