Key takeaways: The Embassy of Portugal in New Delhi has consular jurisdiction over India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and the Maldives — so applicants from five of those six countries generally book their visa through VFS Global’s Delhi centre, not a Portuguese office in their own capital. Pakistan is the exception: it has its own embassy in Islamabad and its own outsourced visa provider, Gerry’s, not VFS. Bangladesh has an extra step (an Indian transit visa), and Nepal has a change coming (a Kathmandu consular office, approved but not yet open).

If you’ve searched “VFS Portugal appointment” or “Portugal visa New Delhi” and gotten confused about which office actually handles your country, you’re not alone — most guides written for this route are either outdated or written for Indian applicants only, with everyone else added as an afterthought. This guide walks through exactly who applies where, what a long-stay work visa needs that a tourist visa doesn’t, and the two things — an Indian transit visa for Bangladeshi applicants, and Nepal’s still-unopened Kathmandu office — that trip up applicants most often.

Which Countries the Embassy of Portugal in New Delhi Actually Covers

The Embassy of Portugal in New Delhi states plainly that it provides consular assistance “to the Portuguese citizens travelling or residing in India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal or Sri Lanka,” which makes it the jurisdictional hub for visa applications from all six of those countries — including work visas (Embassy of Portugal, New Delhi). None of the other five countries has a resident Portuguese embassy of its own today, so if you’re applying for a Portugal work visa (a D3, tied to a job offer — see our D3 visa guide for the eligibility side) from Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka or the Maldives, New Delhi is your default answer.

That doesn’t mean every kind of visa from every one of those countries physically goes through Delhi, though — and this is where most guides get sloppy.

CountryShort-stay Schengen (tourism/business)Long-stay national visa (work, study, family)
IndiaVFS Global, New Delhi (or your regional VFS centre)VFS Global, New Delhi
NepalVFS Global, New DelhiVFS Global, New Delhi
BhutanVFS Global, New DelhiVFS Global, New Delhi
MaldivesVFS Global, New DelhiVFS Global, New Delhi
BangladeshEmbassy of France, DhakaVFS Global, New Delhi (Indian transit visa required first)
Sri LankaEmbassy of France, ColomboVFS Global, New Delhi
PakistanGerry’s, Islamabad/Lahore/KarachiGerry’s, Islamabad/Lahore/Karachi

Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are the two countries where Portugal has arranged for France to represent it for short Schengen visits, per the New Delhi embassy’s own FAQ page (Embassy of Portugal, New Delhi FAQ). Neither France arrangement covers work, study or family-reunification visas — for those, Bangladeshi and Sri Lankan applicants still travel through New Delhi like everyone else in the jurisdiction, apart from Pakistan.

One honest caveat: the embassy’s public pages don’t spell out a separate Schengen delegation for Bhutan or the Maldives the way they do for Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, so we’re treating New Delhi as the default for every visa type from those two countries. If you’re applying from Thimphu or Malé, confirm with the embassy directly before booking, since this is exactly the kind of detail that changes without much notice.

One more carve-out, this time inside India itself: New Delhi’s consular jurisdiction excludes Goa, Maharashtra, and the union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu — those fall under the Consulate General of Portugal in Goa instead (Embassy of Portugal, New Delhi). If you live in one of those states, don’t book through VFS Delhi; check the Goa consulate’s own process first.

Why a Work Visa Is a Different Trip Than a Tourist Visa

This distinction matters because it’s the one most South Asian job-seekers get wrong: a Schengen tourist visa and a national work visa are not interchangeable, and under Lei 61/2025 (in force since 23 October 2025), you can no longer enter Portugal as a tourist and “sort the paperwork later.” The manifestação de interesse route that used to let people regularise their status after arriving is gone. If you have a job offer, you now need the correct national visa — most commonly a D3 tied to a specific employer — approved before you travel, and that application has to be lodged at the consulate with jurisdiction over where you legally reside, which for most of this audience means New Delhi.

