VisaStudents moving to Portugal for an exchange must check the advance notification process
Current-rule guide to qualifying student mobility, university documents and conflicting official fee guidance before a temporary study period in Portugal.
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Confirm that the planned stay is part of an existing degree
Portugal's higher-education authority, DGES, distinguishes partial mobility from moving to Portugal to complete an entire degree. This current-rule guide concerns non-EU students taking part of an existing programme in Portugal while holding a qualifying student residence permit from another EU member state. Start with the receiving institution's international office to establish which academic agreement supports the visit.
DGES directs partial-mobility applicants to the Portuguese institution rather than treating them as ordinary applicants for a complete first degree. Its separate discussion of full-degree admission includes recognition of prior academic qualifications and the international-student regime. The practical question is therefore precise: is the university admitting the student for an agreed temporary study period or for a complete Portuguese degree? An offer described informally as an exchange should be clarified before choosing the immigration procedure.
Send the immigration notification before the mobility starts
AIMA's Article 91-A guidance allows qualifying students covered by an EU or multilateral programme, or an agreement between higher-education institutions, to stay for up to 360 days after notification at least 30 days before mobility begins. The other member state's higher-education student permit must cover the whole proposed period.
The student or institution may notify AIMA, preferably at [email protected]. Its checklist requires Model 6, the permit, passport pages, programme admission evidence, criminal record, sufficient means, health insurance and fee-payment evidence. It displays EUR 29.80 payable by transfer. Obtain account details from the official instructions; this article has not independently confirmed them.
Resolve the fee and receiving-authority discrepancy
The European Commission's Portugal student page also describes the 360-day mobility arrangement and advance notification, but still names the former immigration service, SEF, and quotes a EUR 25 fee. Those details differ from AIMA's published operational instructions. Students should use the current Portuguese agency as the receiving authority and obtain confirmation of the applicable charge before transferring money.
The difference is material even for a modest payment: transferring an older published amount may leave the evidence of payment short of the amount requested by the receiving agency. Keep the payment receipt with the application documents. The Commission page also distinguishes programme-based mobility from cases outside a qualifying agreement, for which it describes a new permit or visa application. Holding another country's student permission should not be treated as unrestricted permission to undertake any course in Portugal.
Obtain the academic documents before treating admission as complete
The University of Evora provides a concrete institutional example. It tells incoming applicants to check for an agreement with their home institution, obtain a nomination through the home international office, and apply through its university system. Listed academic documents include identification, a curriculum vitae, transcript and language evidence where applicable. These academic requirements serve the university's admission decision; they are not a replacement for the immigration checklist.
The university says mobility may start only after the learning or training agreement is signed by the student and both institutions. Its learning agreement records the dates and subjects to be studied, and it issues the acceptance letter after the required signatures. Applicants to other Portuguese universities should obtain their own institution's instructions. This example illustrates how to secure programme evidence without presenting Evora's internal process as a national immigration rule.
Keep programme funding separate from permission to stay
The Erasmus+ student resource directs applicants to their university's international or Erasmus office; there is no central student application form. Before departure, the learning agreement establishes recognition of the planned study activities. Where a grant is awarded, a separate participant agreement governs the contribution towards travel and daily living costs. A grant should not be assumed to meet every expense or resolve an immigration evidence question.
Erasmus+ students are generally exempt from receiving-institution tuition, registration and examination fees, although small insurance or student-union charges may remain. That academic exemption does not remove the immigration notification fee. The programme also has its own duration limits, which must be considered alongside the Portuguese permission period. Confirm the academic dates, other-state permit validity and notification timing together; an agreed extension of study is not evidence that immigration permission has automatically been extended.
