Apostille & validity
Will this document be accepted, and will it still be valid?
Most refused files are not refused on income. They are refused because a police certificate arrived without an apostille, because the translation was not certified, or because the paper expired between ordering it and the appointment. Pick a document and we will tell you the exact chain of stamps and the date it dies.
Document
Criminal record / police certificate
Add the issue date to check the expiry
Fill in when the document was issued and when your appointment is, and we will tell you whether it still holds.
- Legalisation
- Hague apostille required
- Translation
- Certified Portuguese translation required, done after the apostille so the stamp is translated too.
- Accepted life
- 90 days
In this order
- 1Order the document from: Federal or national police authority of every country you lived in for over a year.
- 2Have it apostilled in the country of issue — US Department of State (federal documents) or the Secretary of State of the issuing state. It cannot be apostilled in Portugal.
- 3Translate it into Portuguese through a certified translator, after the apostille, and keep both together.
The single most common cause of a rejected file. The US FBI summary, the UK ACRO certificate and most national equivalents are treated as valid for three months, so ordering it too early is as damaging as ordering it late. Apostille it as soon as it is issued.
Issuing authority for United States: US Department of State (federal documents) or the Secretary of State of the issuing state. Official page. Federal documents such as the FBI identity history summary are apostilled by the Department of State in Washington; state-issued records (birth, marriage) are apostilled by that state's Secretary of State.
Every document, for United States
The whole matrix at a glance, so you can see which ones to order first and which ones to order last.
| Document | Legalisation | Translation | Valid for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Criminal record / police certificate | Hague apostille required | Certified | 90 days |
| Birth certificate (applicant or child) | Hague apostille required | Certified | 180 days |
| Marriage or civil partnership certificate | Hague apostille required | Certified | 180 days |
| Bank statements / proof of income | No apostille needed | Sometimes | 30 days |
| Pension award letter or annuity statement | No apostille needed | Sometimes | 90 days |
| Degree or professional qualification | Hague apostille required | Certified | — |
| Employment contract or client contracts | No apostille needed | Sometimes | — |
| Proof of accommodation in Portugal | No apostille needed | Not needed | 90 days |
| Health insurance certificate | No apostille needed | Sometimes | 30 days |
Order in the right sequence. Documents that never expire — diplomas, contracts — go first. The police certificate goes last, because its ninety days have to cover the apostille, the translation and the wait for the appointment.
An apostille can only be issued in the country where the document was issued. Nothing can be apostilled in Portugal for a foreign document, and no agency in Lisbon can shortcut that.
This checker reflects the general rules. Individual consulates publish their own checklists, and where they are stricter, theirs wins.
Official sources
Criteria last updated 20 September 2026
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