Terms of Service

These terms apply when you use visahelm.com and when you buy any VisaHelm service. When you become a client, you also sign a service agreement that sets out your package, your fees and your payment milestones. If your service agreement and these terms differ, your service agreement applies. Please read both before you pay.

VisaHelm is a trading name of [LEGAL ENTITY NAME], a limited liability company licensed in Abu Dhabi (mainland), licence no. [LICENCE NUMBER], with its registered address at [REGISTERED ADDRESS] ("VisaHelm", "we", "us"). You can reach us at hello@visahelm.com.

We prepare and manage applications for Portugal's D7 and D8 visas from the UAE. Depending on your package, this includes:

• an eligibility review of your income, savings, family and timing
• a document checklist for your nationality and route, and a review of each document you provide
• guidance on UAE MOFA attestation, Portuguese embassy legalisation and apostilles
• arranging your VFS Global appointment in Dubai or Abu Dhabi, and briefing you before it
• preparing your application pack
• preparing you for the AIMA residence-card stage in Portugal, and following up until your card is issued

We also coordinate your NIF (Portuguese tax number), Portuguese bank account and fiscal representation through our service provider in Portugal. That provider may contract with you and invoice you directly for its part of the work. [REVIEW: confirm the contracting model with the Portugal-side provider]

What each package includes is set out on our Packages page and in your service agreement.

• We are not a law firm, and we do not provide legal advice.
• We do not represent you before any authority or court. You sign and submit your own application, and you attend your own appointments.
• We are not affiliated with the Government of Portugal, AIMA, any Portuguese embassy or consulate, VFS Global, the UAE Government or any other government.
• We do not provide tax advice. A tax adviser should confirm your position before you move.

You can apply yourself, without us, through the official channels: the Portuguese visa portal (vistos.mne.gov.pt) and VFS Global in the UAE. Government fees are the same either way.

Visa and residence decisions are made solely by the Portuguese authorities: the Portuguese embassy in Abu Dhabi for the visa, and AIMA for the residence permit. They may ask for more documents, invite you to an interview or refuse an application. We cannot guarantee any result.

The timelines we give are estimates. Appointment availability and processing times are outside our control. Rules, thresholds and fees can change, usually each January. If we learn of a change that affects your case, we will tell you.

• Our professional fees are in UAE dirhams (AED) and are set out in your service agreement. The Visa Ready and Visa to Residence Card packages are priced per main applicant. The Family Move package is priced from AED 29,000, and your exact fee is fixed in writing before you sign.
• The prices on our website are introductory. We may change them for new clients. We will never change the fee in a signed agreement, unless you agree in writing to add services.
• The Route Check is paid in full when you book.
• Packages are paid in stages linked to milestones: 40% on signing, 30% when your application is submitted at VFS, and 30% at the final milestone of your package, as set out in your service agreement. [REVIEW: founder to confirm milestones and percentages]
• VAT is added where applicable and shown on your invoice. [REVIEW: confirm VAT registration and treatment]
• If a payment is overdue, we will send you a reminder. If it is still unpaid 14 days after the reminder, we may pause work until it is paid.

Some costs are charged by authorities and other providers, not by us. They include:

• the Portuguese visa fee: €110 per person (2026)
• the first AIMA residence permit: about €186 per person (2026)
• the VFS Global service charge
• UAE MOFA attestation and Portuguese embassy legalisation fees
• translations, insurance, rent and deposits, and courier costs

These costs are passed through at cost, with no mark-up, and itemised. You pay them directly or, for smaller items such as attestation, translation and courier costs, we may pay them on your behalf and give you the receipts. You always pay rent and deposits directly to the landlord.

These costs are set by the authorities and providers concerned and may change. We cannot refund them, because each body's own rules apply. The Portuguese visa fee is not refunded if a visa is refused.

