Portugal Residence Permit AIMA Process for Americans and Britons

You apply to AIMA for the residence permit in person, at an AIMA store, by appointment, inside the four months your residence visa is valid. The permit that follows is a temporary one, valid for two years and renewable for periods of three years, and the Foreigners Law says AIMA must decide on a first request within 90 days, which it can extend by 30.

This guide follows what AIMA, the foreign ministry and the Diário da República say about that step, for Americans and Britons who have already been granted a residence visa. AIMA’s pages for the general permit do not distinguish by passport, and we say below where a British reader’s position differs. If you have not got the visa yet, start with the overview of Portugal’s residence routes, then the guides to the application from the US or from the UK. This is a reading of official pages, not legal advice.

How long do I have after the visa, and what does it give me?

The foreign ministry’s page on types of visa says a residence visa allows two entries and is valid for four months, and that during that time its holder is required to apply to AIMA for a residence permit. The Foreigners Law says the same in article 58, paragraphs 1 and 2, and adds in paragraph 6 that when a residence visa is granted, a pre-authorization of residence is issued with information on obtaining the permit and the provisional assignment of tax, social security and national health service numbers.

The general conditions for the permit are in article 77, paragraph 1. They are cumulative, and several are about the visa and your presence in Portugal:

• a valid residence visa, issued for one of the purposes the law provides, or a visa to look for work
• no fact that, had the authorities known it, should have prevented the visa from being granted
• presence in Portuguese territory
• means of subsistence as defined by the ministerial ordinance
• accommodation
• registration with social security, whenever applicable
• no conviction for a crime punishable in Portugal by more than one year in prison
• no entry ban following a removal measure, and no alert in the Schengen Information System or the national alert system

The article also lets the authorities refuse a permit on grounds of public order, public security or public health, and to ask for a medical examination for the diseases it defines. For a permit for subordinate work or for self-employment, articles 88 and 89 add conditions on top of article 77: a lawful employment contract and social security registration for an employee; for the self-employed, a company, a declared start of activity or a service contract, the means of subsistence and social security registration.

What do I bring to the AIMA appointment?

AIMA’s page for the general permit under article 77, paragraph 1, says the request is made on an appointment, or through an electronic platform that was being implemented for residence visa holders on the day we read it, and is filed in person with a form signed by the applicant or the legal representative. It can be filed at any AIMA store. The page lists these documents:

AIMA’s information FAQ (version 1.0, March 2026) asks for more detail on the address. For a tenant it asks for a copy of the rental contract in your name and the rent receipt for the previous month. For a loan of the property (comodato) it asks for a copy of the lending agreement and an up-to-date permanent land registry certificate. If you are not named in the contract, it asks for a sworn declaration with the owner’s name and tax number and a certificate from the Tax Authority dated less than 30 days ago. It also says that declarations from parish councils are not accepted as proof of accommodation. The two pages are worded differently, so ask the AIMA store which applies to your case.

The page does not say in what order you should get the tax number and the social security number. Our guides to the Portuguese NIF and to the paperwork of your first month cover those, and the healthcare guide covers the SNS side.

How do I prove my means of subsistence?

AIMA has a page on means of subsistence under its cross-cutting topics. It says the reference is the guaranteed monthly minimum wage, and that the proof depends on your case. For the situations Americans and Britons most often have, it lists:

• a pension: a certificate issued by the official entity that pays it, with an authenticated declaration
• income from financial investments: a document from the entity that processes the payment, with an authenticated declaration
• remote employment for a foreign employer: a copy of the employment contract or an employer’s declaration
• remote self-employment: a copy of the company contract, of the service contract, or a document showing services provided to one or more entities
• an employment contract or a promise of one, with pay slips for the last three months; or a service contract, the declaration of start of activity and receipts for the last six months

The page quotes the 2025 minimum wage as its example, so we give no amount here. The current amount for each route is in our guide to the routes.

What about documents issued in the US or the UK?

AIMA’s page on recognition of documents says documents issued abroad must be authenticated before they are presented to the Portuguese administration and, in most cases, translated. For a country that signed the Hague Convention, the recognition is the apostille. The page lists who can make the certified translation (a Portuguese notary, a registrar, a lawyer or solicitor practicing in Portugal, a chamber of commerce recognized under Decree-Law 244/92, a suitable translator whose work one of those entities certifies, or a Portuguese consul in the country where the document was issued or that country’s consulate in Portugal), and says documents presented in English, French and Spanish do not need translation. That is useful to Americans and Britons: an English-language document needs the apostille but not a translation, on the page’s own wording.

