Not everyone offering help with paperwork in Portugal is a lawyer or otherwise authorised. Before you pay, look the person up on a register. The check is free.
Where to look them up
Ordem dos Advogados — Pesquisa de Advogados
The official search for lawyers (advogados) in Portugal.
Ask for their full name and cédula profissional number, and search for it on this page.
Ordem dos Solicitadores e dos Agentes de Execução (OSAE)
A solicitador is a separate authorised profession, distinct from a lawyer. OSAE keeps their register.
[VERIFY] — we could not open this register from our server, so we are not printing a link we have not checked. Search for "Ordem dos Solicitadores e dos Agentes de Execução" and look up the name and number yourself.
Free help — try this before you pay anyone
The state's support centres for migrants. Help there is free and interpreters are available. Going there once before paying a private adviser is the cheapest step you can take.
Warning signs
- They offer to sell you an AIMA appointment (agendamento).
- Anyone who "guarantees" you a permit. No one can guarantee an outcome.
- They ask for cash and will not give you a recibo.
- They will not give you their cédula profissional.
- They keep your original passport or original documents.
- They ask you to sign blank forms, or a procuração you cannot read.
What it should cost
Fees are not fixed and vary between advisers. We print no figure here because we have no confirmed official schedule for one. Before any work starts, ask for a written orçamento with each item listed separately, and get it in writing whether the government taxa is included.
If it has already happened to you
PSP — report a fraud
[VERIFY] — we could not open the PSP site from our server, so we are not printing a link. You can report at a PSP or GNR station in person. Being undocumented does not stop you reporting a crime committed against you. Take receipts, messages and transfers with you.
Ordem dos Advogados — complaint against a lawyer
If the person really is a registered lawyer, you can complain to the Ordem.