Timor-Leste Business Visa Class I / II

Timor-Leste's investor route runs through the business visa, which the Law on Migration and Asylum divides into Class I and Class II. Article 38 provides that Class I is for business prospecting, valid for a maximum of 60 days with multiple entries and not extendable (subject to Article 51), while Class II is for members and administrators of a commercial company registered or to be registered in Timor-Leste who hold a relevant position and remain in the country for more than 183 days per year. Class II is issued initially for six months and is extendable for periods of two years, with multiple entries; extension is conditional on the company actually being registered and on continuing corporate, labour and fiscal compliance, plus the 183-day presence (Law No. 11/2017 of 24 May, Law on Migration and Asylum).

The Migration Service publishes the operational detail: applications are lodged at Migration Service headquarters in Vila Verde, Dili, or at an embassy or consulate; fees are US$100 for Class 1 and US$150 for Class 2 (same for new grants and extensions); and the means-of-subsistence test under Article 15 is US$100 per entry plus US$50 per day of stay. The document list is extensive — commercial registration, tax certificate, medical certificate and criminal record among them (Serviço de Migração — Business Visa).

Importantly, the visa rules impose no minimum investment. The relevant capital numbers come from company law, and they are very low. SERVE, the business registration authority, states that the minimum share capital is US$1.00 with no maximum, that a Joint Stock Company (Sociedade Anónima) requires a minimum of US$50,000, and that a foreign branch or permanent representation requires US$5,000, all under Company Act Law No. 10/2017 of 17 May (SERVE — FAQs). TradeInvest Timor-Leste confirms the same figures — minimum share value of US$1 for a Sociedade Unipessoal Limitada or Sociedade por Quotas, US$50,000 for a Sociedade Anónima and US$5,000 for a permanent representation — and notes SERVE registration in about five working days (TradeInvest Timor-Leste).

The residence ladder is comparatively generous. Article 40 provides a visa to establish residence (90 days, multiple entry); Article 55 sets out residence-permit types; Article 59 makes the temporary residence permit valid two years, renewable; and Article 64 grants permanent residence after at least ten consecutive years of legal residence, or six years holding a temporary residence permit, or five years married to a national. Article 63 confirms permanent residence has no validity limit. Fees are modest: US$100 for a temporary residence permit and US$150 for permanent (Law No. 11/2017). The law was amended by Law No. 10/2021 (Serviço de Migração — Legislation).

Larger investors can also pursue benefits under the Private Investment Law No. 15/2017 (Private Investment Law 15/2017); a current practitioner overview of the regime is available in a 2026 doing-business guide (Morais Leitão — Doing Business in Timor-Leste, March 2026).

Route selection

• Class I — business prospecting: maximum 60 days, multiple entries, not extendable (subject to Art. 51) (Law No. 11/2017, Art. 38).

• Class II — for members or administrators of a commercial company registered or to be registered in Timor-Leste holding a relevant position and remaining more than 183 days per year; initial six months, extendable for two-year periods, multiple entries (Law No. 11/2017, Art. 38).

Corporate requirements (SERVE)

• Register the company with SERVE; minimum share capital US$1.00 with no maximum for a Sociedade Unipessoal Limitada or Sociedade por Quotas; US$50,000 for a Joint Stock Company (Sociedade Anónima); US$5,000 for a foreign branch or permanent representation — under Company Act Law No. 10/2017 of 17 May (SERVE — FAQs; TradeInvest Timor-Leste).

• Registration takes roughly five working days (TradeInvest Timor-Leste).

Means of subsistence (Article 15)

• US$100 per entry plus US$50 per day of stay (Serviço de Migração — Business Visa).

Documentation

• Commercial registration certificate, tax certificate, medical certificate and criminal record, among other items on the Migration Service's published list (Serviço de Migração — Business Visa).

Fees

• Class 1: US$100. Class 2: US$150. The same amounts apply to new applications and extensions (Serviço de Migração — Business Visa).

• Residence permits: US$100 temporary, US$150 permanent (Law No. 11/2017, fee annexes).

Where to apply

• Migration Service headquarters, Vila Verde, Dili, or a Timorese embassy/consulate abroad (Serviço de Migração — Business Visa).

Extension conditions (Class II)

• Effective company registration, continuing corporate, labour and fiscal compliance, and at least 183 days per year of presence (Law No. 11/2017, Art. 38).

