Moscow consulate refuses digital nomad visas over Russian bank accounts, while a foreign account is enough for a D visa
Moscow consulate refuses nomad visas over Russian bank accounts. To appeal, applicants must prove the bank is real
The Portuguese consulate in Moscow, people in the chat say, is refusing digital nomad visas to applicants whose income arrives in Russian bank accounts, which the consulate sees as a breach of sanctions. Applicants from Russia have nowhere else to file: the Moscow consulate covers the whole country as well as neighbouring countries.
One applicant applied in the spring, was refused and lodged an objection, only to receive a second refusal, this time citing the Russian accounts. Others in the chat replied that everyone they know of is getting refusals like this from Moscow at the moment.
“Everyone we know of is getting refusals like this from Moscow right now. And the wording varies in its degree of madness.”
Translated from Russiandigitalnomadportugal02.11.2026
Another family is preparing an appeal: they have to prove that their bank is real and connected to SWIFT and SEPA, the systems for international transfers. Their lawyer will send the papers by post, and the second applicant will travel to Moscow with the originals and pay the fee. Since they are going anyway, the family was advised to ask for a meeting with the staff and the consul, and also to complain to Portugal's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, attaching the demands made in the refusal. People in the chat recall that after complaints about the consulate in Ankara, its staff were replaced.
“We're just laughing hysterically at this point, because for the appeal we now have to prove that the bank is real and has SWIFT and SEPA.”
Translated from Russiandigitalnomadportugal03.11.2026
“You can also ask to speak to the staff and the consul! You'll have to pay the fee anyway. Since you're going, try to meet them. They have to see you, even though you're not the main applicant.”
Translated from Russiandigitalnomadportugal03.11.2026
Going to court in Portugal, the chat says, takes a long time: a consultant who took the consulate to court together with clients lost a year later. Our guide What to do if your Portuguese visa is refused explains how complaints and appeals work.
“I know of one :) We sued, together with our clients. It took a year, and it didn't go our way. We didn't appeal.”
Translated from Russiandigitalnomadportugal03.11.2026
Opening a Portuguese account without a residence permit is nearly impossible, but for a D visa a foreign account will do
A family with Russian passports who live in Israel are gathering documents for a D visa — the national visa for moving to Portugal — and have hired a consultant to get them a NIF (tax number) and open a bank account in Portugal before the interview. The consultant told them that banks were asking them to renounce their Russian citizenship.
Others in the chat replied that the passport is not the only problem: at the moment almost nobody can open an account without a residence permit. But you don't need a Portuguese account for a D visa at all — any account you can use from Portugal will do, including an Israeli one. A local account can be opened once the visa is in hand and the family has arrived, and the NIF can be obtained online. Our guide How to open an account with a Portuguese bank explains how to open one after you arrive.
“Right now it's almost impossible to open an account without a residence permit, not only with a Russian passport but with other passports too. You don't need a local account to get a D visa; you can use any account you can access from Portugal, Israeli ones are fine. And you'll open a Portuguese account once you have at least the D visa in hand and you're already here.”
Translated from Russianleft4portugal03.11.2026
In a chat about medical insurance, someone asked which insurance the consulate accepts for a D visa. Usually travel insurance, came the answer.
“Good afternoon, it's usually travel insurance.”
Translated from Russianmed_strahovki_pt03.11.2026
A baby born in Portugal is added to the family's temporary protection application; a birth certificate is enough for AIMA
In a chat for Ukrainians in Portugal, a mother asked how to get temporary protection for her daughter, who was born here a month ago. Her two older children got protection back in April: they were included in their parents' application, taken to the AIMA migration service in Cascais and granted protection the same day. Her husband has added the youngest to the family application on the temporary protection portal: she now has her own case number with the status ‘awaiting submission’, and he has attached her Portuguese birth certificate to the application.
“Yes, my husband added her to our travel group; she has her own number and the case status is ‘awaiting submission’.”
