| Permit group | Current portal window | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Ordinary residence permit | Expiry from 1 July 2025 through 31 October 2026 | Check eligibility in the Portal de Renovações from Portugal |
| Golden Visa / ARI | Expired from 22 February 2020 through 31 October 2026 | Submit and pay online; AIMA schedules biometrics only if needed |
| Permanent EU residence certificates and permanent cards for EU-family members | The included Article 16 and Article 17 categories are listed in AIMA's 1 July notice | Use the route shown for the exact card type |
What to do now
- Open the official Portal de Renovações while you are in Portugal and test your card's eligibility. Do not use an old SEF, IRN or third-party link as the controlling route.
- Register using the route shown by AIMA. The official launch instructions say the access password is sent by email; they do not require the Chave Móvel Digital or Cartão de Cidadão login claimed by older guides.
- Confirm your email, Portuguese address and Social Security address before payment. AIMA recommends waiting until a requested address change appears correctly in the portal because the new card is sent to the address in the application.
- Upload the documents requested for your permit category. Use short file names without accents or special characters and respond inside the same portal if AIMA later requests missing evidence.
- Pay the Documento Único de Cobrança (DUC) using its instructions and within its validity. AIMA's March 2026 FAQ says a generated DUC should be paid within 10 working days; do not substitute an unsupported card, MB Way or generic payment method.
- Save the submitted file, DUC, payment confirmation and renewal receipt. AIMA schedules biometrics or original-passport inspection only when the case requires it. Residence cards are sent by registered post with acknowledgement of receipt.
Renewal conditions: do not reuse entry-visa tests
Article 78 of the Foreigners Law controls the general temporary-permit renewal test. The applicant must continue to meet the legal conditions and any category-specific request shown by AIMA.
- Sufficient means of subsistence.
- Suitable accommodation in Portugal.
- Tax and Social Security obligations regularised where applicable.
- No sentence or sentences that, individually or cumulatively, exceed one year of imprisonment, plus the applicable public-order and security checks.
The D7 one-minimum-wage figure is an entry-stage planning anchor, while the D8 four-minimum-wage formula is an entry-visa criterion. Article 78 does not reimpose either as a universal renewal threshold. Show current means and the evidence requested for your permit; do not assume that reproducing an entry-stage figure is either necessary or sufficient.
Article 78 says renewal must be requested no later than 30 days before expiry. In practice, use the live AIMA portal window as soon as your card is accepted; do not wait for a fixed date copied from a gov.pt page that warns its procedure may be outdated.
Documents to prepare
The live portal request for the exact permit controls. A sensible core file is below, but AIMA can ask for category-specific evidence or originals.
- Current or expired residence card.
- Valid passport or travel document.
- Current evidence of means of subsistence.
- AIMA-compliant accommodation evidence.
- Evidence that tax and Social Security obligations are regularised, where applicable.
- Authorization for AIMA to consult the Portuguese criminal record, not a self-obtained Portuguese certificate unless AIMA specifically asks for one.
- Permit-specific evidence, such as current employment or activity records, family relationship/support evidence, student records, or proof that an ARI investment remains maintained.
Do not invent a six-month passport-validity buffer, two-photo requirement or universal private-insurance item. Supply the valid travel document and the exact additional evidence the live portal or AIMA notice requests. Foreign documents may need translation, apostille or legalisation when requested.
Accommodation evidence AIMA accepts
All applicants should use AIMA's accommodation declaration and identify the legal basis for occupying the home.
- Owner or usufructuary: current permanent land-register access code or certificate.
- Tenant: lease in the applicant's name plus the previous month's rent receipt.
- Loan-for-use arrangement: the comodato contract plus a current land-register certificate. Extra sworn and tax-address evidence applies when the applicant is not named in the contract.
AIMA's March 2026 FAQ expressly says parish-council (Junta de Freguesia) certificates are not accepted as accommodation proof.
Golden Visa / ARI renewals
Since 16 February 2026, ARI holders and rejoined family members submit the renewal and pay through the Portal de Renovações. AIMA describes this as the online route and calls the submission and payment fully digital; it schedules biometrics only if required.
Keep the qualifying investment maintained and prepare the evidence requested for that route. A temporary ARI is valid for two years and renews in two-year periods when the conditions continue to be met.
The ARI minimum-presence rule is at least seven days in the first year and at least 14 days in each subsequent two-year period. That lower presence rule does not apply to D7, D8 or other ordinary residence permits.
Under the AIMA fee table effective 1 March 2026, the applied ARI renewal charges are €632.10 for reception/analysis plus €3,157.80 for renewal: €3,789.90 per person in total. Check the current table and the portal-generated DUC before paying because fees can change.
Permit terms and absence risk
| Permit group | Typical term | Absence position |
|---|---|---|
| Ordinary temporary residence | Generally two years initially, then three-year renewals | Cancellation risk after an unjustified absence over six consecutive or eight non-consecutive months during the permit's validity |
| Golden Visa / ARI | Two-year temporary permit and two-year renewals | At least seven days in year one and 14 days in each later two-year period |
| Permanent residence | Status is indefinite; card renewed every five years | Separate permanent-residence and absence rules apply |
Keep travel records if your absence history is close to a limit. Portuguese tax residence is not a substitute for the immigration absence test, and time elsewhere in Schengen is not physical presence in Portugal.
Expired cards, the 180-day receipt and travel
For cards that expired after 30 June 2025, AIMA says the residence right continues for six months from the card's expiry date. This protects the domestic residence position for that period; it does not make an expired card valid indefinitely.
The special period for cards expired on or before 30 June 2025 ended on 15 April 2026. Do not rely on old automatic-extension articles for those documents.
After the renewal request is registered and the fees are paid, AIMA issues a receipt valid for 180 days. Keep it with the expired card, passport, DUC and payment proof while the case is pending.
A renewal receipt is not a residence card or travel document. AIMA says it does not issue declarations for travel and advises people to travel with their residence title. If the title is expired, check airline, destination and border requirements before leaving; do not assume a generic consular return-visa route exists for your case.
Fees, delivery and processing time
There is no single renewal fee for every permit. Use the AIMA table effective from 1 March 2026 and the amount on the portal-generated DUC. Translation, legalisation, courier, travel and professional-support costs are separate.
AIMA does not publish one guaranteed processing time for all renewal categories. Validation, missing evidence, payment, biometrics and volume can all affect the result. Track the case in the portal and retain a dated evidence trail rather than relying on a promised number of days.
Issued residence cards are sent by registered post with acknowledgement of receipt to the application address. Confirm the address before paying the DUC and monitor email, including spam, if a card is returned or AIMA requests collection.
Permanent residence instead of another temporary renewal
After at least five years of temporary residence, an eligible applicant can assess permanent residence under Article 80. It is a separate application and also requires the other legal conditions, including means, accommodation, basic Portuguese and the criminal-record threshold. Permanent status is indefinite, but the card is renewed every five years.
When to get help
Escalate before filing if the portal rejects a card that appears inside the current window, the permit basis or investment changed, an absence is close to a legal limit, accommodation evidence is unusual, the DUC will not generate, or AIMA sends an adverse notice. Preserve screenshots, notices and deadlines so the issue can be reviewed against the exact case state.