Consulate General of the Portuguese Republic

I would have given 5 stars had we been able to achieve what we had hoped to; however I do appreciate that protocols cannot be circumvented. Having said that, Magarida at reception was extremely understanding, kind and helped us to send an email to the correct department at the consulate to request assistance with applying for our D7 visa application interview date. Will post again to update.

UPDATE (7 days later) : Review reduced to one star from four because we received an ‘automated’ response from the consulate again, with the same e-visa portal link to follow as before. The link in this email also did not work. We got with the same error message at the end of the D7 visa application process when we hit the submit button…. Yet again (our lawyer and I have tried to submit the form numerous times now unsuccessfully). We’re stuck in this cycle and cannot get any help from anyone at the consulate. We have no idea what to do now. We have been planning to semi retire in Portugal for 5 years. Very very sad.

I read some of the reviews before attempting to apply for a Portuguese passport and citizen card and was dreading the experience. I did not have difficulty getting appointments online. I may just have been lucky. They attended me on time, no waiting, and the staff was courteous, helpful and efficient. The passport took all but 10 minutes and the citizen card 15 minutes, excellent service. I am impressed. Waiting for both items to be ready for pickup and I hope it will be just as efficient as before

Let me tell ya'll the secret. I finally did it! I thought I'd be stuck in canada forever.
In order to find an appointment try to go on the agendamentos online website around 11pm, 12am on Sunday night! I just randomly went to try to see if I could book an appointment and it worked!

My husband and I received our visas in less than a week. I found the young gentleman who interviewed me to be very helpful and professional throughout the process. He explained everything very clearly. The following day, my husband had his visa appointment and had a positive experience as well. Everyone at the Embassy is so friendly. There should be more officers like him in all embassies. Thank you very much for your assistance.

For those asking about how to get an appointment. I was told that they usually release appointments Friday afternoons. I was checking all day Friday afternoon and no luck. But by 7pm I randomly checked for availability and saw a few appointments available.the only this is they are two weeks from now. Hope that helps!

Not sure what all the bad reviews are about, but I was able to get very clear and succinct instructions over the phone for how to become a citizen. The person on the phone was very friendly and helpful. I am very confident that I will be able to complete the process with their help.

It seems impossible to get an appointment there. I've been trying several times a day for weeks and it always says there are no available slots.

The processing time for our D7 visa was three weeks vs the average two months. The staff was very polite and our our appointment to hand in the documents was on time. We are very happy with the service.

To get the appointment is a pain, but staff was great. Receptionist was fantastic so helpful and informative. Thanks for all your help and advice

I got my visa in 2 days and 1 day shipping to my house. It’s the fastest visa I’ve gotten and thank to all staffs who working there. They are so nice and friendly specially the young gentleman who interviewed me (no pressure during interview). I am so excited for my trip coming now

Contrary to many comments I see here. Today I was at the consulate and I was very well attended, thank you very much to all the employees who work there.

Summary:
Great service, really really great people who are very knowledgable, kind and patient. I now smile when I walk in and see Margarida - she's been so helpful, as have the other two women who helped. Consular services are complicated. They make it easy. Five stars, easily.

Detailed review:
A new Consul General assumed duties in October 2022. You can no longer just walk in (security at the door will not let you unless you have an appointment) and believe me that is a very good thing. The Consul General's message on the website says her first big challenge at the Toronto office is to improve access to consular services. The changes she's implemented are working. There is still work that needs to be done, as getting an appointment online is a bit of a challenge and they need to improve this part of their service. HOWEVER, I've been there a couple times in 2022 then again on April 17,2023 and I can easily say the service is much, much better now that the chaos of an overpacked waiting room is no longer an issue.

Very nice and courteous staff and especially Visa Officer. Have been very supportive in processing visa on a very short notice. Seems like they have a lot of workload but still they respond back on emails and entertain most of the requests. Just a feedback, their online visa booking system needs to be improved. Overall appreciate their commitment!

Planning to go to Portugal?
Plan years ahead.
Most likely, you would still find it hard to get an appointment.

