Portugal Residency Renewal Update

Experience dated November 2025, describing renewals received in October 2025. This post records our experience and suggestions at that time. It is not a current checklist of official requirements; verify the process that applies to you before acting.

We’re legal!

Our first temporary resident permits (TRP) expired in September 2024 and we received our renewed TRPs in October 2025. Yep, you read that correctly – one year to renew.

I’m not going to write about our process, because EVERYTHING about the renewal process has changed since we had our in-person appointments in April 2025.

Here are some things I’d recommend preparing, based on our experience. Use AIMA’s renewal guidance and official portal link to check the process for your permit type and expiry date; this list isn’t a substitute for the documents they request.

• Get all of your numbers in order: NISS, SNS, NIF etc.
• Be ready to show proof of sustenance (income) and that you’re actually living in your place of residence (deed, utility bill, and/or letter from your landlord).
• If you can afford it, get help. We worked with an attorney who helped with many things:
  • Ensuring we had the correct documents.
  • Going to the appointments with us and handling literally everything on our behalf with the attendants at IRN. This came in handy because only 3 of the 4 of us had interviews on the same day – Tiny Human #2’s appointment was the next day. But our attorney successfully appealed to the IRN employees and manager to allow us to all be processed on the same day. The IRN staff were resistant to the idea at first, but our attorney was very persuasive. I think it helped that #2 is adorable, and our attorney appealed to their general sense of being overworked and understaffed, and that if we came back tomorrow, another staff member would have to re-enter and re-scan all the same documents and information they had already completed.
  • Most importantly, our attorney helped assuage our fears and help us remain calm during a time of change and uncertainty. It felt good knowing that we had someone in our corner who was well-informed and committed to seeing us through this process.
• Mail forwarding! If your address has changed since your last TRP, and you haven’t been able to change it with AIMA, or you’re planning to update it during renewal—look into CTT’s mail-redirection service. Go to your local CTT store and be prepared to spend a few minutes filling in forms. Time well spent. But don’t treat forwarding as a guarantee: confirm the service’s exclusions and update your address with AIMA, too.
• Stay informed. Things are changing all the time. Read AIMA’s explanation of residence rights after a card expires and check how it applies to your dates and renewal status. Permission to remain in Portugal and the documents needed to travel across borders are different questions; get those answers before booking.

Our renewed permits are valid through 2028. When we applied for residency in 2022, we were planning around the citizenship rules as we understood them then, including a five-year residence period. By the time I wrote this in November 2025, proposed changes had made that timeline uncertain. We also have our existing NHR status until 2032; that is our situation, not a tax benefit new arrivals should assume they can claim.

At the time, our approach was to wait and see. It would have been lovely to start the citizenship process in 2028, but a few extra years didn’t change how we felt about living here. Update, November 2026: citizenship rules have since changed. The Ministry of Justice’s explanation of the changes effective 19 May 2026 is a better starting point than our old five-year assumption. Ask a qualified adviser about the rules and transitional provisions that apply to your family.

Portugal is still one of the best life choices we’ve made. Even with the frustrating bureaucracy, I wouldn’t change anything we’ve done.

More about building a life here

Read our healthcare experience and our home-buying story for other parts of the move.

Talk through your Portugal plans

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