[REVIEW: founder to approve this refund policy]

Our refund policy, in plain terms:

• Route Check (AED 990). If you cancel at least 24 hours before your call, we refund you in full. Once the call has taken place, the fee is not refundable, but we credit it in full against any package you sign within 30 days of the call.
• First 7 days after signing. You can cancel a package within 7 days of signing it. If we have not started work, we refund all the professional fees you have paid. If we have started work at your request, we refund what you paid minus the value of the work done, which we will itemise for you.
• If your route turns out not to be viable. If, after reviewing your documents and before filing, we conclude that your application should not be submitted, we explain why in writing and refund all the professional fees you have paid, except the Route Check fee.
• Cancelling later. You can end your agreement at any time. Payments for milestones already reached are not refunded. You owe nothing for milestones not yet reached.
• If your visa is refused. Professional fees for work already done are not refunded. We review the refusal with you at no extra cost. If a new application is reasonable, we prepare one re-application at 50% of our professional fee for the same package. Government fees apply again to any new application.
• How refunds are paid. We pay agreed refunds within 14 days, to the original payment method. Government and third-party fees are not included (see above).

Nothing in this section affects your rights under UAE consumer protection law.

So that we can do our job, you agree to:

• give us true, complete and genuine information and documents
• tell us promptly about any change in your income, job, family, address, passport, travel plans or criminal record
• respond to our requests and meet agreed deadlines (delays on your side can delay your case)
• attend VFS and AIMA appointments in person when required
• pay our fees on time
• genuinely intend to live in Portugal: the D7 and D8 are residence visas, and they require you to live there

We will not submit information that we know or suspect to be false or misleading. If we find that a document is false or altered, we will stop work immediately and may end the agreement. In that case, fees for work already done are not refunded.

We will:

• carry out our services with reasonable care and skill
• keep you informed at each milestone
• reply to your WhatsApp messages and emails, usually on the same working day
• keep your information confidential and protect it as described in our Privacy Policy
• tell you promptly if something changes in your case, or if we can no longer continue

• Send documents only through our secure upload portal. Never send passports, bank statements or certificates by WhatsApp or as email attachments. We will never ask you to.
• When originals need to travel, we use couriers with tracking.
• We work in English and Arabic. We use WhatsApp for quick updates, and email for anything important, such as quotes, invoices and formal notices.

[REVIEW: confirm enforceability of this section under UAE law]

• We are not responsible for the decisions, requests, delays or errors of the Portuguese authorities, AIMA, VFS Global or any other government body, or for changes in law, thresholds or practice.
• We are not responsible for the acts or omissions of third parties that contract with you directly, such as banks, insurers, landlords, and our service provider in Portugal where it contracts with you.
• We are not responsible for losses caused by information or documents you give us that are inaccurate, incomplete or late.
• We are not liable for indirect losses, such as lost income, travel or rent costs, or lost business opportunities.
• Our total liability to you for any service is limited to the professional fees you paid us for that service.

Nothing in these terms limits or excludes any liability that cannot be limited or excluded under UAE law, including consumer protection law, or our liability for fraud, gross negligence or wilful misconduct.

If you are unhappy with our service, email hello@visahelm.com with your name and case reference. We acknowledge complaints within 2 working days and send you a full answer within 14 days. If we cannot resolve your complaint, you may contact the competent consumer protection authority in the UAE.

You can end your agreement at any time by telling us in writing (see "Cancellations and refunds"). We may end it by written notice if:

• you give us false or altered documents
• a payment is still unpaid after the 14-day reminder period
• continuing would require us to act unlawfully
• your route is no longer viable
• you are abusive or threatening towards our team

When an agreement ends, we return or delete your documents as set out in our Privacy Policy, and we pay any refund due as set out above.

We may update these terms. The date at the top shows the latest version. Changes do not affect a signed service agreement unless you agree to them in writing.

These terms are available in Arabic and English. If the two versions differ, the Arabic version prevails. [REVIEW: confirm which language prevails]

These terms and any service agreement are governed by the federal laws of the United Arab Emirates as applied in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. The courts of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi have jurisdiction over any dispute. This does not affect your statutory rights as a consumer. [REVIEW: confirm governing law, jurisdiction and any consumer forum]

[LEGAL ENTITY NAME], trading as VisaHelm

• Address: [REGISTERED ADDRESS]
• General enquiries and complaints: hello@visahelm.com
• Privacy: privacy@visahelm.com