Yesterday while I was out shopping, I got a rare phone call from my husband (he had already texted and I wasn't paying attention). "Did you see the email? Or see my text?" I hadn't.... To which he replied "Our Visas are ready!" Wait! What????? Yippee!!!
I, of course, wrapped up my shopping and calmly1 headed straight to our apartment. Once back at the apartment we eagerly dove into looking up direct flights from Porto (OPO) to Newark (EWR). We were aiming for as early as next week as we have language classes starting after that (more on that in a future post). But as you may know, last minute airfares are not for the faint of heart ❤️. Our first searches were frightening. Was it seriously going to cost three times more than we paid to get here last month for a quick turn around trip? YIKES!!!
Then I tweaked the search criteria a bit and found a flight for next week for a few hundred euros less, still a fortune, but better. Of course, still not satisfied that that was the best deal, we searched some more only to determine that we already had the best deal we were going to find. Since Yoav had previously set up an account with a login, I gave him the parameters for the flight so he could pull it up on his computer.
Too late!!! In the ten minutes we lollygagged for a better deal, the price went up more than €1,000!!! Seriously??? WTF??? How is this possible??? We even tried different browsers just in case our 'cookies' were tipping off the airline that we were hunting for a better price.
August is of course the busy season and the prices only got worse through the rest of August. So after nearly an hour of searching, we finally settled on a date in early September to get our visa stamp. The tickets were still a fortune, but we came in under about where my earlier search for next week had landed us.
Fast forward about twelve hours to this morning at 4:40AM. I had been lying awake for a bit when suddenly, I realized that our flight had us connecting in Frankfurt on our return trip. F**K!!!2 We knew that you must fly from outside of the EU when entering Portugal with your D7 Visa, but in the chaos of trying to find something we could justify cost wise, we completely forgot about that requirement. Yoav was lying next to me asleep, I didn't want to wake him with such news, so I texted him so we could deal with this in the morning.
Fortunately we had 24 hours to cancel and get a refund, and he did that this morning. Whew!!! Major catastrophe averted. We began our search again and found flights in mid-September which were more €€ than the one we canceled, but still far less than if we were to try and go in the next few weeks. We booked a Thursday evening flight into Newark, and a return on a red-eye on Saturday night (because it was €1,000 cheaper than flying out on Friday night). So, that means one night at a hotel in Newark, and a second night at my in-laws apartment in Manhattan. It also means a day and a half in New York City... An unplanned but welcomed side venture.
All set, right?... Well.... Then I began to work on this post and as I was preparing the lead photo, I re-read the email from the Consulate and noticed that they clearly stated we could come in between 8:30AM and Noon, Monday thru Thursday, to get our passports stamped.
Crap! How did we miss this very clearly stated detail? We had booked our ticket for a Thursday evening arrival and then planned to get our passports stamped on Friday morning. Ugh.... Thankfully, this time around, we paid a bit extra for our tickets and had the ability to change our flight to one day earlier for no extra cost. Whew!!!!
So... Our flight is booked for mid-September to get our D7 Visa stamps!
So exciting!!! But can you guess what is almost equally as exciting? Why, our in person biometrics appointment with AIMA!!!3 Of Course!!!
Why is this exciting? Well, aside from the fact that this is the final step required to secure our temporary residency cards, those who are going through or have been through the D7 process in the past couple of years know that having that appointment scheduled when you get your visa is a pretty big deal.
Even though you are supposed to receive your appointment information upon approval, this does not always happen for a large number of people who apply for the D7 Visa. We know of many people who get their approval, and then are faced with setting up their own appointment, which can be a true test of one's fortitude and desire to make this move happen.
Setting up your own AIMA appointment can involve hundreds upon hundreds of attempts to dial the number for AIMA, and even if you get through, you will often get a response that there are no appointments available and to "call back tomorrow". We have read horror stories about people literally spending hours a day dialing and dialing and not getting through.

Thankfully, we have our appointments set up for early October in Viana do Castelo, a small coastal town about 80 kilometers north of Porto. We do not know this for a fact, but we think the firm we are working with had a hand in this as others who have used them have had their appointments set up upon receiving their visa and all in Viana do Castelo.
We are very fortunate in that we have our appointment at the same time, together, in the same location. Many couples have appointments on different days, or different cities, or both.
As for parting words of wisdom to those who may be going through this process... PAY ATTENTION TO THE DETAILS! It cannot be stressed enough that the details are super important! Also... We had our initial appointment at the Consulate in Newark all the way back on May 20th... Be patient! Have the patience of a saint, let go of expectations, and trust... While it is true that the bureaucracy in Portugal is notoriously slow... They do get it right most of the time... It just takes time.
Next post... I will catch up on how things are going here in Porto, and share some of the delightfully quirky things I have come across in the 19 days since I arrived.
I will wrap up with just saying that we have so much to be grateful for... Including you, my readers. Thank you so very much for subscribing and coming back to my posts. I started this as a means to convey our experience to friends, family, and those who stumble across my posts in their own process of relocating to Portugal. It warms my heart to know that more hundreds of you read my posts and share your thoughts. I welcome your feedback, whether it is a simple click of the 🤍 button, or when you share your comments.
Those who know me well, know that I don't usually show my excitement on the outside. Yes, as I walked back to our apartment, I was super excited, my mind thinking a thousand thoughts a minute, but my reserved self held in that excitement... Still is at some level.
The official start date for our time in the country begins upon our arrival with our visa, and going through Portuguese customs to get our passports stamped. It is required that you enter from outside of the Schengen Zone or any other EU country.
AIMA (Agência para a Integração) is the Portuguese Integration Agency responsible for processing temporary and permanent residency permits.
Well done....almost done.
Even in Mexico there is a lot of red tape to get things done. I’m happy for both of you going thru this new venture together. Good luck and keep us posted