Legal Counsel for Brazilians and Other Foreign Nationals in Portugal

In short: we assist anyone with a legal matter between Brazil and Portugal, wherever they are.

• People still in Brazil who want to apply for Portuguese citizenship or a visa, or plan the move.
• People already living in Portugal who need a residence permit, need to sort out documents or deal with assets left in Brazil.
• Families with assets in both countries who want to organise their estate.
• Foreign nationals of other countries, for example from the United States, Israel or Portuguese-speaking countries, who want to live or invest in Portugal. See other countries.

Everything can be done remotely: the first meeting is by video call and documents can be sent digitally.

In short: Portuguese law provides several routes to citizenship, and each has its own requirements.

Among the most common routes are those for children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren of Portuguese citizens, for people married to or in a stable union with a Portuguese citizen for more than 3 years, and for legal residence in Portugal, which is now 7 years for Brazilians and 10 years for other foreign nationals, under Organic Law No. 1/2026.

We assess which route applies to your case, search for and gather the documents and follow the application through to registration. See Portuguese citizenship and the step-by-step guide.

In short: to live in Portugal, anyone who is not an EU citizen needs a visa and then a residence permit.

The visa is requested from the Portuguese consulate in the country where the person lives. There are visas for work, study, retirees and people with their own income (D7), remote work (D8), among others. Once in Portugal, the residence permit is granted by AIMA (the Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum).

The Golden Visa is the residence permit for investment. Since Law No. 56/2023, buying property no longer qualifies; other options remain available, such as investment funds and job creation.

See visas for Portugal, the residence permit and the Golden Visa.

In short: when there are assets in Brazil and in Portugal, the estate is usually dealt with in both countries, and it pays to plan during your lifetime.

Real estate located in Brazil is divided in Brazil (art. 23 of the Brazilian Code of Civil Procedure). Assets in Portugal follow Portuguese procedures, such as the declaration of heirs and the estate division. We coordinate both sides so that decisions taken in one country do not contradict those in the other.

During your lifetime, wills, gifts and the marital property regime can be planned together, always respecting the share of the estate that the law reserves for forced heirs. See international succession, succession planning and probate and estate division.

In short: a court decision from one country only takes effect in the other once it has been recognised.

A divorce granted in Brazil, for example, must go through review of the foreign judgment to be valid in Portugal. The other way round, a Portuguese decision needs recognition by the Superior Court of Justice to be valid in Brazil.

We also handle divorce, stable unions, marriage and property regimes, child custody and child support between the two countries.

In short: many everyday steps in Portugal depend on documents and records being done properly.

• NIF, the Portuguese tax number, needed for almost everything in the country.
• Setting up a company, contracts, buying and selling property and renting.
• Apostille and translation, powers of attorney, transcriptions and correction of records.
• Recognition of degrees and practising law in Portugal.

When an application has been stalled for a long time, we consider legal action against AIMA.

In short: first we understand the case, then we explain the route in writing and follow each stage.

1. Case review: we determine which route applies and which documents already exist.
2. Proposal and documents: we send a written quote and the list of certificates, with record searches when needed.
3. Application and follow-up: we file the application with the competent authority and keep you informed of its progress.

The firm has offices in São Paulo and Albufeira and works with integrated offices in Lisbon and Porto. Meet the team.