General Information

To find out whether you need a visa to visit Portugal, see the European Commission's Euraxess website or check with your local Portuguese Embassy or other diplomatic representative before you travel. The rules change regularly, so you should check you have the most up to date information for your trip.

European Union Nationals and other with equivalent status

Nationals of the European Union, as well as nationals of Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Switzerland, do not need a visa to enter Portugal. They have the right to reside in national territory for a period up to three months without other conditions or formalities beyond holding a valid identity card or passport.

Non-European Union Nationals

To enter Portugal foreigners that are not exempt from it must be holders of a visa which is valid for the duration of the intended purpose of stay. This visa must always be requested at a Portuguese Embassy or Consulate (in Portuguese).

A short stay visa (Schengen visa) can be issued with a period of validity which can be up to one year, but the authorised period of stay in Portugal may not exceed 3 months in a half-year period. The short stay visa may be extended up to 90 days. The holder of a Schengen visa may travel freely throughout the Schengen zone. However, if the stay exceeds 90 days in a half-year period, as of the date of the first entry in an external border, the validity of the visa is limited to Portugal.

You should submit your request at a Portuguese Embassy or Consulate, together with the following documents:

• Valid travel document (identity card or passport);
• Two recent identical photographs, in colour with white background, and easily identifiable;
• Document proving the purpose and conditions of the intended stay;
• Travel medical insurance (covering at least €30.000 for medical assistance, hospital treatment and repatriation for medical reasons, valid for all Schengen countries).

List of countries that are exempt from visa entry requirements (for short stay visas not exceeding 90 days):

This exception also applies to Passport holders of the Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China in Hong Kong and Macao.

For more information please visit The European Commission's Euraxess webpage. To formalize an online Visa request please check the Portuguese Communities Website.

Letter of Invitation

Participants that require an official letter of invitation in order to obtain a visa, to raise travel funds or for administrative purposes should apply for this invitation by at least 8 weeks prior to the meeting at the very latest. It should be understood, however, that such an invitation is not a commitment on the part of the organisers to provide financial support. The deadline for requesting a Letter of Invitation is 13 August 2014.

It should be understood that the organizers can only issue an invitation which includes the period of the conference plus the Saturdays and Sundays directly before and after the conference, respectively.

Letters of invitation for those not registered by 20 August 2014 will be cancelled, and the Portuguese official entities will be informed that visas obtained using these letters should not be accepted.

We would like to point out that invitation letters are only sent to the address indicated by the applicant. The provided name and address must exactly match that on your passport. All letters will be emailed to you as a signed PDF document, for you to print as required. The organizers will NOT send invitation letters to embassies, neither by fax/email nor by separate post. The applicants are responsible to take care of their own visa application and need to directly contact the respective embassy. Please consider that the invitation letter is a standard letter which will not be modified individually.

You are responsible for contacting the relevant Portuguese Embassy or Consulate and for finding out what kind of visa you require. Please allow sufficient time for your letter to be processed and the local Embassy to process your visa.