One more conditional: AIMA’s information FAQ, version 1.0 of March 2026, says that if you must present the original criminal record certificate from your country of origin or from any country where you lived for more than one year, citizens of countries other than Brazil and Cape Verde send the original by post to one of two P.O. boxes (in Lisbon or in Porto) listed there. The general permit page does not list a criminal record certificate among its documents, so ask the store whether it will be requested in your case.

How do I get the appointment?

AIMA’s general permit page says the request is made by appointment. AIMA’s contact center takes calls on working days from 8:00 to 20:00 on (+351) 217 115 000, at the cost of the tariff in force, and AIMA’s FAQ gives geral@aima.gov.pt as the address for appointment requests in specific cases, such as the first grant of a permanent permit. Neither of the pages we could read says that either is the channel for a first permit after a residence visa. For one case, a work relationship formed within the 180 days of a work-seeker visa, article 88, paragraph 7, of the Foreigners Law speaks of requesting the permit on the date of the appointment indicated on the visa. It does not say the same for other visas.

AIMA’s stores page lists the address and opening hours of each store, and notes that some hours are for information only, for lawyers, or for certificate requests, so check the store’s page before you travel.

How much does it cost?

AIMA’s page links its fee table, which carries the amounts under Ordinance 307/2023 and has two columns of amounts. The first column is headed with the ordinance; the second is headed in-person and digital service, under point XIV of the table. Point XIV says that fees get a 25 percent reduction when the request is filed through a digital channel, 10 percent when filed with assisted in-person service, and that until the services are provided digitally the 25 percent reduction applies to the amounts charged in person. The second column is about 25 percent below the first, which fits that text, and we show both. We did not find the question of which column AIMA charges on a given day answered on the page, so ask the store.

The table does not say which of the first two lines applies to a permit granted after a visa under article 77 for a retiree or a remote worker, so we do not state a total. Point XIII adds that paying these fees covers the cost of the forms, stickers and residence title. The table also has a separate schedule for people covered by the Withdrawal Agreement, which we come back to for Britons.

AIMA’s FAQ on residence permits, which is undated, gives 28.50 euros for in-person delivery of the permit (question 5); the fee table gives 29.90 euros (point XVI).

How long does AIMA take, and what can I do while I wait?

Article 82, paragraph 5, of the Foreigners Law says that, without prejudice to other decision periods in the law, the request for a permit must be decided within 90 days, which may be extended by 30 days in exceptional and justified circumstances such as the complexity of the case, with the applicant informed of the extension. If the request is refused, paragraph 8 says the decision is notified with its grounds and with the right to challenge it in court and the time limit for doing so.

In the meantime:

• Work: article 81, paragraph 4, lets a residence visa holder carry out a professional activity while the request is pending, for a reason not attributable to the applicant, in accordance with the law.
• Family: article 81 lets the request cover dependent minors, and lets the applicant ask for family reunification at the same time.
• Travel: AIMA says the application receipt is not a travel document and cannot be used to go to other Schengen countries, and that it does not issue declarations for travel. The pages we read do not say whether the second entry of your visa can be used while the request is pending, so ask AIMA before you leave Portugal. The Schengen 90/180 rule is a separate subject.
• Following up: AIMA’s FAQ says a request started directly with AIMA has a process number, shown on the receipt.

What if AIMA asks for more documents?

For a permit request started directly with AIMA, AIMA’s FAQ says you do not need to go to a store to send missing documents. You use AIMA’s contact form, choosing the topic Residence permit and the subtopic for sending documents to ongoing cases, enter the process number from the receipt and upload between 3 and 5 files of up to 10 MB each. For a request submitted through another platform, the notification points to that platform’s personal area. If AIMA asks to see your original passport, it must be presented in person on the date and at the place in the notification, with the notification, and AIMA says digital copies are not accepted for that check.

AIMA’s FAQ asks for short file names without accents or special characters, such as passport.pdf. AIMA’s news page records that the contact form was unavailable during planned maintenance on 20 September and on 2 and 3 October 2026.

How do I receive the card, and what do I do if something is wrong?

AIMA’s FAQ says residence cards are sent by registered mail with delivery confirmation to the address in your application. If you are not at home, the post office leaves a notice saying where and until when you can collect it, and a card that is not collected in time goes back to AIMA. Your address matters: the same FAQ tells residents to keep their address and contact details up to date with AIMA, Social Security and the tax authority.

