Portugal Law Intelligence - Immigration & Legal Guide for Foreigners

AI-powered legal assistant that grounds its answers in the full consolidated text of the Portuguese laws that govern your question, then explains them in plain language -- in any language you speak. Get understandable answers with real legal citations for a fraction of a lawyer's fee.

The Problem

You have rights in Portugal. You just cannot understand them.

The Portuguese government publishes every law, every regulation, every legal update. Your lease. Your employment contract. Your residency status. Your path to citizenship. It is all publicly available.

But it is written in dense legal Portuguese. Cross-references lead to cross-references. Archaic terminology sits alongside modern EU directives. Information is scattered across multiple government websites. Google Translate gives you words, not understanding.

There is now a third option beyond expensive lawyers or guessing.

Portugal Law Intelligence identifies the laws that actually govern your question, fetches their current consolidated text from Portugal's legislation database, and explains the answer in plain language -- in whatever language you speak. Ask in English, get answers in English. Ask in Mandarin, get answers in Mandarin. The law does not care what language you speak.

How It Works

1. It matches your question to the governing law. The Actor maps your question to the specific Portuguese laws that apply (for example, a visa question maps to the Foreigners Law, Lei n.º 23/2007).
2. It fetches the real, current law text. It retrieves the full consolidated text of those laws from the PGD Lisboa legislation database -- the actual statute, with all amendments applied -- not a summary and not the AI's memory.
3. It explains in plain language. The AI reads the real law text and answers your question, with citations to the specific articles it used and links back to the source.

This grounding matters: the explanation is built from the actual legislation, so the citations are real and verifiable.

Features

• Grounded in real legislation -- Answers are built from the full consolidated text of the governing laws, with article-level citations you can verify.
• Multilingual -- Ask and receive answers in any of 15 supported languages. The AI auto-detects your language and responds accordingly.
• Plain-language explanations -- Legal jargon converted to understandable answers at 3 detail levels: simple, detailed, or technical.
• Structured intelligence -- Every answer includes a confidence level, related topics, common pitfalls, required documents, estimated costs, and action items.
• Real citations and links -- References to specific laws (e.g., Lei n.º 23/2007) and direct links to the source legislation.
• Flexible AI providers -- Use the integrated Google Gemini (no key needed on your side), or bring your own Anthropic Claude or OpenAI key for lower per-query cost.
• Always returns something useful -- Even if the AI step is unavailable, the run returns the relevant laws and official links rather than failing.

Coverage

The Actor grounds answers in the full text of these governing Portuguese laws:

Area	Law fetched in full	Reference
Immigration, visas, residency	Foreigners Law + its regulation	Lei n.º 23/2007 · Decreto Regulamentar n.º 84/2007
Nationality & citizenship	Nationality Law	Lei n.º 37/81
Work & employment	Labour Code	Lei n.º 7/2009
Housing & rental	Urban Lease Law (NRAU)	Lei n.º 6/2006
Family, inheritance, property, contracts	Civil Code	Decreto-Lei n.º 47344/66

For topics outside this set (for example detailed tax/NHR or social-security rules), the Actor provides a best-effort answer with general guidance and links to the relevant official portals (Portal das Finanças, Segurança Social, ePortugal, AIMA). Full-text grounding for tax and social-security legislation is on the roadmap.

Sources

Source	Website	Role
PGD Lisboa	pgdlisboa.pt	Primary -- consolidated full text of the governing laws (statute with amendments applied)
ePortugal	eportugal.gov.pt	Supporting -- government services, procedures, requirements
Segurança Social	seg-social.pt	Supporting -- social security contributions and benefits
AIMA / ACM / Portal das Finanças	aima.gov.pt · acm.gov.pt · portaldasfinancas.gov.pt	Referenced as official links for verification

Who This Is For

Expats Moving to Portugal

The D7 visa looks perfect for your retirement income. Then you start reading the actual requirements in legal Portuguese. Ask the question, get an answer built from the actual Foreigners Law, with the article references. A single consultation with an immigration lawyer costs $100-300; this Actor costs cents per question.

Digital Nomads

Which residence permit fits remote work? What are your rights under the Labour Code? Get answers grounded in the real legislation, with confidence levels so you know how reliable the information is.

