Renew a Portugal Residence Permit: Americans and Britons Guide

You renew a Portuguese residence permit by asking AIMA, the immigration agency, to do it, and the regulation says the request can be made from 90 to 30 days before the card expires. AIMA takes renewals through its Renewals Portal, and the law renews the permit only if you still have means of subsistence, housing, and your tax and social security obligations in order.

This guide is for Americans and Britons who hold a temporary residence permit in Portugal, usually after a D7, a D8 or another long-stay visa route. It sets out what the pages say on the day we read them, not legal advice. We read the Foreigners Law (Lei 23/2007) and its regulation, AIMA’s pages and notices, and its fee table on 18 October 2026. The latest change we found to the renewal articles is Law 62/2026 of 10 September 2026, which entered into force the next day, so the article carries that date.

When do you have to apply to renew?

Article 78 of the Foreigners Law says a renewal of a temporary residence permit must be requested no later than 30 days before it expires. Article 63 of the regulation (Decreto Regulamentar 84/2007) says the request may be made between 90 and 30 days before the title expires, and article 65 says the same for a permanent residence title.

The consequences of missing the date are in two places.

• Article 201 of the law makes a renewal request filed after the article 78 deadline an offense punishable by a fine of 75 to 300 euros.
• Article 63 of the regulation says that, without prejudice to article 78, the right of residence does not lapse before six months have passed after the end of the title’s validity.

AIMA also published a notice on 15 October 2025 about expired permits. It says that after that date, residence permits whose validity has expired stop being valid if the holder has not started the renewal, and it presents the end of automatic extensions as the end of a practice that began in 2020. Do not wait to see how a late request is handled: ask inside the window.

How long does a renewed permit last?

Article 76 adds that on renewing a permanent title you are excused from handing in documents that AIMA already holds in its electronic workflow. Article 75 and article 76 both say the title must also be renewed whenever the identification elements recorded on it change. The regulation says renewing a title for a change of identification data, theft, loss or damage does not change its expiry date.

Where and how do you apply?

Since 1 August 2025 the registry offices (IRN) no longer handle residence renewals, according to the IRN’s page, which was last updated on 7 August 2025. AIMA’s July 2025 notice describes the Renewals Portal: you register, a password is sent to the e-mail you give, you submit the renewal request, the system validates it and issues a payment document, and the fees can only be paid within 24 hours of that document being issued. After payment the portal issues a renewal request receipt and the analysis starts, leading to the renewed title.

On AIMA’s home page, in October 2026, the Renewals Portal is labeled for residence permits that expired after 30 June 2025. AIMA’s notices show the portal being extended step by step: to long-term resident titles in December 2025, to investment permits from 16 February 2026, and to EU nationals and family members (renewal of paper residence cards, August 2026; permanent certificates and cards, September 2026). When we opened the portal’s address from outside Portugal, the page said access is allowed only in Portugal.

The pages we could read do not say whether a permit that has not yet expired can be renewed through the portal, which documents it asks you to upload or how it shows the payment document. Check this with AIMA before you start.

Article 82(6) of the law says a renewal request must be decided within 60 days.

For a child under 18 the Renewals Portal needs a responsibility statement (Modelo 4); AIMA says it is mandatory for approving a minor’s renewal and that a complete file shortens the wait.

What does the law check before it renews?

Article 78 says a temporary permit is renewed only for third-country nationals who:

• have means of subsistence as defined by the ordinance that article 52 refers to
• have housing
• have met their tax and social security obligations
• have not been sentenced to a prison term or terms that together exceed one year, even if suspended (with the wording the article gives for certain serious crimes)

The same article adds that renewal may be refused on public order or public security grounds, that an illness appearing after the first residence title is not a sufficient reason to refuse, and that a person declared “contumaz” is not renewed until the declaration lapses. Article 81 says a renewal is refused when the Schengen Information System holds an entry-ban alert, when the applicant has a final sentence of more than a year in prison in Portugal, or when the security unit’s information concludes there are internal security, public order or illegal-immigration reasons against it. Article 77 also says the grant or renewal may be refused to nationals of third countries who are the target of EU restrictive measures.

Which documents go with the request?

Article 63 of the regulation says a renewal request is accompanied by documents showing:

For housing, AIMA’s notice of 29 November 2025 says the proof always includes a sworn declaration of your address with the legal basis for using the property, plus one of: a permanent property certificate for an owner or usufructuary; a lease with the applicant named and the receipt for the previous month’s rent; or a loan-for-use contract with a permanent property certificate. If you are not named in the lease, it asks for your own declaration and a tax domicile certificate from the Tax Authority issued less than 30 days before. It adds that statements from parish councils are not accepted.

