You send an enquiry
An enquiry through our start form tells us what you are considering and how to reach you. It is not an application and it does not commit you to anything. At this stage we are only trying to understand your situation well enough to have a useful conversation.
We talk through your situation
The first substantive step is a conversation about your circumstances — where you want to go or move, why, what your work and income situation is, who is travelling or relocating with you, and anything in your history that is relevant. The purpose is to establish which pathway actually fits and whether it is realistic.
Sometimes the honest answer at this stage is that the route you had in mind is not the right one, or that the timing does not work. We would rather say that early than after you have spent months preparing.
You get a document plan built around your case
Once the pathway is settled, we build a checklist specific to you rather than handing you a generic list. For a family, that means a list per applicant. The plan reflects your actual circumstances — self-employment, multiple income sources, children, a previous refusal — rather than a template that assumes a simple case.
Your case moves into the client portal
Clients get secure access to the client portal, where you can see your case and follow where it currently stands. Portal access is set up once your case is active — an enquiry on its own does not create an account.
We review, and usually come back with corrections
Expect at least one round of corrections. This is normal and it is most of the value — a document that is illegible, expired, missing a page, or inconsistent with something else is far cheaper to fix now than to have queried later. We would rather ask you for a better scan three times than submit a set that raises questions.
Preparation for submission
How submission works differs by pathway. For some, we help prepare the application and guide you through the appointment or lodgement steps. For others — the U.S. visitor visa in particular — you complete and submit your own official application, and you attend your own interview. We are explicit about which applies to your case before you get there, and you review and confirm everything before anything is submitted.
After a decision
For a visit visa, the case generally closes once the outcome is known. For Portugal, the residency decision is usually the midpoint rather than the end — the practical registrations that follow, such as NISS and SNS, continue after arrival.
If an application is unsuccessful, we will go through what the stated reason was and whether reapplying makes sense. Sometimes it does. Sometimes the honest answer is that nothing material has changed yet, and we will say so.
Starting
If that sounds like the kind of process you want, the start form is the first step. If you would rather ask a question before committing to anything, contact us instead.
