🇵🇹 Work & skilled workers

What changed

The Agência para a Integração, Migrações e Asilo (AIMA) has implemented an update to its Renewals Portal in Portugal, specifically for European Union (EU) nationals and their family members applying for permanent residence. This update removes the requirement for applicants to provide their Tax Identification Number (NIF) and Social Security Identification Number (NISS) during the online submission process for Permanent Residence Certificates and Cards. This change aims to streamline the application procedure and improve user experience.

What changed

The Agência para a Integração, Migrações e Asilo (AIMA) has published updated guidance for the renewal of paper Residence Cards (CR) in Portugal. This guidance, published on 13 August 2026, instructs EU nationals and their third-country national family members to omit the leading zero when entering their card number on the Renewal Portal. It also establishes an email submission pathway for those unable to complete the renewal online despite following the new instruction.

What changed

The Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA) has opened a special room for lawyers and solicitors. This room is only for their use. It is at the AIMA Lisbon II Centre, at Rua Álvaro Coutinho, 16, Anjos. AIMA worked with the Bar Association (Ordem dos Advogados, OA) and the Chamber of Solicitors and Enforcement Agents (Ordem dos Solicitadores e dos Agentes de Execução, OSAE) to create this room. The goal is to better support professionals who represent people from other countries. It also aims to make services more efficient.

What changed

The Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA) has launched the 'Integrar para a Construção' programme. Its first cycle starts in July 2026. This programme is part of the Action Plan for Migrations. It offers job training and support to help people get jobs. It is for eligible migrants and people with protection status in Portugal. The programme focuses on the civil construction industry. Applications for the first cycle close on 5 July 2026.

What changed

The Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA) has added a new feature to its Renewals Portal. This lets European Union (EU) citizens and their family members apply for permanent residence certificates and cards online. From 1 July 2026, this digital way of applying replaces older ways. It makes the application process, fee payment, and document submission smoother for these specific types of residence. This change is part of AIMA's larger plan to update and digitise its services.

What changed

Portugal is restructuring how the Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA) handles residence-permit applications and appointments as part of a broader effort to reduce the country's large immigration-processing backlog. The most important change is a shift from relying on in-person appointments for every stage toward greater use of digital submission and processing. Under the amended regulatory framework, certain residence-permit applications can be submitted, documents exchanged and fees paid through the AIMA Portal, removing the need for a prior appointment and physical visit where the relevant digital service is available. AIMA has also introduced or expanded digital renewal channels. From 1 July 2026, the Renewal Portal became the channel for certain permanent residence certificates and cards for EU nationals and their family members, while eligible expired or expiring residence permits can also be processed through the portal. Physical appointments are retained where biometric collection is required. This is therefore not simply a new appointment-booking system. It is a broader administrative reform intended to move routine residence processing online and reserve physical appointments for cases that actually require in-person attendance.

What changed

The Portuguese Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA) launched a special online contact form. This happened on 18 May 2026. You can find it at contactenos.aima.gov.pt. This new process is for foreign babies and minors born in Portugal. Their parents must be foreign nationals with a residence permit. They can use the form to ask for appointments to get a Residence Permit. This is under Article 124 of the Aliens Act. This new form makes the process easier for this specific group of people.