The other route people ask about, a general “skilled job-seeker visa” that lets you search for work once you arrive, still is not accepting applications anywhere, including in Delhi. Portugal’s own visa portal states it is “not yet available at Portuguese consular offices,” pending regulation of Article 57.º-A of the Foreigners’ Law (vistos.mne.gov.pt) — a status unchanged as of this writing. If you were hoping to travel first and look for work once there, that door is currently closed; see our job-seeker visa explainer for what to do instead while it stays that way.

Pakistan Works Differently: Your Own Embassy, No VFS

Pakistan is not part of New Delhi’s territory at all, and it’s the one country in this cluster where the “just go through VFS India” advice you’ll see floating around forums is simply wrong. Pakistan has its own Portuguese Embassy in Islamabad, and as of the embassy’s own July 2026 update, visa applications are handled exclusively by an outsourced provider called Gerry’s — not VFS Global (Embassy of Portugal, Islamabad). Gerry’s runs its own visa facilitation centres in Pakistan’s main cities, including Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi (Gerry’s Visa Facilitation Services); the embassy itself keeps only small honorary consulates in Karachi and Lahore that cannot issue visas, so don’t confuse the two. Some older listings for “VFS Global Pakistan” for Portugal are stale; if a site directs you there, double-check against the embassy’s own page before paying anyone.

The visa categories and fees are the same national framework used everywhere else — Schengen short-stay, and national visas covering work, study, family reunification and investment — the difference is purely which office and which outsourcing company handles your file. Appointment requests in Islamabad currently go through email to the consular section rather than an online booking portal, and the embassy warns it can take up to 15 working days just to reply given volume, so build that into your timeline if you’re applying from Pakistan.

Applying From Bangladesh: The Extra Step Nobody Mentions

If you’re a Bangladeshi national applying for a work visa, you have one extra hurdle before you even reach the visa application itself: getting into India. Because your Portugal application is lodged in New Delhi, you first need an Indian transit visa — specifically the X-Double Entry category — issued by the High Commission of India in Dhaka. This transit visa is valid for a maximum of three months, and it limits your stay in India to 15 days, non-extendable (Embassy of Portugal, New Delhi).

Practically, this means two separate applications and two separate sets of paperwork before you’ve even had your Portugal biometrics taken: the Indian transit visa first, then your Portugal appointment once you’re in Delhi. Build at least a few extra weeks into your timeline for the Indian visa step alone, and don’t book your VFS Delhi appointment until the Indian visa is confirmed in hand — a rejected or delayed transit visa is a common, avoidable reason Bangladeshi applicants miss their slot.

Applying From Nepal: A Change Is Coming, but Not Yet

For Nepali applicants, the current reality is still New Delhi for everything — Schengen and national visas alike — because Nepal has never had a full Portuguese consular office of its own, only an honorary consulate that cannot issue visas. That is genuinely about to change: in August 2026, Nepal’s cabinet formally approved the establishment of a Portuguese consular office in Kathmandu, reportedly citing the more than 70,000 Nepali citizens now living in Portugal and the administrative delays and travel costs of routing everyone through Delhi (Nepal News, August 2026).

Two things to be careful about here. First, that report describes an approval by Nepal’s own government, not confirmation from Portugal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs that the office is staffed and issuing visas — as of this writing, the New Delhi embassy’s own Nepal page still lists no Kathmandu consular office and no change to the application process. Second, even once it opens, the article doesn’t specify whether it will process visas end-to-end or simply handle document authentication and family-reunification paperwork while visa issuance stays in Delhi. Don’t change your travel plans based on this yet — keep applying through VFS Delhi until the embassy’s own site confirms the Kathmandu office is taking visa appointments, and recheck before you book anything.

What a National Visa Application Actually Costs and Takes

Whichever country you’re applying from in this cluster, the government fee for a national visa — the category covering D3 work visas, study visas and family reunification — is the same: €110, confirmed both on Portugal’s central visa portal and on the fee schedule Pakistan’s Gerry’s centres publish (vistos.mne.gov.pt). A short-stay Schengen visa is separately priced at €90 for adults and €45 for children aged 6 to 11. On top of the government fee, VFS Global (for the New Delhi jurisdiction) and Gerry’s (for Pakistan) each charge their own service fee, which is not set by the Portuguese government and can change independently — confirm the current total on the provider’s own booking page rather than budgeting from an old blog post.