AIMA’s notice on long-term resident titles reminds applicants that a Social Security number (NISS) is needed to complete a renewal, and that to receive the card at your current address the address on file must be updated. If you do not have your tax number yet, start with our guide to the Portuguese NIF. The law also requires residents to tell AIMA of a change of civil status or address within 60 days (article 86); not doing so is an offense with a fine of 45 to 90 euros (article 202).

What does a renewal cost?

AIMA’s fee table (the column headed Ordinance 307/2023) lists these amounts for residence titles. The first amount in each pair is the one in the table’s Portaria column and the second is the column marked in-person and digital service, which applies the table’s point XIV.

The table’s point XIV gives a 25 percent reduction on requests made in the digital channel and 10 percent for assisted in-person service. AIMA’s page on the regulation gives 25 percent for a digital request, 10 percent for assisted digital service and 25 percent in other cases; the fee table words the 10 percent case as assisted in-person service. The table also says paying the table’s fees covers the cost of forms, stickers and titles, so we do not add the lines together: the portal issues the payment document with the amount due for your case. Permits for investment activity have their own, higher lines.

Does your route change the renewal?

The conditions in article 78 apply to every temporary permit, but article 63 of the regulation adds what each reason for residence must show.

The pages we read do not list a separate renewal document set for the D7 or the D8. What applies to them is the general list above: means of subsistence, housing, a clean record and taxes and contributions in order. The pages we read do not say how AIMA applies article 63(2)(c), the proof of an employment link, to D7 and D8 holders. If you came on the D7 for retirees and passive income, the D8 for remote work or the student visa, read the article 63 line for your reason together with the permit you hold.

Is it different for Britons?

Not if you came on a residence visa. After the end of the transition period on 31 December 2020, AIMA’s Brexit page treats people covered by the Withdrawal Agreement separately; a Briton who came on a residence visa holds a permit under the Foreigners Law, and it is renewed under article 78. What differs is the Withdrawal Agreement regime: AIMA’s Brexit page sets it apart and runs its own contact line for people who moved before that date. Our guide to moving to Portugal as a Briton after Brexit sets out the line between the two groups.

Will absences affect a renewal?

Article 85 says a residence permit may be canceled if the holder, without a good reason, is absent from the country for six consecutive months or eight months in total during the validity of a temporary permit. For a permanent permit the limits are 24 consecutive months, or 30 months in total over three years. The same article says an absence beyond those limits must be justified by a request to AIMA before leaving, or exceptionally after, and that the permit is not canceled if the holder was carrying out professional, business, cultural or social activity abroad.

When can you stop renewing and apply for permanent residence?

Under article 80, a foreigner who has held a temporary residence permit for at least five years, has no conviction beyond the limit in the last five years, has means of subsistence and housing and shows basic Portuguese is entitled to a permanent permit. AIMA’s page for it lists the documents, including proof of tax and social security compliance. Portuguese citizenship is a separate matter: the Nationality Law sets its own residence period, which is 10 years of legal residence for Americans and Britons under the consolidated text, and our citizenship guide covers it.

More guides on this site: renewing a passport in Portugal.

What changed in the law most recently?

The consolidated Foreigners Law shows Law 62/2026 of 10 September 2026 as its latest amendment. It entered into force the day after publication, so on 11 September 2026. It rewrote or revoked parts of the renewal articles: it revoked article 78(6), restated article 78(8) and revoked article 82(7); it also touched article 81-A, which says a renewal request is filed with AIMA’s services (or, in Madeira, the regional services). The notes on the pages do not say what the revoked paragraphs said, and we did not read the version before the law, so check the current text of article 78 on the Diário da República before you rely on a point of detail. The regulation’s consolidated text we read shows its latest amendment as Decreto Regulamentar 1/2024 of 17 January 2024.

Related guides: the AIMA residence permit process after arrival, what an AIMA receipt or appointment letter lets you do, family reunification and permanent residence requirements.

Related guides: proving your address in Portugal, the Chave Móvel Digital for foreigners.

Official pages read on 18 October 2026: the consolidated Foreigners Law (Lei 23/2007) and Law 62/2026 as published on the Diário da República (article 78 and its amendment notes) and by the Lisbon District Attorney General’s office, the consolidated regulation (Decreto Regulamentar 84/2007), AIMA’s pages on the general residence permit regime, on the permanent permit, on the regulation and on Brexit, AIMA’s fee table and its notices on the Renewals Portal, the end of automatic extensions, proof of accommodation and long-term resident titles, AIMA’s FAQ on residence titles, and the IRN page on renewals.