EU Citizens Relocating

You have free-movement rights, but the Portuguese details matter -- residency, housing, family. Get the Portuguese interpretation explained in your language, with sources.

Immigration Consultants and Lawyers

Your clients ask the same questions repeatedly. Get answers with supporting citations in seconds. Use the technical explanation level for professional-grade summaries with full legal references.

How to Use

1. Type your question about Portuguese law in any language
2. Choose your explanation level: simple, detailed, or technical
3. Optionally describe your situation for a more relevant answer
4. Click "Start" and receive a structured answer, usually within a minute or two

Input Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
question	string	Yes	--	Your legal question in any language (minimum 10 characters)
explanationLevel	string	No	simple	Detail level: simple, detailed, or technical
context	string	No	--	Additional context about your situation
language	string	No	auto	Response language (auto-detects from question by default)
aiProvider	string	No	integrated	AI provider: integrated (Gemini), anthropic (BYOK), openai (BYOK)
anthropicApiKey	string	No	--	Your Anthropic key (required for anthropic mode)
openaiApiKey	string	No	--	Your OpenAI key (required for openai mode)

Example Input

{
  "question": "What are the requirements to get a D7 visa in Portugal?",
  "explanationLevel": "simple",
  "context": "I'm a US citizen with retirement income"
}

Multilingual Examples

Ask in any language and the AI responds in the same language:

• English: "What documents do I need for a residence visa?"
• Spanish: "¿Cuáles son los requisitos para la residencia?"
• German: "Was sind die Anforderungen für ein Aufenthaltsvisum?"
• French: "Quelles sont les conditions pour obtenir un visa D7?"
• Portuguese: "Quais são os requisitos para visto de residência?"

Output Example

Each run produces a structured JSON object:

{
  "question": "What are the requirements to get a D7 visa in Portugal?",
  "answer": "The D7 visa is a residence visa under Lei n.º 23/2007 for non-EU citizens with stable passive income...",
  "keyPoints": [
    "Requires stable, regular passive income sufficient to support yourself",
    "Applied for at the Portuguese consulate in your country of residence",
    "Proof of accommodation in Portugal is required",
    "Clean criminal record needed"
  ],
  "summary": {
    "executiveSummary": "The D7 residence visa requires proof of passive income, accommodation, and a clean criminal record...",
    "actionItems": ["Get a NIF number", "Open a Portuguese bank account", "Gather apostilled documents"],
    "requiredDocuments": ["Passport", "Proof of income", "Proof of accommodation", "Criminal record certificate"],
    "estimatedCosts": [{ "item": "Visa fee", "amount": "90", "currency": "EUR" }]
  },
  "intelligence": {
    "confidenceLevel": "high",
    "confidenceReason": "Based on direct analysis of Lei n.º 23/2007 and Decreto Regulamentar n.º 84/2007",
    "relatedTopics": ["Family reunification", "Path to citizenship"],
    "commonPitfalls": ["Not having apostilled documents", "Insufficient proof of income stability"]
  },
  "references": [
    {
      "law": "Lei n.º 23/2007",
      "articles": ["Artigo 11.º", "Artigo 24.º"],
      "url": "https://www.pgdlisboa.pt/leis/lei_mostra_articulado.php?nid=920&tabela=leis&so_miolo=",
      "source": "Consolidated legislation (PGD Lisboa)"
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "name": "Lei n.º 23/2007",
      "source": "Consolidated legislation (PGD Lisboa)",
      "url": "https://www.pgdlisboa.pt/leis/lei_mostra_articulado.php?nid=920&tabela=leis&so_miolo="
    }
  ],
  "metadata": {
    "explanationLevel": "simple",
    "answered": true,
    "aiProvider": "gemini",
    "sourcesAnalyzed": 4,
    "lawsFound": 2,
    "govPagesFound": 2,
    "timestamp": "2026-06-07T10:30:00.000Z"
  }
}

Pricing

Transparent pay-per-event (PPE) pricing, no subscriptions:

Event	Cost	Description
Law Search	$0.01	Match the question to the governing laws and query supporting sources
Law Fetch	$0.02	Fetch the full consolidated text of one governing law (charged per law)
AI Question (Integrated)	$0.15	Plain-language answer using integrated Gemini (AI cost included)
AI Question (BYOK)	$0.02	Plain-language answer using your own API key
AI Explanation (Integrated)	$0.08	AI explanation of a specific law using Gemini
AI Explanation (BYOK)	$0.01	AI explanation using your own API key

Typical question cost: roughly $0.18-$0.22 with integrated Gemini (1 search + 1-3 law fetches + 1 AI question). With BYOK mode the platform cost drops to roughly $0.05-$0.10 per question, and you pay your own AI provider directly.

