{"id":89093,"date":"2025-09-10T09:54:42","date_gmt":"2025-09-10T09:54:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lamarescapela.pt\/?p=89093"},"modified":"2025-09-10T10:04:17","modified_gmt":"2025-09-10T10:04:17","slug":"residence-authorization-in-portugal-whats-changing-with-aima","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lamarescapela.pt\/en\/residence-authorization-in-portugal-whats-changing-with-aima\/","title":{"rendered":"Residence Authorization in Portugal: What\u2019s Changing with AIMA?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Obtaining a\u00a0<strong>residence authorization<\/strong>\u00a0in Portugal has traditionally followed clear legal criteria. However, in recent months, the actions of\u00a0AIMA\u00a0(Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum) have raised concerns among immigrants and legal professionals. The increasing demand for documents not foreseen by law and the lack of consistency across service desks are making the process more bureaucratic and uncertain.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em>\u201cAIMA\u2019s new practices raise questions about their legality and effectiveness. Often, they are nothing more than additional barriers for those simply trying to comply with the law\u201d<\/em>. Foreign citizens should be accompanied by an immigration lawyer to <em>\u201censure their rights are respected and that they are not forced to submit documents not required by law.\u201d, Diogo Capela, Founding Partner at Lamares, Capela &amp; Associados<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>What the law says about residence authorization<\/h3>\n<p>According to\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/diariodarepublica.pt\/dr\/legislacao-consolidada\/lei\/2007-67564445-222587915\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Article 77 of Law No. 23\/2007<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/diariodarepublica.pt\/dr\/detalhe\/decreto-regulamentar\/84-2007-629434\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Article 53 of Regulatory Decree No. 84\/2007<\/a>, the <strong>requirements for granting a temporary residence authorization<\/strong> include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Valid visa (residence or job-seeking)<\/li>\n<li>No impediments to visa issuance<\/li>\n<li>Presence in national territory<\/li>\n<li>Proof of means of subsistence<\/li>\n<li>Proof of accommodation<\/li>\n<li>Social Security registration (when applicable)<\/li>\n<li>No criminal convictions exceeding one year<\/li>\n<li>Not banned from entering Portugal<\/li>\n<li>No alert in the Schengen Information System<\/li>\n<li>No alert in the SII-UCFE system for entry refusal or return<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Required documentation<\/strong> includes:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Valid passport<\/li>\n<li>Bank statements, employment contract or income declaration<\/li>\n<li>Rental contract, parish council declaration or tax authority certificate<\/li>\n<li>Documents proving family ties<\/li>\n<li>Proof of special qualifications for regulated professions<\/li>\n<li>Criminal record information in Portugal<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>What\u2019s Changing with AIMA<\/h3>\n<p>Despite the clarity of the legislation,\u00a0<strong>AIMA has started requesting additional documents not stipulated by law<\/strong>, creating unexpected hurdles for applicants. Recent examples include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Declaration of honor accompanying the rental contract<\/strong>, with signatures notarized in person by a notary, lawyer, or solicitor<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<blockquote><p><em>\u201cThis requirement is not foreseen by law and adds cost and time to the process without increasing security, as notarization only confirms the identity of the signatories, not the authenticity of the contract\u201d, Diogo Capela<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Declaration of entry to the PSP <\/strong>within three days for those entering Portugal by land, even if staying in a hotel or local accommodation<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<blockquote><p><em>\u201cThe law only requires this declaration when the foreigner stays in private homes, as hotels and ALs are responsible for registration, not the foreigner\u201d, Diogo Capela<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>These demands not only increase costs and waiting times but also create legal uncertainty. The lack of uniformity across AIMA service desks worsens the issue, with varying interpretations and requirements depending on location.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>Impact on Immigrants<\/h3>\n<p>For foreign citizens, these practices result in:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Additional costs<\/strong>\u00a0for notarizations and travel<\/li>\n<li><strong>Unequal treatment<\/strong>\u00a0across service desks<\/li>\n<li><strong>Risk of rejection<\/strong>\u00a0for not meeting requirements not legally mandated<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>There are also cases where informal practices have become \u201cnormal,\u201d such as requiring a bank account or signed rental contract before issuing D7 visas, without any legal basis.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>Conclusion<\/h3>\n<p>AIMA\u2019s actions have introduced new layers of bureaucracy into the residence authorization process in Portugal, often without legal foundation. For immigrants, this means more challenges, higher costs and the need for specialized legal support.<\/p>\n<p>At\u00a0<strong>Lamares, Capela &amp; Associados<\/strong>, we closely monitor all legislative changes and administrative practices, ensuring our clients receive rigorous and strategic immigration support. If you need <a href=\"https:\/\/lamarescapela.pt\/en\/immigration\/\">legal assistance with residence authorization applications<\/a>, contact us.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Obtaining a\u00a0residence authorization\u00a0in Portugal has traditionally followed clear legal criteria. However, in recent months, the actions of\u00a0AIMA\u00a0(Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum) have raised concerns among immigrants and legal professionals. The increasing demand for documents not foreseen by law and the lack of consistency across service desks are making the process more bureaucratic and uncertain. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":89103,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2076,2079],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-89093","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-immigration","category-visas-and-residence-permits"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lamarescapela.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89093","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lamarescapela.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lamarescapela.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lamarescapela.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lamarescapela.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=89093"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lamarescapela.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89093\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lamarescapela.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/89103"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lamarescapela.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=89093"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lamarescapela.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=89093"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lamarescapela.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=89093"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}