Portugal Student Visa for Americans and Britons: Requirements

An American or a Briton who will study in Portugal for more than a year applies at a Portuguese consulate for a residence visa for study, then asks AIMA, the immigration agency, for a residence permit after arriving. A course shorter than a year uses a different visa, the temporary stay visa, described below.

This is one of the routes in our overview of residence routes to Portugal for Americans and Britons. What follows is a reading of the official pages, not legal advice. We read the foreign ministry’s visa portal, AIMA’s study pages, the consolidated Foreigners Law (Lei n.º 23/2007) and the higher-education access directorate (DGES) on 18 October 2026. The latest change they state is Law 62/2026 of 10 September 2026, which the consolidated law lists among the amendments to articles 91 and 92, the articles on student permits.

Do Americans and Britons need a visa to study in Portugal?

Yes, for any study stay longer than 90 days. The ministry’s page “Quem precisa de visto” says a long-stay visa is required of all nationals of third states who intend to stay in Portugal for more than 90 days. Americans and Britons are third-state nationals, so both follow the same rules. Britons covered by the Withdrawal Agreement follow separate rules; see our guide to moving to Portugal as a Briton after Brexit for who that is.

A shorter visit follows the Schengen short-stay rules, counted as explained in our guide to the 90/180 rule. This guide does not say whether a short course may be attended on a short stay, because we did not read a page on that.

Which visa fits your course?

The ministry’s pages on types of visa and on temporary stay documents sort study by level and length. The same levels of study appear under both a residence visa and a temporary stay visa. The key question is whether your stay is a year or longer.

The residence visa is valid for two entries and four months, and during that time the holder must request a residence title from AIMA. The temporary stay visa is valid for the duration of the stay, for multiple entries, and covers stays under one year. Article 52 of the law says a residence visa for study carries the mention “estudante de ensino superior” or “estudante do ensino secundário” in the remarks field of the visa sticker.

The law defines a higher-education student as a third-state national accepted by a higher-education institution to attend, as the main activity, a full-time study program leading to a recognized degree or higher-education title. It can include a preparatory course for such studies. Part-time or purely online study is not described on the pages we read.

What documents does the consulate ask for?

The ministry’s residence documents page lists general documents for every long-stay visa and then documents specific to higher-education students. Requirements are the same for Americans and Britons.

Three exemptions on the same page matter to students. Higher-education students admitted to an officially recognized institution under the law are exempt from health insurance, from proving admission, from travel insurance and from means of subsistence. All scholarship holders, including those with a Camões Institute scholarship, are exempt from proving admission and means. A student who is a national of a third state with Portuguese as an official language is exempt from proving means once admitted.

The law itself words the link to the institution this way: a student admitted to an institution approved by ministerial order, after a favorable opinion from AIMA, is exempt from proving tuition payment and means of subsistence (article 91, paragraphs 5 and 6). The approval lasts five years, and the government member for science and higher education keeps an updated list with AIMA (paragraph 8). We did not find that list on the pages we read, so ask your institution whether it is on it before you decide what to include in your file.

For minors, the page adds that if the child does not travel with both parents, or travels with a third person, a travel authorization from the parent who is not traveling (or from both) is needed, with a recognized signature and legalized, or a court decision, plus copies of the parents’ identity documents.

How much money do you have to show?

The ministry’s page on means of subsistence refers to the guaranteed monthly minimum wage, 920 euros in 2026 (Decree-Law 139/2025 of 29 December), net of social security contributions. It counts 100% for the first adult, 50% for each further adult and 30% for each child under 18 or dependent adult child.

For a residence visa for study or a student exchange program, the page says you must have means of subsistence for 12 months, or for the number of months of your stay if you take part in an exchange program. The amounts may be reduced by half if you prove housing is secured, or by up to 90% if you also prove food is secured. On our arithmetic, 920 euros over 12 months is 11,040 euros for one adult before any such reduction. That is our calculation from the page, not a figure the page states.

What counts as means: article 52 of the law says the authorities consider, on an individual basis, funds from a grant, a scholarship, an employment contract or promise of work, or a responsibility statement signed by the organization running the exchange program. Article 62, paragraph 9, adds that the minimum amount may be waived given the circumstances of the case. Nothing on these pages sets a specific bank-balance rule or says how a US or UK account should be shown, so ask the consulate that will take your file.

How does admission to a Portuguese school work?