Translated from Ukrainiankit_pt03.11.2026
The mother asked whether the child needed a passport for the AIMA appointment or whether the birth certificate would be enough. She was told the certificate is enough. There is another route too: if a family has lived here under temporary protection for two years, a residence permit can be applied for on behalf of a child born in Portugal under Article 124 of the foreigners law. That option does not apply to this family yet: they have only been here for six months.
“Great then, the certificate is enough.”
Translated from Ukrainiankit_pt03.11.2026
“Hi, why does the child need temporary protection if they were born here? If you've lived here for 2 years on temporary protection, I can apply for a residence permit for them under 124.”
Translated from Ukrainiankit_pt03.11.2026
A bucket of Halloween sweets left outside a front door in Lisbon vanished; Reddit recalls Portugal's own custom, Pão por Deus
A couple renting a flat in Alvalade, a Lisbon neighbourhood, decided to treat their neighbours: on 31 October they put a bucket of sweets outside the front door for anyone to help themselves. They took the bucket in for the night and put it out again on the morning of 1 November, but when they came back from lunch, it was gone: someone had taken it, sweets and all.
Many replied that this was no surprise: Halloween is not a traditional Portuguese festival, and a bucket left in the street won't last long. They also recalled the Portuguese custom of Pão por Deus (‘bread for God's sake’): on 1 November, All Saints' Day, children go round their neighbours' houses asking for treats. In the past people gave bread, pies, pomegranates and nuts, and in Coimbra children ask for ‘bolinhos, bolinhós’ — little buns.
“In Portugal we have the Pão por Deus custom (Halloween means nothing to me, I think Carnival is more fitting). Honestly, I didn't know about the bucket, but as soon as you started telling the story I could already see how it would end. Think about it: with bad intentions or not, even a cheeky kid with a sweet tooth will carry off a bucket full of sweets.”
Translated from Portugueser/portugal02.11.2026
But Halloween is slowly catching on too. One Lisbon resident, in their first year in a house of their own, expected half a dozen children at most and bought extra sweets just in case, but by the middle of the night there was nothing left. People in the provinces say children went door to door with their parents there too, and advise going out to meet them in person: the whole joy is seeing happy children.
“I live in a house in Lisbon (it's our first year here), and we even bought lots of sweets to give to anyone who came. Honestly, I thought half a dozen kids at most would come, but I bought extra just in case. Imagine my surprise when, in the middle of the night, there were no sweets left at all!”
Translated from Portugueser/portugal02.11.2026
“In my neighbourhood, out in the provinces, kids went round with their parents doing ‘trick or treat’. We were watching TV and every time the doorbell rang we went out to give them sweets: the whole fun is going out and seeing happy kids with their little treat buckets. Nothing complicated, and for them it's a great day.”
Translated from Portugueser/portugal02.11.2026
Residential children's camps in Portugal are listed on juvigo.pt: a summer session in Cascais cost from €350
In a chat about schools and nurseries, someone asked where to find a good residential educational camp for children in Portugal. They were told that sessions with overnight stays are listed in the juvigo.pt catalogue.
The catalogue covers summer camps (campos de férias) all over the country. For example, in summer 2026 a five-day, four-night nature camp in Cascais for children aged 8 to 15 cost from €350 with full board, a tent camp in Ponte de Lima from €390 and a session in the Azores from €670.
The chat suggested one more option: the summer sessions of Universidade Júnior at the University of Porto. Classes take place in the faculties and children are fed at the university; those from out of town stayed in the barracks of an army signals regiment and were brought to classes from there. But, the chat warned, around a thousand children from all over the country take part.
“At Universidade Júnior in Porto, which runs camp sessions in its faculties, kids from out of town stayed on the barracks campus of the local army signals regiment and were brought from there to classes at the faculties, but it's a thousand people from all over the country, and they were fed at the university.”
Translated from Russianschoolinportugal03.11.2026
