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Permanent Residence Portugal 2026: Requirements and How to Apply

Updated 25 October 2026· Checked against official sources

Ler em português

Permanent residence in Portugal is the next step for people who have already lived in the country for several years with a temporary permit. It ends the renewals every two or three years and gives you more stability. In 2026, with delays in renewals, more and more people are looking at this option.

What is a permanent residence permit in Portugal?

It is a residence permit (autorização de residência permanente) with no expiry date, set out in art. 80 of Law no. 23/2007 (Lei de Estrangeiros — the Foreigners Law). According to AIMA (Agência para a Integração, Migrações e Asilo — the immigration agency), it is issued for five years and the card must be renewed every five years or whenever the identification details on it change. However, the right itself does not end when the card period ends.

Do not confuse it with:

• Long-term resident status (ERLD — estatuto de residente de longa duração) — an EU status (art. 125) that makes it easier to move to other EU countries;
• Portuguese citizenship (nacionalidade portuguesa) — requested from IRN, gives you a Portuguese passport.

According to AIMA, the ERLD requires, among other things, five years of legal and uninterrupted residence immediately before the application, stable and regular income, health insurance or registration with the SNS (national health service) and, when applicable, proof of basic Portuguese.

Permanent residence requirements

How to prove basic Portuguese

AIMA accepts one of these documents:

1. School certificate from a Portuguese school (public, private or recognised cooperative);
2. School certificate from a school in a country where Portuguese is an official language (useful for Brazilians, Angolans, Cape Verdeans, etc.);
3. Certificate from a basic Portuguese course at IEFP (the public employment and training institute);
4. Certificate from a basic Portuguese course at a recognised school;
5. Test certificate from a CAPLE centre (Centro de Avaliação de Português como Língua Estrangeira — the official Portuguese-as-a-foreign-language testing centre);
6. Certificate of level A2 or higher from a Português Língua de Acolhimento (PLA — Portuguese as a Host Language) course.

PLA courses are free in many public schools, IEFP centres and Centros Qualifica — see AIMA’s page on Português Língua de Acolhimento.

Documents to bring

• Valid passport
• Proof of means of subsistence (payslips, IRS tax return, recibos verdes, pension)
• Address declaration on your word of honour, with a land registry certificate (if you own the home) or a landlord’s declaration (if you rent)
• Proof that your situation with Finanças and Segurança Social is in order (you get these on the Portal das Finanças and on Segurança Social Direta, using Chave Móvel Digital)
• Proof of basic Portuguese
• Form Modelo 1 (and Modelo 4, if applicable)

How to apply for permanent residence in Portugal, step by step

1. Count the five years from the date your first temporary residence permit was issued. You can ask AIMA for a certificate of time of residence (Modelo 7) at any AIMA office (Loja AIMA).
2. Get your Portuguese certificate if you do not have it yet.
3. Ask for the no-debt certificates (certidões de não dívida) from Finanças and Segurança Social.
4. Book an appointment at a Loja AIMA (Contact Centre: 217 115 000, working days from 8am to 8pm).
5. Submit the application in person, with the documents and the official form, and pay the fees (Portaria no. 307/2023). According to the AIMA fee table (updated on 26/02/2026), the fees are €99.80 for receiving and analysing the application plus €263.40 for granting it, so €363.20 in total.
6. Receive your new card.

According to AIMA, the permanent residence application is made by appointment at a Loja AIMA; it is not available online.

Permanent residence or citizenship?

Many people first apply for permanent residence, so they no longer depend on renewals, and later apply for citizenship.

The citizenship rules (including the years of residence required) have changed recently; check the current requirements on the IRN website. See also our guide to Portuguese citizenship.

How long does the decision take?

AIMA’s page about this application does not give a decision deadline. Always ask for the receipt proving you submitted the application.

While your application is being analysed, keep your temporary permit valid (or keep the renewal receipt).

Common mistakes

• Counting waiting time as residence. What counts is the time you held a temporary residence permit; confirm the count with the AIMA certificate.
• Forgetting to renew the card. The permit is permanent; the card is not.
• Small debts to Finanças or Segurança Social that block the no-debt certificate.
• Thinking that speaking Portuguese is enough. You need a document that proves it.
• Confusing it with citizenship. They are different processes and different authorities.

Next steps

• Residence permit in Portugal
• Residence permit renewal at AIMA
• Family reunification
• NISS: how to get it