If you have lived in the United States for more than a year and are applying for a Portuguese national visa, the current VFS Portugal USA rule is clear: use an FBI Identity History Summary, get a federal Hague Apostille, and submit while the FBI certificate is still less than 90 days old.
The awkward part is the clock. The US Department of State currently publishes a five-week processing time from receipt for mailed apostille requests. That time comes out of the same 90-day window.
Portugal visa FBI check: what you need in 2026
| Item | Current rule |
|---|---|
| US criminal record | FBI Identity History Summary after more than one year living in the US |
| FBI fee | $18 |
| Visa filing age | Less than 90 days from issue |
| Apostille authority | US Department of State |
| Apostille fee | $20 per document |
| Apostille by mail | Within 5 weeks from receipt |
| Washington, DC routine service | Within 7 business days for the published 2-3 week travel window |
| Golden Visa / ARI | Separate AIMA rules; criminal record generally under 3 months old |
For the rest of the application, see the Portugal D7 visa guide or D8 digital nomad visa guide.
The safest order
- Get your slower visa documents close to ready.
- Request the FBI Identity History Summary.
- Send it for the federal apostille immediately.
- Complete any translation required for your exact procedure.
- Submit before the FBI report ages out.
The part I would plan backwards from is the apostille. Ordering the FBI report six months early feels organised, but for Portugal it can simply leave you with an expired document.
The 90-day clock starts with the FBI report
Does the apostille give you another 90 days?
No. VFS says the police clearance certificate must have been issued less than 90 days before submission. Count from the issue date on the FBI report, not the later apostille date.
That distinction matters because federal authentication is now the slow step. If you use most of the State Department’s five-week mail window, plus shipping in both directions, a large part of the certificate’s usable life can disappear before VFS sees it.
Recent US applicants are still reporting exactly this failure point: an otherwise correct FBI document reaching submission too close to expiry, or being requested again after it has expired.
Get the correct FBI record
Which FBI background check does Portugal want?
The document is the FBI Identity History Summary. An employment screening, county search or ordinary commercial background check is not a substitute when the FBI certificate is required.
The FBI charges $18. You can start an electronic request and use participating USPS fingerprinting in the US, mail a fingerprint card after the electronic request, or use an FBI-approved channeler. The FBI says it does not expedite its own direct requests; approved channelers can expedite delivery of the result.
If you mail fingerprints, the FBI accepts its FD-1164 fingerprint form printed on standard white paper. For repeated fingerprint rejections, it recommends submitting multiple sets and having them taken by a fingerprint technician.
FBI Identity History Summary support: identity@fbi.gov and 304-625-5590.
The apostille is federal, not state
Where do you apostille an FBI check for Portugal?
At the US Department of State Office of Authentications. The State Department specifically treats FBI background checks as federal documents. A state Secretary of State is the right route for eligible state documents, not the FBI report.
For a mail request you need:
- Form DS-4194;
- the FBI document;
- $20 per document by an accepted mail payment method;
- a prepaid self-addressed USPS or UPS return envelope.
List Portugal as the country of use and send it with tracking to:
Office of Authentications
US Department of State
44132 Mercure Circle
PO Box 1206
Sterling, VA 20166-1206
The State Department’s September 2026 guidance says mailed requests are processed within five weeks from receipt.
For its published 2-3 week travel window, routine walk-in drop-off is available from 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m., Monday through Thursday, at 600 19th Street NW, Washington, DC 20006, with processing within seven business days. Same-day appointments are limited to qualifying life-or-death family emergencies.
Ignore old sealed-envelope advice
This is one of those cases where an old forum post can cost you weeks.
Some older VFS material has said an FBI record could be apostilled or kept unopened in its original sealed envelope. The current VFS Portugal USA national-visa page instead says that, after more than one year living in the US, the police clearance must be FBI-issued and duly apostilled with the Hague Apostille.
Build the application around the current rule, not the old exception.
Translation is not a one-line rule
The current VFS USA FBI requirement specifies the FBI certificate and Hague Apostille but does not add a universal Portuguese-translation instruction to that line. AIMA’s document guidance also recognizes an exception for certain documents in English, French or Spanish.
