Sponsoring a Visitor to Portugal (Termo de Responsabilidade)

Last verified: October 2026.

Who this is for

• Residents of Portugal inviting a parent, partner, or friend from outside the EU for a short visit.
• Portuguese citizens hosting a visitor who needs a Schengen visa for Portugal.
• Hosts whose visitor needs no visa but may face questions at the border.

Not for you if: your relative wants to move here and live with you. Read "Applying for Family Reunification in Portugal".

A termo de responsabilidade is a signed form in which you take responsibility for a visitor from outside the EU. Anyone living legally in Portugal can sign one. It can stand in for the money a visitor must otherwise show: €75 for each entry plus €40 for each day of the stay. You fill in the form, have your signature certified, and give the original to your visitor. A consulate normally decides a visa within 15 days.

Who can sign it

The law lets two groups sign a termo:

• Portuguese citizens;
• foreign nationals who are allowed to stay legally in Portugal, such as residence card holders.

You must also prove that you can afford it. The law makes your financial capacity a condition, so the authorities can refuse a termo from someone who cannot show it. The pages we checked do not list set papers for this, so ask the consulate or visa centre what it wants.

If you are not Portuguese, you also prove your own legal status in Portugal, for example with a copy of your residence card. If the visitor is a relative, the consulate asks for proof of the family link. It may also ask for proof of your housing conditions.

What you are promising

This is the part to read twice. By signing, you commit to two things that the law makes compulsory:

1. The conditions of the stay. You make sure your visitor has somewhere to live and the means to stay here.
2. The cost of removal. If your visitor stays on illegally and is removed from Portugal, you repay the cost.

The second promise has teeth. The law makes the signed termo directly enforceable for removal costs. In plain terms, the state can move to recover that money from you without first winning a court case against you. AIMA, the immigration agency, keeps a register of every termo it receives.

The consulate's form lets you choose how much you cover. You can tick that you pay only for accommodation and repatriation, or that you also pay all other costs of the stay. AIMA's form adds a third promise: that your visitor will respect Portuguese law.

Which form to use

There are two official models. Use the one that matches where it is going.

• For a visa application at a Portuguese consulate: the Foreign Ministry's model, published on its visa website. The consulate needs the original, with your signature certified. If your visitor applies to Portugal on behalf of another Schengen country, use that country's own model instead. The same page links to each one.
• For a matter handled by AIMA in Portugal: AIMA's own model, called Modelo 4. It is on AIMA's forms page.

The consulate's model asks for your details, your visitor's details, the dates you host them, the address where they will stay, and the purpose of the visit. A box for any family link is optional.

How to sign it, step by step

1. Download the right model from the Foreign Ministry or AIMA website.
2. Fill it in with your identity document, your address, and your visitor's passport details and dates.
3. Have your signature certified. AIMA accepts a signature certified by a notary, a lawyer, or a solicitor (solicitador). For Modelo 4 you can instead sign in person in front of AIMA staff. Ask the certifier for the price first.
4. Add your supporting papers: a copy of your residence card or Citizen Card, proof of any family link, and proof that you can pay.
5. Send the original to your visitor, who hands it in with the visa application.

Your details go into the EU's Visa Information System with the application. They can be kept there for up to five years and seen by other Schengen countries.

What your visitor still needs

The termo does not replace the rest of the visa file. A visitor applying for a Schengen visa at a Portuguese consulate also brings:

• the application form, signed, and a passport photo;
• a passport valid for at least three months after the planned departure;
• a booking for the return journey;
• travel medical insurance with cover of at least €30,000;
• proof of their job and salary, and their last three bank statements;
• proof of the family link, if they are visiting a relative.

The visa fee is €90, or €45 for children aged 6 to 11. Children under 6 pay nothing. Your visitor can apply up to six months ahead, and as a rule at least 15 days before the trip. The consulate decides within 15 days, which can stretch to 45 days in some cases.

Visitors from countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Brazil, and Canada do not need a Schengen visa. Even so, a border officer can ask any visitor to show money for the stay, where they will sleep, or a termo. The Foreign Ministry advises carrying copies of these papers on the trip.

Once your visitor arrives

If they did not pass a border check. A visitor who flies in from another Schengen country, or drives over from Spain, may enter with no passport control. In that case they must declare their entry to the police within three working days. This does not apply if they go straight to a hotel or other paid lodging, because those places register foreign guests themselves. A guest staying free in your home is not covered by that, so your visitor makes the declaration.

If they want to stay longer. Your visitor can ask AIMA to extend their stay. AIMA's extension form asks for a valid passport, proof of means, proof of accommodation, a return ticket, and health insurance.

If they overstay. Removal costs fall back on you, under the promise you signed. Make sure your visitor knows the date they must leave.

This guide is general information, not legal advice.

Sources

This guide is written from official sources and, where relevant, organisations' own websites.

• Procuradoria-Geral Regional de Lisboa, Lei n.º 23/2007, de 4 de julho, articles 11 (means of subsistence), 12 (termo de responsabilidade: who may sign, proof of financial capacity, the two compulsory commitments, enforceable title, AIMA model and register), 13 (border may ask for proof of the purpose and conditions of the stay), 14 (entry declaration within three working days and its exceptions) and 16 (paid lodging reports foreign guests), consolidated text as amended by Lei n.º 62/2026 (Portuguese only)
• Ministério dos Negócios Estrangeiros, Vistos Schengen, Meios de subsistência (€75 per entry and €40 per day; termo as the alternative) (Portuguese)
• Ministério dos Negócios Estrangeiros, Vistos Schengen, Schengen para efeitos de curta duração (documents for a visa application; proof of kinship and housing; legal status of a non-Portuguese signatory) (Portuguese)
• Ministério dos Negócios Estrangeiros, Termo de responsabilidade, Schengen visa model (choice of costs covered, original with certified signature, data kept in the VIS for up to five years) (Portuguese, English and French)
• Ministério dos Negócios Estrangeiros, Modelos (which termo to use for Portugal and for countries Portugal represents) (Portuguese)
• Ministério dos Negócios Estrangeiros, Vistos Schengen, Tipo de visto (border checks may ask for means, accommodation or a termo; carry copies) (Portuguese)
• Ministério dos Negócios Estrangeiros, Vistos Schengen, Emolumentos (€90 general fee, €45 for ages 6 to 11, under 6 exempt) (Portuguese)
• Ministério dos Negócios Estrangeiros, Vistos Schengen, Prazos (apply up to six months ahead and at least 15 days before; decision in 15 days, up to 45) (Portuguese)
• Ministério dos Negócios Estrangeiros, Vistos Schengen, Seguro médico de viagem (minimum cover €30,000) (Portuguese)
• Ministério dos Negócios Estrangeiros, Vistos Schengen, Quem precisa de visto (list of visa-exempt nationalities) (Portuguese)
• AIMA, Impressos e Minutas (Modelo 4 signature certified by a notary, lawyer or solicitor unless signed in front of AIMA staff) (Portuguese)
• AIMA, Modelo 4, Termo de Responsabilidade (the three commitments, certified signature, enforceable title) (Portuguese, English and French)
• AIMA, Modelo 3, extension of stay on a Schengen visa (documents: passport, means, accommodation, return ticket, health insurance) (Portuguese)

Last verified October 2026. Rules and fees change; check the official source before acting.