# 6 Month Lease Requirement?



## leavnga (Mar 2, 2017)

Hello all,

My family is getting ready to apply for the residency visa from the US. How were you able to meet the accommodation requirement for the residency visa? Is air bnb still an option or do they expect a prepaid lease? Seems risky to fly to Portugal and get a lease before your visa is approved. What happens to your lease money if your visa is denied? Hoping that @cruizes or anyone else would chime in with an answer. Thanks in advance for your help!


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## JohnBoy (Oct 25, 2009)

leavnga said:


> Hello all,
> 
> My family is getting ready to apply for the residency visa from the US. How were you able to meet the accommodation requirement for the residency visa? Is air bnb still an option or do they expect a prepaid lease? Seems risky to fly to Portugal and get a lease before your visa is approved. What happens to your lease money if your visa is denied? Hoping that @cruizes or anyone else would chime in with an answer. Thanks in advance for your help!


I know of one US couple who arrived with nothing more than an Airbnb rental in place.


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## leavnga (Mar 2, 2017)

Thanks for responding? Did they apply after the rule change last July? Do you know if they did air bnb for 6 months?


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## dancebert (Jun 4, 2015)

You on Facebook? Go to the 'Americans & FriendsPT' group. Search on 'airbnb' and/or 'lease'. If the reports are to be believed, SEF has backed off a 6-month lease being one of the requirements to apply for a visa.


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## JohnBoy (Oct 25, 2009)

leavnga said:


> Thanks for responding? Did they apply after the rule change last July? Do you know if they did air bnb for 6 months?


Sorry, I was not aware of the rule change. They came over four years ago and I think they had a 3 month lease, but I will check for you.


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## leavnga (Mar 2, 2017)

JohnBoy said:


> Sorry, I was not aware of the rule change. They came over four years ago and I think they had a 3 month lease, but I will check for you.


I received an email response from Dina Silva at the D.C. embassy regarding this issue and she said "As long as it is a long rental period (airbnb) it should be fine." So I guess if you string together airbnb reservations for 6 months you're in the clear.


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## JohnBoy (Oct 25, 2009)

leavnga said:


> I received an email response from Dina Silva at the D.C. embassy regarding this issue and she said "As long as it is a long rental period (airbnb) it should be fine." So I guess if you string together airbnb reservations for 6 months you're in the clear.


From what dancebert says, the six month lease is no longer a requirement. For what it is worth, I will copy the reply from my friends here, but I must stress they left the US in April 2014:

"Regarding American visas and housing requirements, unfortunately they vary according to the section of the country you live in. We were dealing with the San Francisco consulate, who is one of the strictest now. At the time, we rented an Airbnb for just a month. After that the rules changed (but only in the San Francisco district), and Airbnb rentals are no longer accepted for residency visa applications. It's made things quite difficult for others coming from our area because they either need family or friends here or they have to fly over to rent an apartment before applying."

I would go with whatever your local consular office is saying.


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