That does not mean every US applicant can ignore translation. VFS says its document list is not exhaustive, and the consulate can request more. Recent applicants have also reported being asked to resubmit a translated criminal record.
So the useful rule is simple: do not pay for a translation merely because an old checklist says so, and do not refuse one if your current checklist, consulate or AIMA asks for it.
If you are already in Portugal
You can still request the FBI check from abroad by mailing a current fingerprint card to the FBI. You do not need to return to the US just to submit a direct FBI request.
Arrange the fingerprints locally, then work backwards from the date the Portuguese authority needs the apostilled result.
Golden Visa applicants: do not reuse an old timeline
Does AIMA require another FBI check at Golden Visa biometrics?
Portugal’s Golden Visa, or ARI, is an AIMA residence process rather than a VFS national-visa filing. AIMA asks the main applicant for a criminal record from the country of origin or permanent residence, issued less than three months earlier and properly authenticated. Its wording for family members is broader and also covers a country where the family member has lived for more than one year.
The practical problem is the long gap between ARI stages. AIMA says expired, missing or insufficient documents may need updating. In January through May 2026, Golden Visa applicants reported mixed experiences at biometrics: some were asked for a freshly apostilled FBI check, while others were not asked to refresh one again.
That inconsistency is precisely why I would not order a speculative replacement months early. Coordinate it with the actual AIMA document request or biometric appointment you have received.
The wider process is covered in the Portugal Golden Visa investment fund guide.
What if the FBI report is not clean?
Does any US conviction mean a Portugal visa refusal?
No. Article 52 of Portugal’s immigration law uses a Portuguese-law test: a residence or temporary-stay visa is refused where the applicant has been convicted of conduct that is punishable in Portugal by more than one year of imprisonment, including where the sentence was suspended or not served.
That is different from treating every arrest, US misdemeanor or record entry as an automatic refusal. If the report shows a conviction, the useful question is how that offence maps to Portuguese criminal law, not what a forum user with a different US charge experienced.
What if you have lived in several countries?
Do not combine different Portugal procedures into one universal rule. VFS USA refers to the applicant’s country of nationality or a country where the applicant has resided for more than one year. AIMA’s ARI family-member wording is different and requires the country of origin and a country where that family member has lived for more than one year.
This is a recurring source of confusion for US applicants with long international residence histories. Identify the exact visa or ARI route first, then order only the records that rule requires.
For the wider US paperwork sequence, see moving to Portugal from the US.
Before you submit
Check the FBI issue date, confirm the apostille is federal, scan the complete apostilled document, and add any route-specific translation or additional police certificate requested for your case. VFS also warns that supporting documents may not be returned, so keep a complete digital copy before handing anything over.
Frequently asked questions
Does the 90-day clock start from the FBI report or apostille date?
Use the FBI report issue date. VFS applies the age limit to the police clearance itself. The apostille authenticates the report but does not restart its validity period.
Where do I apostille an FBI background check for Portugal?
Use the US Department of State Office of Authentications. The FBI report is federal, so a state Secretary of State is not the correct apostille authority. The current federal fee is $20 per document.
Can I use an unopened FBI envelope instead of an apostille?
Do not plan around that older workaround. Older VFS material has contained sealed-envelope language, but the current VFS Portugal USA national-visa page requires the US FBI police clearance to be Hague-apostilled.
Does the FBI background check need a Portuguese translation?
Not under one universal rule. The current VFS USA FBI line does not itself require a translation, and AIMA recognizes an English-language exception in certain circumstances. Follow the current checklist and any case-specific request from the consulate or AIMA.
Do Golden Visa applicants need a fresh FBI check at biometrics?
Possibly. AIMA can require expired or insufficient documents to be updated, and 2026 applicants have reported different treatment at biometric appointments. Time a replacement to the AIMA stage you have actually been called for rather than ordering one speculatively.
What if my FBI background check shows a conviction?
A record entry is not automatically a refusal. For residence and temporary-stay visas, Article 52 focuses on whether the underlying conduct is punishable in Portugal by more than one year of imprisonment. A criminal-history case needs assessment against the equivalent Portuguese offence.