VisaSelf-employed applicants in Cabo Verde need business and social-security evidence
Current-rule guidance distinguishes the independent-work residence file, registration obligations and the separate residence card before applicants pay.
Official announcement date: not established (undated guidance)
Last verified against linked sources:
Edited and checked by the VisaWand editorial team
Select the independent-work application rather than an employee file
Foreign nationals seeking residence for self-employment in Cabo Verde need evidence of their own professional activity, not simply an employer’s job offer. The e-Residencia page headed independent professional activity lists a company agreement, professional-services contract or declaration of commencement at the tax office. It also requests professional-body or qualification evidence where relevant. This guide examines existing procedures.
The page’s address and opening description contain employee-related wording despite its independent-work heading. Confirm the category before applying. Its checklist also requests identity, accommodation, health, criminal-record and municipal residence evidence.
The 2025 regulation distinguishes the visa from residence permission
The consolidated regulation published with Decree-Law 13/2025 on 15 May 2025 separates the two stages. Article 34 addresses an independent-work residence visa: a services contract or proposal, company agreement or tax commencement declaration, plus social-security and tax-number evidence. It also requires evidence of entitlement to practise a regulated profession. DEF may seek Labour Directorate advice if it doubts the nature of a proposed contract.
Article 47 concerns the subsequent independent-work residence application by a residence-visa holder. Its additional evidence covers the business or services basis, social-security registration and regulated-profession requirements where applicable. The regulation also describes an exceptional procedure subject to DEF viability assessment. That is not an automatic alternative for every visitor. A person holding only a tourist permission should identify the applicable legal route before treating company registration as residence approval.
Resolve social-security registration before the immigration filing
The Immigration Authority’s social-security guide gives a distinct list for workers on their own account. It asks for an enrolment form and copies of a valid residence authorisation and passport. Its form description nevertheless refers to authentication by an employer. This creates a practical question for someone applying for their first independent-work residence permission: immigration asks for registration while the published registration list asks for existing residence evidence.
Ask INPS and DEF which provisional evidence or sequence they accept for that first application; the pages examined do not establish a substitute. The guide publishes a 19.5 percent monthly contribution for self-employed workers and says contributions are due by the fifteenth of the following month. This is an ongoing social-security obligation, not a one-off residence fee. The guide does not establish the contribution base for this individual applicant, so multiplying the percentage by an assumed income would not produce a reliable bill.
Separate the permission fee from production of the card
The e-Residencia page publishes temporary-residence charges of 6,400 Cabo Verde escudos for non-CPLP categories, 1,400 for CPLP and 1,700 for Senegal. Applicants must establish their applicable category rather than treating the lowest amount as a universal self-employment price. That page does not provide a complete itemised total for certificates, translations and any separate document production.
SNIAC explains that the foreigner’s residence card is issued after residence is authorised. It separately publishes a 1,400 escudo card cost and says residence-authorisation costs also apply. Do not automatically add that amount to the portal charge without asking DEF whether the quoted category total already includes it. SNIAC describes capture of a digital photograph, fingerprints, signature and height. Its estimate of fifteen days for card receipt concerns the document stage, not a guaranteed deadline for deciding the underlying residence application.
Keep renewal and supporting documents on separate calendars
The Immigration Authority’s residence guidance says a temporary-residence renewal should be requested 45 days before expiry. It describes the renewal receipt as having the same effects as the residence document for sixty days, renewable. Keep the actual receipt and check its own dates; the statement does not create indefinite permission from an unfinished online form.
For a working sequence, confirm the independent category, settle the first INPS registration evidence, assemble the visa or residence checklist applicable to your current status, and obtain an itemised payment instruction from DEF. After approval, complete the card stage and record the renewal date. A change in business documents, a pending tax registration or an appointment request does not itself establish that residence has been granted or extended.