Moving onto residence

• Article 40 provides a visa to establish residence (90 days, multiple entry); Article 59 makes the temporary residence permit valid two years, renewable; Article 60 sets the requirements (Law No. 11/2017).

• Effectively no investment threshold: the business visa rules set none, and the general company minimum share capital is US$1.00 (Law No. 11/2017, Art. 38; SERVE — FAQs).
• Extremely low government fees — US$100 for a Class 1 business visa and US$150 for Class 2, the same for extensions (Serviço de Migração — Business Visa).
• Class II business visas are extendable in two-year blocks with multiple entries, giving a stable long-term footing for an active business owner (Law No. 11/2017, Art. 38).
• A statutory temporary residence permit of two years, renewable, for US$100 (Law No. 11/2017, Arts. 59 and fee annexes).
• An accelerated permanent-residence route: six years holding a temporary residence permit rather than the standard ten consecutive years of legal residence — and permanent residence has no validity limit (Law No. 11/2017, Arts. 63–64).
• Dual citizenship is effectively permitted: Timorese citizenship is lost only where the person voluntarily acquires a foreign citizenship and declares renunciation (Law No. 9/2002, s. 14).
• Company registration through SERVE takes about five working days (TradeInvest Timor-Leste).
• Timor-Leste uses the US dollar, and its fees and capital minimums are denominated in USD, removing FX risk from the structure (SERVE — FAQs; Serviço de Migração — Business Visa).

Timor-Leste has a workable, if long, naturalisation route. Section 12 of Law No. 9/2002 on Citizenship requires an applicant to be an adult, to have been a usual and regular resident for at least ten years (counted before 7 December 1975 or after 20 May 2002), to speak one of the official languages (Tetum or Portuguese), to have adequate moral and civic standards, to be self-sufficient, and to have knowledge of Timorese history and culture. Section 11 provides a shorter marriage route — five years of marriage plus two years of residence and language ability — and section 16 lists grounds of opposition (Law No. 9/2002).

Dual citizenship is effectively permitted. Section 14 provides that Timorese citizenship is lost only where the person voluntarily acquires a foreign citizenship and declares that they renounce Timorese citizenship — so acquiring another nationality does not by itself cost the Timorese one (Law No. 9/2002, s. 14).

The route from investor to citizen is therefore: Class II business visa (six months, then two-year extensions, requiring 183 days per year in country) → temporary residence permit (two years, renewable, US$100) → permanent residence after six years on a temporary residence permit or ten consecutive years of legal residence → naturalisation after ten years of usual and regular residence with language and civics requirements (Law No. 11/2017, Arts. 38, 59, 64; Law No. 9/2002, s. 12).

Because both the Class II visa and the naturalisation test are presence-based (183 days per year; usual and regular residence), this is a genuine relocation route with tax-residence consequences, not a paper-residence product.

The controlling statute is Law No. 11/2017 of 24 May, the Law on Migration and Asylum, as amended by Law No. 10/2021 (Law No. 11/2017; Serviço de Migração — Legislation). The operative provisions for this visa are Article 15 (means of subsistence), Article 38 (business visa Classes I and II, durations and extension conditions), Article 40 (visa to establish residence), Article 55 (types of residence permit), Article 59 (temporary residence permit valid two years, renewable), Article 60 (requirements), Article 63 (permanent residence has no validity limit) and Article 64 (permanent residence after ten consecutive years of legal residence, six years on a temporary residence permit, or five years married to a national), together with the fee annexes (Law No. 11/2017).

The administering authority is the Serviço de Migração de Timor-Leste, which publishes the business-visa procedure, document list and fee schedule and receives applications at its Vila Verde headquarters in Dili or through Timorese missions abroad (Serviço de Migração — Business Visa).

Company formation — the substantive precondition for a Class II visa — is governed by Company Act Law No. 10/2017 of 17 May and administered by SERVE, which sets the minimum share capital at US$1.00 generally, US$50,000 for a Joint Stock Company and US$5,000 for a foreign branch or permanent representation (SERVE — FAQs; TradeInvest Timor-Leste). Investment incentives sit under the Private Investment Law No. 15/2017 (Private Investment Law 15/2017).

Naturalisation is governed by Law No. 9/2002 on Citizenship (Law No. 9/2002).