From Toronto to the Algarve: Jay and Juni’s D8 Visa Story

Jay and Juni applied for Portugal’s D8 visa at the consulate in Toronto on 6 November 2025. Their file went in with two documents still missing. The visa was approved on Christmas Day.

By spring 2026 they were living in the Algarve, both with residence permits valid until March 2028. Jay still runs his travel business, now from Portugal.

Applying from Canada has a few quirks that most guides don’t mention. Here’s how their move went, including the parts that didn’t go to plan.

Why the D8

Jay and Juni were born in Korea and live in Canada as permanent residents. Jay runs his own travel business and wanted to keep running it after the move. That’s what the D8 is for: it lets you live in Portugal while you keep working for clients or a company abroad. Juni applied as his dependent.

They had been to Portugal on holiday a few times and loved it.

“Good weather, great food, especially kind people. Since Toronto has a long cold winter, we decided to move to Portugal for a few years.”

They decided to move in late August 2025, ordered our Premium package in September and had their first call with our partner lawyer a few days later.

Applying from Canada works differently

If you’re used to reading about VFS visa centres, Canada is different. Toronto appointments are booked through Portugal’s own e-Visa portal. A few things we learned on this file:

• Each applicant needs their own e-Visa account, even a spouse applying as a dependent. You book two appointments, not one.
• The portal goes down. It was unavailable for several days in October, right when they were trying to book. Leave slack in your plan.
• You collect the stamped visa in person. The consulate wouldn’t courier the passports back. Jay and Juni had already flown to Portugal after the appointment, so they flew back to Toronto in January to pick up their visas. If you can, plan to be in Canada when the approval comes, or budget for the extra trip.

The documents that took longest

The RCMP criminal record check. For the visa, the apostille has to go on the original certificate. In Canada that means mailing it to Global Affairs Canada, which took about 20 business days. There is a faster notarised-copy route through the provinces, but it didn’t apply to the criminal record. Their certificates were also sent for extended screening, which added more time. The apostille hadn’t come back by the appointment date, and the appointment had to be moved once.

“For us, it took a long time to get the RCMP apostille before the interview because it had to go through extended screening. So we ended up going to an interview without RCMP apostille.”

The marriage certificate. Theirs was issued in 2021. The consulate wants civil documents issued in roughly the last six months, so they ordered a new one. This one could use the fast apostille route, and it was ready in time.

Proving business income

For the D8 you show that your remote income meets the minimum. For an employee that’s a payslip. For a business owner it’s harder: invoices go in, money arrives in a different order, and some payments get grouped together.

Jay’s file used his client contracts, matched line by line to the payments in his bank statements. Our team went through every credit with him until each one was accounted for and the income threshold was clearly met. It took two days of back and forth, and it meant the consulate had nothing to question.

At the appointment

On 6 November two things were still missing: the apostilled criminal record (still in the post) and confirmation of their Portuguese bank account (still being opened).

The consulate accepted the file anyway and let them send the rest later. It was a relief, but don’t count on it. Every consulate handles this differently, and we still treat the bank account as something that must be open and funded before your case can move forward.

For the criminal record, the plan was simple: explain the delay at the appointment, then send the apostilled certificate straight to the consulate once it arrived.

“Novomove’s lawyer advised me to explain to the consulate, and send the document to the consulate directly. And it worked well.”

The approval email arrived on 25 December, 49 days after the appointment.

“Without Novomove’s help, we wouldn’t be able to come to Portugal so fast, within 3 months!” Jay

The residence permit (AIMA)

When their visas were stamped in January, both AIMA appointments were assigned automatically, about two months out. That’s faster than many people wait. But the locations were a surprise: Jay’s was in Viana do Castelo, in the far north, and Juni’s was in Cascais, three weeks later. They live in the Algarve, so both meant a long trip.

Two practical lessons from this stage:

• Signatures must be wet ink and match your passport. Digital signatures and photos of signed pages were refused on the notarised declarations. AIMA wants the signed original, in person.
• A dependent spouse doesn’t need a NISS (social security number). Jay needed one, and it was issued five days before his appointment. Juni didn’t. Social Security confirmed it.

Jay’s permit was approved on the day, on 25 March. Juni’s followed on 15 April. Both permits run until March 2028.

Life in the Algarve

We asked them how it’s going.

“It is super great! Great weather, so many beautiful beaches, and many good restaurants. We are really enjoying living in Algarve.”

They plan to stay for a few years. Their permits run until March 2028, and they’ll renew them then.

After the move

Two questions came up once they’d settled in, and we get them often:

• Can a D8 holder open a business in Portugal? In Jay’s case, yes, without switching to a D2 visa, as long as he keeps the remote activity his D8 is based on, especially in the first two years.
• Can you renew early? No. The first permit lasts two years and is then renewed. You can’t extend it in advance, even when something like a car lease asks for a longer residence date.

If you’re applying from Canada

Jay’s own advice first:

“I strongly suggest that you experience life in Portugal for a few years. Especially people living in Eastern Canada which has long cold winters. It is a totally different environment living in Portugal.”

And the practical side:

• Start the RCMP apostille first. Allow at least six weeks: it goes by mail through Global Affairs Canada, and some certificates are sent for extended screening.
• Order a new marriage or birth certificate if yours is more than about six months old.
• Open one e-Visa account per applicant, and book early, because the portal can be down for days.
• Plan to be in Canada, or to fly back, to collect the stamped visa.
• If you run your own business, prepare contracts matched to bank payments. Don’t send totals.
• Expect your AIMA appointment to be anywhere in Portugal, not near where you live.

Shared with Jay and Juni’s permission. Images are illustrative. Every application is different, and consulate requirements and timelines change. Novomove is a relocation technology platform that coordinates licensed Portuguese lawyers, not a law firm.