The people in the consulate are good, they know what they are doing and they have a process for everything. That being said the services are not user friendly. It's difficult to get an appointment. If you do it has to be specific to what's listed which isn't always listed in the drop down once you finally find an appointment. Not to mention there is hardly any availability. I had 1 choice of a time and had no choice and had to change my life for this appointment. This is not helpful for the older population that has a hard time with computers. They posted a phone number on Facebook that they can answer questions over the phone. The number extention doesn't work. This consulate can do better and needs improvement. The Portuguese of Toronto deserve better, and they can do better they need improvements. They need to be more user-friendly and easier to access. Saying they are good and organized isn't helping the accessibility issue. I'm not the only one bringing this up and it's for a reason, do better.

After years of problems where we have had awful service at the consulate, our latest experience was above and beyond. Paula and Margarida were excellent in answering our questions and directing us accordingly. I appreciated their help in ensuring I was well taken care of, and their assistance with my daughter's questions for her own paperwork. A huge step in improvement from years passed.

I would appreciate any guidance at all, there’s no way to contact them, each time i fill out the form and try to schedule an appointment keeps telling me can’t schedule during a holiday when I’m choosing weekdays. I’ve written emails and still waiting to hear back. If there’s anyone who can advise on how to book an appointment I’ll be ever so grateful. Something is so wrong with their e-visa application Portal. Appointments show available you just can’t choose them. Frustrating when you’re dependent on them for the visa and the assistance levels are non-existent.

Horrible way to conduct business.can't seem to book an appointment. Everything has to be "booked" online, meanwhile the website they send you to is completely garbage and barely even makes sense. Been waiting already 2 months to be able to book a day to renew my passport and ID

Fix your booking calendar! Spent 2 freaking hours trying to book a spot and it keep saying you have holidays! One month holiday?

I have applied and received a Schengen visa for Portugal twice from this consulate. It was a good and quick experience. Not a great website, but good and helpful people work here.

I've never, ever left a bad review but my God, this place only seems to get worse and worse and it's infuriating!
My mom was here to pick up her citizenship card a few days ago (renewed in October while we were in Portugal, sent it to the consulate, never got notified when it arrived).

She asked if she could make an appointment for my dad to renew his card that expired, lady said no, had to be done online. My mom asked if she could help her out - she was already there in person, her mom (my grandma) passed away unexpectedly and she needed to send copies of their documents ASAP, she doesn't know how to do these things online and that her daughter (me) is away sometimes for multiple days for work - but the lady still said no, my mom would have to find someone to help her out.
Not even in an emergency situation / extremely distressing and sad time are they able to help someone out, I couldn't believe it when she told me, it's made us so mad and disappointed.
Now we've got more unnecessary stress to deal with. And I've got my dad's expired card with me at all times so I can check multiple times a day for an appointment opening. No surprise, nothing is ever available.

It is literally faster and easier to get on a plane, go to our small town, walk into an office, renew our documents and fly back to Toronto than it is to have someone even answer the phone here.

Majority of these reviews are frustrated people who have been struggling for WEEKS/MONTHS to get help for the simplest requests. Biggest headache, such an embarrassment. Do better for your Portuguese community, this should not be such a problem.

I've been trying to book an appointment to renew my documents for well over 2 months with no success as the online site is near impossible to navigate and when you finally manage some progress, it always says their are no available appointments.not to mention there isn't even a phone number in which to reach an actual person.it shouldn't be this difficult to travel back home.

I can not get an appointment? How do you get an appointment if the website claims that there are none available? Months now. This is ridiculous.

I recently visited the consulate and the service was great! The staff (Margarida & co) were very helpful and informative from the moment I walked through the door. They were courteous, organized and professional, and ensured that the entire process went smoothly and efficiently.

Clear instructions and guidance were provided for every step, and they made sure I had all the necessary information and documentation before leaving.

Overall, I would recommend this consulate to anyone who needs their services. The staff are top-notch, the atmosphere is very pleasant, and the service is great, as far as I can conclude from my visit.