Terms of Service

Section 1About VisaWise Consultants

VisaWise Consultants is a self-service visa preparation platform. It helps people who are applying for a Portuguese residency visa (such as the D8 digital nomad visa, the D7 passive income visa, and related categories) understand the requirements, gather the documents they need, and compile their application file.

VisaWise Consultants is not a law firm, an immigration consultancy in the regulated sense, or a government service. The platform does not provide legal advice. The platform does not lodge applications on your behalf. The platform does not guarantee that any visa application will be approved.

The VisaWise Consultants service is operated as a sole tradership trading as VBFactory, registered in Portugal. Tax identification number available on request at legal@vbfactory.co.

For specific steps that require a regulated legal professional (for example, document review by a Portuguese lawyer or representation in legal proceedings), VisaWise will direct you to an accredited professional. The professional is independent. You contract with the professional directly, separately from the VisaWise service.

Section 2What VisaWise is, and what it is not

VisaWise is:

• A platform that explains visa requirements in plain language
• A checklist tool that tracks the documents you need
• A workspace where you organise the file you will submit
• A self-service guide, where you do the work and the platform helps you do it

VisaWise is not:

• A lawyer or immigration agent
• A government office
• A guarantee of visa approval
• A substitute for legal advice when you need it
• A representative who acts on your behalf with the authorities

The AI agents on this site are AI, not people. They identify themselves as AI when asked. They do not give legal advice. They cannot guarantee that your application will be approved.

Section 3The intermediary model

VisaWise acts as an intermediary. The platform helps you prepare your application. If your situation needs the input of a regulated professional, the platform will connect you to one.

By using VisaWise you acknowledge:

• VisaWise is not the regulated professional and does not bear the legal responsibilities of one
• When VisaWise refers you to an accredited professional, you contract with that professional directly
• The professional is independent. Their work is their responsibility. VisaWise is not liable for actions or decisions taken by the professionals it refers you to
• Final legal responsibilities for your application rest with you and, where applicable, with the professional who reviews or represents you

This is the structural posture described in Portuguese consumer law and EU consumer protection rules for intermediary services.

Section 4How the AI agents work

The site uses AI conversational agents to help you through the visa preparation process. The agents will ask you about your situation, explain the requirements, suggest the documents you need, and help you organise your file.

Per Article 50 of the EU AI Act (effective 2 August 2026), and as a matter of platform policy regardless, every agent identifies itself as AI when asked or when the law requires.

Agents will not:

• Tell you that you definitely qualify for a visa
• Predict that your application will be approved
• Advise on whether to disclose specific information to the authorities
• Replace a lawyer when one is needed
• Diagnose any condition, give medical advice, or give financial or tax advice (those are out of scope for this service)

Agents will:

• Identify themselves as AI when asked
• Stop and provide emergency contact information if you express suicidal ideation, self-harm, threats, or describe an active medical emergency
• Connect you to a person if you ask
• Lower their confidence and recommend professional review when your situation is unusual (for example, mixed-nationality households, prior visa refusals, criminal records, situations not covered by the standard requirements)

Section 5Who can use the service

You can use VisaWise if you are at least 18, can enter into a binding contract under the law that applies to you, and you give honest information about your situation.

If you are completing the application on behalf of a family member (for example, a partner or a child), you confirm that you have the right to do so.

The Operator may decline service where the situation is outside the platform's scope.

Section 6What is in scope, what is out of scope

In scope: Portuguese residency visas in the categories the platform supports, document gathering, file compilation, application preparation, general guidance on the visa process, and connection to accredited professionals where needed.

Out of scope: legal opinions on case strength, guarantees of approval, representation in legal proceedings, family law adjacent to immigration, medical advice, tax advice (unless tax services are explicitly part of your subscription), case status with the authorities after submission.

When something is out of scope, the agent will tell you and may suggest where to look. For specific legal advice on your situation, an accredited immigration lawyer is the right next step.

Section 7Your responsibilities

You agree to:

• Give honest information
• Provide your own documents accurately and not falsify them
• Submit your own application to the Portuguese authorities, unless you have contracted separately with a professional to do so
• Track your own deadlines

You acknowledge:

• Visa approval is decided by the Portuguese authorities, not by VisaWise
• Requirements can change. VisaWise updates its guidance regularly but cannot promise the information is current at every moment.
• The platform helps you prepare. The work of submitting and following up is yours, unless you separately engage a professional to handle it.

