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Renewing Your Residence Permit with AIMA in Portugal

The online renewal portal, the window from 90 to 30 days before expiry, the documents, upgrading to long-term EU resident status, and surviving the backlog.

Renewing Your Residence Permit with AIMA in Portugal

Last verified: September 2026.

Who this is for

  • Non-EU residents holding a temporary residence permit, for work, retirement, remote work, study, or family.
  • Residents whose permit expired less than six months ago.
  • Residents nearing five years who are weighing permanent or long-term EU resident status.

Not for you if: you are an EU, EEA, or Swiss citizen. Read Registering as an EU Citizen Resident in Portugal (CRUE) instead.

Updated September 2026. Automatic extensions of expired permits ended on 15 October 2025. The late renewal fine is €75 to €300, and online renewal costs €185.60.

A temporary residence permit lasts two years at first, then three years at each renewal. You renew it online on AIMA's renewal portal. You can apply from 90 days before the expiry date and should apply at least 30 days before it. Renewing online costs €185.60. At an in-person appointment it costs €247.30. When you pay, you get a receipt that stands in for your card while AIMA decides. After five years you can apply for permanent residence or long-term EU resident status instead.

When to renew

The law says you must ask for renewal at least 30 days before your card expires. You can start up to 90 days before.

Put two dates in your calendar the day you get your card:

  • 90 days before expiry: gather your documents and open the portal.
  • 30 days before expiry: the last day to apply on time.

If you apply late, AIMA can fine you €75 to €300. You can still renew online if your card expired less than six months ago.

If your card expired more than six months ago, you cannot renew. You must make a new residence application at an AIMA office.

There are no more blanket extensions. Portugal extended expired permits by decree from 2020, but that ended on 15 October 2025. An expired card is now only covered if you have a renewal receipt.

What you need

Have these ready as scans before you start:

  • Your residence card, valid or expired less than six months ago.
  • A valid passport.
  • Proof of means of subsistence. Examples are your last IRS return, your last three payslips and your employment contract, or your green receipts (recibos verdes) from the last 12 months.
  • Proof of address. This can be a certificate from your parish council, a rental contract and your last rent receipt, or your property deed or land registry record. See Getting a Proof of Residence (Atestado de Residência) in Portugal.
  • Proof that you owe nothing to Finanças and to Social Security, where this applies. See Getting a Certificate of No Debts (Certidão de Não Dívida).
  • Your consent for AIMA to check your Portuguese criminal record, unless you are under 16. You give this during the application.

AIMA can refuse renewal if you have been sentenced to more than one year in prison. Developing an illness after your first card is not a reason to refuse.

Extra documents by permit type

AIMA may ask for more, depending on why you hold the permit:

  • Retirement or passive income (D7): recent pension or income statements, and bank statements showing the money arriving. The usual minimum is the national minimum wage, €920 a month in 2026, for the main applicant.
  • Remote work (D8): your current contracts with clients or employers abroad. The income floor is four times the minimum wage, €3,680 a month in 2026.
  • Employment: your employment contract and recent payslips.
  • Self-employment: your green receipts and your activity registration with Finanças.
  • Study: proof of enrolment for the next year. If you finished or left your course and now work, you cannot renew a student permit. Ask AIMA about a new permit instead.
  • Family reunification: the sponsor's valid permit and proof that you still live together. Since October 2025, the law also links these renewals to Portuguese language and civics training. The detailed rules are still to be set, so ask AIMA what applies to you.

How to renew online, step by step

  1. Check your addresses. Your address must be correct with AIMA and with Social Security before you pay. If Social Security still has a foreign address, update it first.
  2. Fix any address change. Use AIMA's contact form, choosing "Portal de Renovações" and then the address option. AIMA updates it within two working days.
  3. Open the renewal portal (Portal de Renovações). It only opens from an internet connection in Portugal.
  4. Fill in the form and upload your documents.
  5. Pay the fee. The portal generates a payment document (DUC). Pay it within 10 working days. If you only paid part, pay the rest with the same DUC through a different bank, not at a post office or Payshop.
  6. Save the receipt. Keep the PDF on your phone and in email or cloud storage.
  7. Check your personal area. If AIMA asks for missing documents, upload them there, not by email.

To change the email linked to your renewal, use the same contact form and choose the email option.

Renewing in person

Online is the main route. Some renewals are done at a desk run by the Registry Office (IRN), by appointment only. You cannot book it yourself. IRN contacts eligible people to set a date.

These desks are in Citizen Shops (Loja do Cidadão), registry offices, and civil identification offices across the country. Bring the same documents on the day.

Two kinds of permit must be renewed at an AIMA office: investment permits (the golden visa) and permits for victims of human trafficking.

What it costs

AIMA's fee table from 26 February 2026 sets these amounts for a temporary permit:

ItemOnlineIn person
Processing the request€99.80€133.00
Issuing the renewed card€85.80€114.30
Total€185.60€247.30

Urgent issue, within two working days of approval, costs €47.80 more. Supporting documents cost extra. A parish council address certificate may have a small fee. Debt certificates from the online portals are free.

While you wait

Your receipt works as your residence card while AIMA decides. The law gives it 60 days of effect, renewable. In October 2025 AIMA said renewal receipts would be valid for 180 days. Check the date on yours and keep it with your expired card.

Show the receipt and the old card to employers, banks, landlords, and health services. Keep checking your email and your personal area on the portal for requests.

If AIMA is slow or refuses

If your renewal stalls, first use AIMA's contact form or call the contact centre on 217 115 000, Monday to Friday, 8:00 to 20:00.

If that fails, you can complain to the Ombudsman (Provedor de Justiça). It is free and done online.

If you face real harm from the delay, such as losing a job, a court can order AIMA to act. See Getting an Urgent Court Order against the State in Portugal. You may qualify for state legal aid.

If AIMA refuses, the decision must give its reasons and tell you how long you have to challenge it in court.

Only use aima.gov.pt, gov.pt, and the official portals. Ignore anyone selling AIMA appointments.

After five years: permanent or long-term EU resident

After five years with a temporary permit, you can move to a status with no need to prove your reason for being here. You have two options.

Permanent residence requires:

  • At least five years with a temporary permit.
  • Means of subsistence and a place to live.
  • No prison sentence over one year in the last five years.
  • Paid-up tax and Social Security.
  • Basic Portuguese, at A2 level.

The permanent permit has no end date, but the card is renewed every five years. See Getting Permanent Residence in Portugal.

Long-term EU resident status requires:

  • Five years of legal, unbroken residence right before you apply.
  • Stable income for you and your family, without welfare support.
  • Health insurance.
  • A place to live.
  • Basic Portuguese.

Absences shorter than six months in a row, and under 10 months in total, do not break the five years. The card lasts at least five years and makes it easier to move to another EU country.

To book either, email [email protected] with the subject "Agendamento de Concessão/Renovação de AR permanente" and wait for a date. For proof of Portuguese, AIMA accepts a CIPLE exam pass or an A2 certificate from a free state course. See Portuguese Language Exams CIPLE, DEPLE, and DIPLE.

FeeOnlineIn person
Permanent residence, first card€363.20€484.10
Long-term EU resident, first card€247.30€329.70

Citizenship is a separate step with a longer clock since 19 May 2026. You now need 10 years of legal residence, or seven for citizens of Portuguese-speaking and EU countries. See Getting Portuguese Citizenship by Naturalisation.

Sources

This guide is written from official Portuguese and EU sources and, for prices and contact details, the providers' own websites.

Last verified September 2026. Rules and fees change; check the official source before acting.

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