# Filling out residency paperwork - question on references



## scalcott (Aug 12, 2015)

Hi!

My husband, son and I are hoping to move to the Algarve region of Portugal. We have sold our house and are filling out our residency paperwork now (We are from California). 

According to the requirements, I have to provide a Reference in Portugal - Preferably Those Who Would Stand as Guarantors. Here is their exact description "We only need one reference who can be your lawyer, power of attorney, landlord, dean of admissions, etc. who are Nationals of the European Community or hold Permanent Residence in Portugal. Have them indicate their name, address, phone number, citizenship - include copy of national ID or residence."

We don't have a landlord because we aren't going to rent a place until we get our Type 1 Visa so we can get there. We are coming out in September to scout a location and meet with real estate agents, but want to get the paperwork moving before then. We don't have an attorney - I didn't think we needed one.

We have all the other pieces - FBI check, criminal registry, proof of health insurance, letter from employer confirming salary (employer is from the US and not providing residency help - but willing to let me live in Portugal). I just need the reference.

Any idea on how we would go about getting this?

Thank you in advance!

Stephanie


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## grammymissy (Jun 21, 2009)

Hi Stephanie, I have now spoken with several who have applied thru the California Portugal embassy, who either used Realtors they contacted here, or a lawyer they were going to use for house or rental agreement, the realtors and lawyer agreed to provide the ID information portion. When we applied, the NJ embassy didn't require references ID information, only contact information, but we did supply a realtor and the contact information for holiday home owners, for holiday homes we had stayed at.


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## highlands1234 (May 25, 2015)

So we are in the same boat and fixing to submit our application to the San Francisco consulate in a few weeks but do not have a reference. But someone on the expat Facebook Portuguese forum told us that a reference was not needed if you meet the proof of financial means (#2 on required documents on the below link). So based on the info provided there we would, so then the article states we wouldn't need a guarantor in Portugal. Just curious if anyone was able to get their visa from the San Francisco consulate without a reference? We are not rushing to buy when we get over there, so not sure a realtor reference is an option. We could try the landlord option, but i imagine it would be hard to explain to a Airbnb landlord why we need their national I.D and obviously no stranger would want to stand in as guarantors. I cant imagine we are the only people that have applied through the San Francisco consulate that doesn't know anyone in Portugal, so maybe i am making this too hard and we don't need a reference (at least that's what i am hoping). 

Expat Exchange - United States Citizens Moving to Portugal: Demystifying the Paper Trail - Moving to Portugal, Porgual Residency Visa


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## grammymissy (Jun 21, 2009)

We found emailing the consulate, and calling a few times too, very helpful with all our questions when applying. Have you contacted them and explained that you do not have a reference with ID? Maybe you won't need one. We applied in NJ, and they asked for 3 references, just names and addresses, and we had that. We are finding that not only the consulates rules are different in the US, but the SEF rules change by areas here, some request more than others when applying here for residency permits.


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