Section 8Fees

Fees and subscription terms are shown on the site at the time of purchase. You agree to the fees by completing the purchase.

If you pay through a third-party payment processor (such as Stripe), that processor's terms also apply to your payment.

Refunds: under Portuguese and EU consumer law, you have a 14-day right of withdrawal from a distance contract for most digital services. Some specific exceptions apply (for example, where the service has been fully performed within the 14 days with your consent). Withdrawal rights are explained at the time of purchase.

Section 9Data and privacy

Full detail is in the Privacy Notice. Summary:

The Operator collects the information you share to prepare your visa application and stores it securely. The Operator shares it only with you, with the accredited professionals you engage through VisaWise (with your consent), and as required by law.

You have full GDPR rights: access, correction, erasure within 30 days, restriction, portability, the right not to be subject to solely automated decisions, the right to complain to the Portuguese data protection authority (CNPD).

Your conversations are kept isolated. Other VisaWise customers cannot see your data. Your VisaWise data is not shared with any other service operated by the same Operator.

Section 10AI-specific terms

Large language models can make mistakes. The Operator works to limit these mistakes within the platform's defined scope, but cannot eliminate them.

Any specific legal or financial conclusion that an agent appears to draw about your situation should be treated as a starting point, not as advice. The professional you engage gives advice, not the agent.

The agent does not make decisions that significantly affect your legal rights or your application status. Per Article 22 of the GDPR, if the platform's automated processing would significantly affect you, you have the right to obtain human review. You can ask for human review at any time.

Section 11Crisis and emergency

If you are in immediate danger or having a medical emergency, call your local emergency services (112 in Portugal and across the EU). The agent will pause and remind you of this if it detects crisis signals during the conversation.

Section 12Disclaimers

The service is provided as-is. The Operator does not guarantee:

• That any visa application will be approved
• That the timing of your application will meet any specific deadline
• That the platform will be available without interruption
• That the agent will not make mistakes

Nothing in these terms reduces your statutory rights as a consumer under Portuguese or EU law.

Section 13Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent the law allows, the Operator's liability to you for any claim arising from your use of VisaWise is limited to the fees you paid in the 12 months before the claim arose, or €100, whichever is greater.

The Operator is not liable for: visa refusals, missed application deadlines, lost employment opportunities, indirect, incidental, consequential or punitive damages, or any losses arising from your reliance on something the agent said as if it were legal advice.

This limitation does not apply to: gross negligence or wilful misconduct by the Operator, death or personal injury caused by the Operator's negligence, fraud, or any liability that cannot be limited under Portuguese consumer law.

Section 14Indemnification

You will indemnify the Operator against losses, costs, and reasonable legal fees arising from your provision of false or misleading information, your fraudulent or dishonest use of the service, or any breach of these terms by you.

Section 15Termination

You can close your account at any time through the site. The Operator can close your account for material breach of these terms, after giving you reasonable notice and opportunity to fix the breach, or immediately for fraud or other serious breaches.

After termination, the Operator will keep your data for the legally required period, then delete it. You can request deletion sooner subject to the Operator's legal retention obligations.

Section 16Changes to these terms

The Operator may change these terms. Material changes will be notified by email and on the site at least 30 days before they take effect. Continued use of the service after the change date counts as acceptance.

Section 17Governing law and dispute resolution

These terms are governed by Portuguese law.

If you have a dispute with the Operator, the parties will first try to resolve it through mediation. For consumers, mediation is available through a Portuguese consumer arbitration centre such as CNIACC (www.arbitragemdeconsumo.org). If mediation does not resolve the dispute, the matter can be brought to the Portuguese courts in Lisbon.

EU consumers can also use the European Online Dispute Resolution platform at ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr.

If you are a consumer protected by the mandatory consumer-protection rules of the country where you live, those rules apply to you alongside Portuguese law. Nothing in this section takes away rights you have under the mandatory law of your home country.

Section 18Other

If any part of these terms is unenforceable, the rest still applies. You cannot transfer your rights or obligations under these terms. The Operator may transfer rights and obligations to a successor with notice to you. No waiver of any breach is a waiver of any other breach. These terms are the whole agreement between you and the Operator about VisaWise.

Section 19Contact

For questions: legal@vbfactory.co.