ItemFeeSource
National visa (work, study, family)€110vistos.mne.gov.pt
Schengen short-stay visa (adult)€90Embassy of Portugal, Islamabad
Schengen short-stay visa (child 6–11)€45Embassy of Portugal, Islamabad
VFS Global / Gerry’s service feeVaries, set by the providerConfirm at booking

On timing, the Embassy of Portugal in Islamabad states that consulates aim to decide a complete visa application within 15 working days, extendable to around 45 calendar days for files that need extra checks. That’s the general legal target, and it isn’t the last word for a D3: New Delhi’s own applicant checklist for the D3 quotes a “standard processing time” of 30 calendar days once your file reaches the Consular Section (allow roughly two extra working days for it to get there from VFS) — and the same document’s general remarks elsewhere cite 60 calendar days, so the embassy’s own paperwork isn’t fully consistent on the number (Embassy of Portugal, New Delhi — D3 checklist). Budget for a decision stage of one to two months rather than three weeks. That figure covers the consulate decision only. Once you’re in Portugal and register with AIMA, the residence-permit card itself runs on a separate timeline that has shifted repeatedly through 2025 and 2026 as the agency works through its backlog — check aima.gov.pt close to your travel date rather than relying on any fixed number, including this one.

Step-by-Step: Booking Your VFS Delhi Appointment for a Work Visa

  1. Confirm your visa category first. If you have a signed job offer or employment contract from a Portuguese employer, you’re most likely applying for a D3. If you’re unsure your qualifications meet the “highly qualified” bar, check our D3 visa guide before you book anything.
  2. Handle country-specific prerequisites first. Bangladeshi applicants: secure your Indian X-Double Entry transit visa before booking a Delhi appointment. Everyone else in the New Delhi jurisdiction can book directly.
  3. Book your appointment through VFS Global’s Portugal portal for India at visa.vfsglobal.com/ind/en/prt. Applications cannot be submitted by a third party — you must appear in person for biometrics and identity confirmation.
  4. Gather your documents: passport, employment contract or job offer, proof of accommodation in Portugal, criminal record certificate, health insurance, and the completed national visa application form, plus anything specific to the D3 category.
  5. Pay the €110 national visa fee plus VFS’s service charge at your appointment.
  6. Wait for the consulate decision — the general legal target is 15 working days (up to 45 for complex files), but New Delhi’s own D3 checklist quotes 30 to 60 calendar days once your file reaches the Consular Section, so budget closer to one to two months for a D3.
  7. Travel to Portugal within your visa’s validity window, then register your address and book your AIMA appointment to convert the visa into a residence permit. Our guide to renewing a residence permit in Portugal is worth reading in advance so the renewal cycle doesn’t catch you off guard two years from now.
  8. Apply for your NIF once you’re settled — most banks, landlords and even mobile contracts will ask for it. Our NIF guide covers the process end to end.

Mistakes That Delay South Asian Applicants Most Often

  • Booking a VFS Global appointment when applying from Pakistan. Pakistan uses Gerry’s, not VFS — booking through the wrong portal wastes time and sometimes money.
  • Traveling to Delhi from Bangladesh without the Indian transit visa already confirmed. This is the single most avoidable delay in this whole cluster.
  • Assuming a Schengen tourist visa lets you work while you “sort out” a proper visa later. It doesn’t, and Lei 61/2025 closed that door entirely — you need the correct national visa before you travel.
  • Waiting for Nepal’s Kathmandu office to open before applying. It isn’t processing visas yet; applying now still means going through VFS Delhi.
  • Assuming Sri Lanka or Bangladesh’s Schengen-via-France arrangement also covers work visas. It only covers short tourist and business stays — long-stay national visas still route through New Delhi.

Every one of these mistakes costs weeks, and in a system where consulates already need 15 to 45 days just to decide, weeks matter. If your situation doesn’t map neatly onto any of the categories above — a mixed-nationality family, a pending Pakistani-Nepali transfer, or anything unusual — it’s worth emailing the relevant embassy directly ([email protected] for the New Delhi jurisdiction, [email protected] for Pakistan) before you commit to travel or pay any fees.