Check the card when you get it. Errors go to the AIMA store that attended you, within 20 days of receipt, with the card, for a correction and a second copy. If the error is not yours, the new card is free. To change your address with AIMA without a new card, the FAQ says to use the contact form, choosing the topic Change of data (no appointment necessary) and the subtopic for communicating or correcting the address without issuing a new card. The permit then serves as your identification document in Portugal: article 84 of the Foreigners Law says the residence title replaces the identification document for all legal purposes, with an exception for Brazilian citizens under a bilateral treaty.

What happens after the first permit?

A temporary permit is valid for two years from the date the title is issued and can be renewed for successive periods of three years (article 75, paragraph 1, and AIMA’s page). The permit must be renewed sooner if the identification details on it change. Article 78 says a renewal request must be made up to 30 days before the permit expires, and that the receipt of a renewal request has the same effects as the permit for 60 days, renewable. The renewal conditions repeat the means of subsistence and accommodation tests and add that you must have met your tax and social security obligations.

Where you file the renewal is something the pages we read do not agree on. AIMA’s FAQ on residence permits, undated, says renewals of temporary and permanent permits are filed in person at an IRN counter, by appointment. Article 81-A of the law, as amended by Law 62/2026, says the renewal request is presented to the services of AIMA. Read AIMA’s current renewal page before you plan it.

Permanent residence is a separate grant. Article 80 asks for at least five years as a holder of a temporary permit, no prison sentence over one year in those five years, means of subsistence, accommodation and basic knowledge of Portuguese. AIMA’s FAQ says a request for the first grant of a permanent permit is made by email to geral@aima.gov.pt, with a subject line the FAQ gives, and lists the documents, including proof of compliance with tax and social security obligations. AIMA’s FAQ also says any AIMA store can issue a certificate of residence time for nationality and other purposes, on its Modelo 7 form.

Is it different for a Briton?

A Briton who moves now, on a national residence visa, follows the same AIMA page as an American; the page does not distinguish by nationality. The difference is for Britons who were already living in Portugal before the end of the transition period. AIMA’s Brexit page says the Withdrawal Agreement entered into force on 1 February 2020, with a transition period that ended on 31 December 2020, and that if you have not yet been regularized under it you should find out how to proceed, and it gives the Brexit line, (+351) 214 236 709, on working days from 8:00 to 14:00, or brexit@aima.gov.pt, for any question about the Withdrawal Agreement. AIMA’s fee table has a separate schedule for those procedures under Ordinance 1/2022, with 15.00 euros for issuing a temporary residence title, 18.00 euros for a permanent one and 35.00 euros for an urgent issue. Our guide to moving to Portugal as a Briton after Brexit explains who falls where.

What changed in September 2026?

The consolidated Foreigners Law on the Diário da República lists Law 62/2026, published on 10 September 2026 and in force from 11 September, as its latest amendment. It amended articles 78, 81, 81-A, 82, 88 and 89, among others. Among its provisions, article 88, paragraph 8, and article 89, paragraph 6, as worded since then, say that a permit holder can change employer, or the nature of a self-employed activity, by notifying AIMA, without a new title. The consolidated text also shows several paragraphs of articles 78, 81 and 82 as repealed. We did not compare the old and new texts line by line, and we do not know whether every AIMA page we read had been revised after 11 September. Where an AIMA page and the law read differently, check the consolidated text and ask AIMA which one it applies.

More guides on this site: proof of accommodation for the visa application; registering with the SNS.

Date of the information and pages read

We read the pages on 18 October 2026. The latest legislative change in them is Law 62/2026 of 10 September 2026, in force from 11 September 2026. AIMA’s information FAQ is version 1.0 of March 2026, and its general permit page, means of subsistence page, document recognition page and fee table carry no date of their own.

Related guides: what an AIMA receipt or appointment letter lets you do, renewing a residence permit, family reunification, permanent residence requirements and citizenship by residence, step by step.

Related guides: getting your Segurança Social number (NISS), proving your address in Portugal, apostilles, translations and certified documents.

Official pages read: the foreign ministry’s page on types of visa; the consolidated Foreigners Law, Law 23/2007, on the Diário da República; AIMA’s pages on the general residence permit, means of subsistence, recognition of documents, AIMA stores, news and Brexit; AIMA’s Modelo 1 form; AIMA’s fee table; and AIMA’s frequently asked questions on residence permits and on information services. We could not open AIMA’s services portal.