Quick answer
Portugal's D8 digital nomad visa rests on proof that you work remotely for an employer or clients outside Portugal, so a U.S. One Florida apostille is all the U.S. side needs — $220, 5–7 business days.
- Issued by
- Your employer (HR, a manager or an officer), signing on company letterhead before a Florida notary.
- Florida state fee
- $10 — included in $220
- Route
- Apostille only — Hague member since 1969
- Online notarization
- Available as an add-on
- Consulate serving Florida
- Consular Section of the Embassy of Portugal in Washington, D.C.
- Translation
- Our general rule is a translation certified by the translator, notarized by a separate notary and apostilled in Florida, but for Portugal you often need no translation at all.
How a Florida employment letter is used in Portugal
Portugal's D8 digital nomad visa rests on proof that you work remotely for an employer or clients outside Portugal, so a U.S. employment letter or contract is central to the file, alongside proof of income. Highly qualified workers also use U.S. letters to document experience. Follow the consulate's checklist: if it wants the letter apostilled, the employer's HR officer signs it before a notary, with your title, dates, salary and remote-work arrangement, and we apostille it. AIMA may ask for the same evidence when you convert the visa into a residence permit.
Getting a employment letter Florida will apostille
A letter on company letterhead with the signer's name and title, signed in front of a Florida notary who completes an acknowledgment in a representative capacity (naming the company) or a jurat. The certificate needs venue, presence or online box, date, ID type and a seal with an active commission, and the contents must match what the consulate requires.
Send HR the consulate's required wording first. If HR is outside Florida, the signer can join our online notarization session with a Florida-commissioned online notary from anywhere: $40 for the first document ($10 notarization fee + $30 technology platform fee) and $20 for each additional document. Notarization is not included in our $220.
State fee for this document: $10 — included in our price. Full details on the employment letter apostille page.
Who receives it in Portugal — and translation
The Instituto dos Registos e do Notariado (IRN) and its Conservatória dos Registos Centrais in Lisbon handle nationality and the transcription of births, marriages and deaths of Portuguese citizens abroad. AIMA, the Agência para a Integração, Migrações e Asilo, which replaced SEF in October 2023, handles residence permits. DGES and public universities recognize degrees, Tribunais da Relação review foreign judgments, and the RNPC issues numbers to foreign companies. Florida is served by the Consular Section of the Embassy of Portugal in Washington, D.C.
Our general rule is a translation certified by the translator, notarized by a separate notary and apostilled in Florida, but for Portugal you often need no translation at all. Civil registries can waive it for English, French or Spanish documents when the official knows the language (book ahead), and IRN nationality forms and DGES do the same. When Portugal does require one, the IRN expects it certified in Portugal by a notary, registry officer, lawyer, solicitador or recognized chamber of commerce, or by a Portuguese consulate in the issuing country.
Portugal doesn't publish one age limit for every foreign document; ask the conservatória, AIMA or the consulate. Criminal records are the most time-sensitive, and nationality files filed after May 19, 2026 follow the new law, while files pending on that date keep the old rules.
Consular office serving Florida: Consular Section of the Embassy of Portugal in Washington, D.C. (Florida also has Portuguese honorary consular offices).
Four steps, one week
Order online
Pick the document and destination country on the order form and pay by card. After we review your documents, FedEx emails you a prepaid label.
Send it — or sign online
Drop the envelope at any FedEx location. Not signed yet? Add online notarization and there is nothing to ship.
We file in person
We review it, then walk it to the Florida Department of State in Tallahassee for the apostille.
Returned to you
Back in 5–7 business days — anywhere in the U.S., or abroad for a flat $100.
Why employment letters get rejected
- Notarized in another state at the employer's headquarters
- Acknowledgment that doesn't state the signer's capacity
- Printed, digitally signed PDF with no notarization
- Certificate missing the presence box or ID line
What it costs for Portugal
$220 per document, $380 for two and $160 each for three or more — the state fee, request form, in-person filing in Tallahassee and FedEx shipping inside the U.S. are included. Shipping the finished apostille to Portugal is a flat $100 per order.
Not included: whatever the issuing office charges for the certified copy or certificate, and notarization (online notarization is $40 for the first document — $10 notarization fee + $30 technology platform fee — and $20 for each additional one).