American Samoa (United States territory) vs Portuguese Republic
A neutral side-by-side of immigration systems, routes and regulators. Each row links to the underlying visa page with its primary government source.
Last reviewed:
Source basis
This comparison combines American Samoa (United States territory) and Portuguese Republic government portals with the primary sources for each side's dominant skilled route. Every detailed figure links through to the underlying route or data page.
Reviewed
Primary sources
- American Samoa Department of Legal Affairs - Visitor Permits
American Samoa Department of Legal Affairs - verified
- AIMA — Agência para a Integração, Migrações e Asilo
AIMA (Portugal) - verified
- American Samoa Department of Legal Affairs - Residency Classification
American Samoa Department of Legal Affairs - verified
- VistosMNE — Residence visa for highly qualified activity
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Portugal) - verified
American Samoa (United States territory)
American Samoa Visa Atlas coverage is based on Department of Legal Affairs visitor and residency guidance plus Title 41 of the American Samoa Code. The current packet covers U.S. citizen or national entry documents, Samoa and non-U.S. visitor-permit routes, employment and family residency petitions, permanent residence, foreign investor entry permits and guest worker permits; users should check American Samoa-specific immigration rules rather than assuming mainland U.S. visa, ESTA or admission rules automatically control the territory.
- Official portal
- American Samoa Department of Legal Affairs
- Languages
- English, Samoan
- Currency
- United States dollar
Portuguese Republic
Portugal runs residence visas (D-series) administered by consulates and AIMA (Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum, which replaced SEF in late 2023). Popular routes include the D7 passive-income visa, D8 digital-nomad visa, and residence for highly qualified activity.
- Official portal
- AIMA (Portugal)
- Languages
- Portuguese
- Currency
- Euro
How American Samoa (United States territory) and Portuguese Republic differ
| Dimension | American Samoa (United States territory) | Portuguese Republic |
|---|---|---|
| Total routes covered | 9 | 7 |
| Routes without employer sponsor | 3 | 4 |
| Routes leading to permanent residence | 1 | 6 |
| Typical full settlement timeline | — | Arrival → permanent residence eligibility at 5 years → citizenship eligibility at 10 years for most non-EU/CPLP applicants under the law effective 19 May 2026. |
| Dominant skilled visa | Employment-Based Residency Petition | D3 visa (highly qualified activity) |
| Skilled visa salary minimum | — | — |
| Skilled visa processing time | — | Portuguese Consulate network — National visas does not publish one fixed, route-wide end-to-end processing time that can be stated responsibly for this application route. |
| Skilled visa government fees | — | — |
| Official languages | English, Samoan | Portuguese |
| Currency | United States dollar | Euro |
| Primary regulator | DLA | OA |
| Policy changes (last 12 months) | 0 | 1 |
Skilled-route head-to-head
Comparing each country’s most-used skilled-migration route side by side.
American Samoa (United States territory)
Employment-Based Residency Petition
- Salary minimum
- —
- Government fees
- —
- Processing time
- —
- Sponsor required
- Yes
- Leads to settlement
- No
Portuguese Republic
D3 visa (highly qualified activity)
- Salary minimum
- —
- Government fees
- —
- Processing time
- Portuguese Consulate network — National visas does not publish one fixed, route-wide end-to-end processing time that can be stated responsibly for this application route.
- Sponsor required
- Yes
- Leads to settlement
- Yes
Routes unique to American Samoa (United States territory)
Routes unique to Portuguese Republic
Visa routes side by side
American Samoa (United States territory) (9)
U.S. Citizen or National Entry Documents
No sponsor · Non-settlement · Entry and stay as allowed by American Samoa border and immigration rules for the traveller status.
Samoa 10-Day Visitor Permit
No sponsor · Non-settlement · Up to 10 days under the Samoa visitor-permit treatment, subject to the permit granted and current entry rules.
U.S. Visa Waiver 30-Day Visitor Permit
No sponsor · Non-settlement · Up to 30 days as allowed by the visitor permit granted under current American Samoa rules.
Non-U.S. 30-Day Sponsored Visitor Permit
Sponsor · Non-settlement · Up to 30 days as granted under the sponsored visitor-permit process.
Employment-Based Residency Petition
Sponsor · Non-settlement · Residency or employment-authorised status as granted by the Immigration Board, Attorney General or current petition process.
Family-Based Residency Petition
Sponsor · Non-settlement · Residency status as granted under the current petition or registration process.
Permanent Resident Status
Sponsor · Leads to settlement · Permanent residence status if granted under American Samoa immigration law and current board procedures.
Foreign Investor Entry Permit
Sponsor · Non-settlement · Investor entry permission as granted under the statutory framework and current official process.
Guest Worker Permit
Sponsor · Non-settlement · Guest worker status as granted under the statutory chapter and current Immigration Board process.
Portuguese Republic (7)
D7 visa (passive income / retirement)
No sponsor · Leads to settlement · Residence visa valid for the entry/residence process; temporary residence generally 2 years then a 3-year renewal. Permanent residence may be available after 5 years; naturalisation generally requires 7 years of legal residence for eligible EU/CPLP nationals and 10 years for other foreign nationals.
D8 visa (digital nomad / remote work)
No sponsor · Leads to settlement · Residence track: same 2+3 year pattern as D7, leading to permanent residence or citizenship.
D2 visa (entrepreneur / self-employment)
No sponsor · Leads to settlement · Same 2+3 year residence permit pattern; leads to permanent residence or citizenship after 5 years.
Portugal Golden Visa (residence by investment)
No sponsor · Leads to settlement · Initial 2-year residence renewable; very low physical-presence requirement (7 days in year 1, 14 in years 2 and 3).
D3 visa (highly qualified activity)
Sponsor · Leads to settlement · 2+3 year pattern leading to permanent residence or citizenship.
Portuguese Student visa
Sponsor · Non-settlement · Programme length; annual renewal.
Family reunification (residence)
Family sponsor; no employer sponsor · Leads to settlement · Normally matches the resident sponsor’s authorisation; independent residence has separate conditions.
Frequently asked questions
Which country has an easier skilled-migration route, American Samoa (United States territory) or Portuguese Republic?+
American Samoa (United States territory)’s Employment-Based Residency Petition is the dominant skilled route; Portuguese Republic’s D3 visa (highly qualified activity) is the dominant skilled route. “Easier” depends on your salary, sponsor situation, and nationality — see each visa’s eligibility detail.
Does American Samoa (United States territory) or Portuguese Republic have more visa routes without an employer sponsor?+
Portuguese Republic has more: 4 of its covered routes can be pursued without an employer sponsor, against 3 for American Samoa (United States territory). No-sponsor routes — such as digital-nomad, self-employment, and points-based skilled migration — matter most if you do not yet have a job offer.
Cite or reuse this dataset
This comparison is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0. Cite the page for the compiled head-to-head table and use the country-comparisons JSON endpoint to retrieve the indexed pair, destination profiles and underlying source datasets.
Suggested citation
Visa Atlas, "American Samoa (United States territory) vs Portuguese Republic immigration comparison", https://visaatlas.org/compare/american-samoa/vs/portugal. Last verified 21 July 2026.
- JSON endpoint
- https://visaatlas.org/api/public/country-comparisons