That is a fraction of a lawyer's fee, where a single consultation runs $100-300.

Key Portuguese Laws Referenced

Law	Topic	Description
Lei n.º 23/2007	Immigration	Regime for entry, stay, exit and removal of foreigners (Lei de Estrangeiros)
Decreto Regulamentar n.º 84/2007	Immigration	Implementing regulation of the Foreigners Law
Lei n.º 37/81	Nationality	Nationality Law (Lei da Nacionalidade)
Lei n.º 7/2009	Labour	Labour Code (Código do Trabalho)
Lei n.º 6/2006	Housing	Urban Lease Law (NRAU)
Decreto-Lei n.º 47344/66	Civil	Civil Code (marriage, divorce, inheritance, property, contracts)

FAQ

Can I trust AI to explain law?

The answer is built from the actual law, not from the AI's memory alone. The Actor fetches the current consolidated text of the governing legislation and the AI explains what that text says. Every answer includes citations to the specific articles and a link to the source so you can verify it yourself.

Is this legal advice?

No. This tool tells you what Portuguese law says. It does not tell you what you should do. Use it for legal literacy; use a lawyer for legal strategy.

Can I use this in any language?

Yes -- 15 languages including English, Portuguese, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Dutch, Polish, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Arabic, and Hindi. It auto-detects your question language and responds accordingly.

How current is the information?

On each run the Actor fetches the consolidated text of the relevant laws, which reflects amendments applied to date. The AI model itself has a knowledge cutoff, but the legal text it reasons over is fetched fresh from the legislation database each time.

Does it cover tax (NHR) and social security?

Those topics are answered on a best-effort basis with general guidance and links to the official portals (Portal das Finanças, Segurança Social). Full-text grounding for tax and social-security legislation is planned. For immigration, nationality, work, housing, and civil/family matters, the answer is grounded in the full statute.

What does the confidence level mean?

• High -- The governing law directly and clearly addresses your question
• Medium -- Related provisions exist but may not cover your exact situation
• Low -- Limited direct sources; the answer involves interpretation

What AI providers are supported?

1. Integrated (Google Gemini) -- No key needed on your side. AI cost is included in the per-question price.
2. Anthropic Claude (BYOK) -- Provide your own Anthropic key; platform cost drops to $0.02 per question.
3. OpenAI GPT (BYOK) -- Provide your own OpenAI key; platform cost drops to $0.02 per question.

Technical Details

• Runtime: Node.js 20+ on the Apify platform
• AI Models: Google Gemini 2.5 Flash (integrated), Claude Sonnet 4 (BYOK), GPT-4o (BYOK)
• Retrieval: Direct fetch of consolidated law text (Cheerio HTML parsing, Latin-1 decoded) with retry, per-request timeouts, and graceful degradation
• Validation: Zod schemas for all input
• Memory: 512 MB minimum, 4096 MB maximum
• Typical run time: 20-60 seconds
• Operator note: Integrated mode reads the operator's GOOGLE_API_KEY from the Actor's environment variables. If it is not set, the run still succeeds and returns the relevant laws and official links (no AI explanation).

Legal Disclaimer

IMPORTANT: This information is for educational and informational purposes only. It does not constitute professional legal advice. Immigration and legal matters can be complex and highly dependent on individual circumstances. Always consult a qualified Portuguese lawyer or immigration specialist for specific legal matters, visa applications, or important decisions affecting your legal status.

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Built for the global community living in and moving to Portugal. Ask any question about Portuguese law -- visas, residency, work, housing, family, citizenship. The law is complicated. Understanding it does not have to be.