The visa follows admission, not the other way around. For a bachelor’s degree or an integrated master’s, DGES describes a special contest for international students. It is run each year by the higher-education institution you want, only for courses the institution decides to open, and it can lead to public or private institutions (not the Open University or military and police schools). The institution sets its own closing date, announced on its website at least three months before the start, and its own required documents.

The contest is for students who are not Portuguese nationals, with, among the exceptions listed on the page (the page also lists people entering through the special access regimes of Decree-Law 64-A/2023, and says students in an exchange-agreement mobility program are not international students): nationals of an EU state or a state party to the EEA agreement, family members of Portuguese, EU or EEA nationals, people who have lived legally in Portugal for more than two years without interruption on 1 January of the year of entry, and people with a treaty-based equal-rights status. Americans and Britons are not on that list of nationals, so they apply as international students unless one of the other exceptions fits their case. They must also hold a qualification that gives access to higher education in the country that issued it, or a Portuguese secondary diploma or equivalent. The status is set out in Decree-Law 36/2014 of 10 March, which the page lists as in force.

DGES describes this contest for undergraduate and integrated master’s programs. For a master’s or doctorate, we did not read a page that gives the admission process, so follow the institution’s own regulation.

What happens after you arrive?

Within the four months of the visa, you request the residence permit from AIMA. AIMA’s page for higher-education students says the request is made by appointment (an electronic platform is being implemented for residence visa holders), in person, with AIMA’s form, at any AIMA shop. Documents:

The permit is valid for three years and renewable for equal periods; if your program is shorter, it is issued for the program’s length. Students in EU or multilateral mobility programs get two years, or the program’s length if shorter, or one year if the conditions of article 62(4) are not met when the permit is granted. AIMA’s fee table (Portaria 307/2023) lists, for the residence permit for study, 133.00 euros to receive and analyze the request and 114.30 euros to grant or renew it in the Portaria’s own column, and 99.80 and 85.80 euros in the column for in-person and digital service. Section XIV says that until the services move to the digital channel, a 25% reduction applies to the fees charged at in-person service. The table also says paying these fees covers the cost of forms and the residence title. The visa itself costs 110 euros at the consulate, with an exemption for holders of scholarships awarded by the Portuguese State and for children up to 6.

Once the permit exists, our first month paperwork guide shows the order of the next steps: the NIF tax number, a bank account, renting a home and registering with the health service.

Can you work while you study?

Yes, within the law’s terms. Article 97, paragraph 1, says holders of a residence permit under the study subsection may work as an employee or independently in addition to the activity that gave rise to the visa. AIMA’s page for higher-education students gives the same reference. The pages we read do not set an hour limit, so we state none.

What if you hold a residence permit from another EU country?

AIMA’s page on student mobility (article 91-A) covers higher-education students who hold a permit from an EU state and are in an EU or multilateral mobility program, or an agreement between higher-education institutions. They may enter and stay for up to 360 days to study part of their course, including working under article 97, if they notify AIMA at least 30 days before the mobility period starts. AIMA’s page lists the documents, which include the other state’s permit marked as higher-education student and a fee of 29.80 euros. Students outside such programs follow articles 52, 62 and 91, as the law says.

What changed recently?

The consolidated Foreigners Law lists Law 62/2026 of 10 September 2026 among the amendments to article 91 (student permits) and article 92 (secondary school and level 4 students), after Decree-Law 41/2023 and Law 18/2022 for article 91, and after Law 102/2017 for article 92. We did not read the amending law, so we cannot say what it changed in these articles. One visible effect of the consolidated text: paragraph 4 of article 91 appears as revoked. AIMA’s page and fee table still refer to the possibility of a permit without a residence visa for a higher-education student who entered legally. Because they disagree, treat the visa as required and check with AIMA if your plan depends on that exception. For secondary school students, paragraph 3 of article 92 still allows a permit without a residence visa if the student entered and stayed legally. If you are weighing work over study, see our guide to the job seeker visa.

Related guides: applying for the national visa from the United States, applying for the national visa from the United Kingdom, settling in during your first year and working in Portugal as an American or a Briton.

Official pages read for this guide, all on 18 October 2026: the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ national visa pages (who needs a visa, types of visa, residence documents, temporary stay documents, means of subsistence, deadlines, fees), the consolidated Foreigners Law (articles 52, 62, 77, 91, 91-A, 92 and 97, last amendment 10 September 2026), AIMA’s pages on the residence permit for higher-education students, secondary school students and student mobility, AIMA’s fee table, and DGES’s page on the special contest for international students.