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After completing her higher education, Brenda joined AnchorLess in 2023. She is an expert on relocation issues in Europe.

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Table of contents

How does AIMA residence permit renewal work?
When to apply for AIMA renewal
What documents are required for AIMA renewal?
What if your situation changed since your first permit?
What to check before you start
How to use the AIMA Renewal Portal, step by step
Why is the AIMA Renewal Portal asking for documents that do not apply to you?
When does AIMA ask you to appear in person for a renewal?
What fees are associated with AIMA renewal?
How long does AIMA renewal take?
How to check AIMA renewal status
What happens if your AIMA permit expires?
What if AIMA has not decided after 60 days?
Common AIMA renewal problems and what to do
When it is worth having your renewal file reviewed
What to get right before you renew

Aima

Renewal

21/09/2026

How to renew your AIMA residence permit in Portugal

AIMA renewal is now mostly online. For most permits you renew your AIMA residence permit through the AIMA Renewal Portal (also written 'AIMA Renewal Portal'): you register, submit the renewal request, complete the automatic checks, pay the renewal fee and upload any required documents. AIMA only calls you to an office when it genuinely needs something in person, usually updated biometrics or a document check. Our general AIMA guide sits alongside this article; here we stay on renewal.

Renewing your residence permit is not a smaller copy of your original visa application. In this renewal process AIMA reassesses whether you still meet the conditions for residence: identity and a valid passport, proof of accommodation, current proof of financial means, and a regular tax and Social Security status. Portuguese rules even let AIMA pull that information from public databases where it can, and ask you for a document only when it cannot.

This covers the current renewal of residence permits for a non-EU citizen already living in Portugal, whatever route brought you here, plus the fees for the less common renewals, from the EU Blue Card to permanent residence.

How does AIMA residence permit renewal work?

To renew your AIMA residence permit, you register in the AIMA Renewal Portal, submit the renewal request, let AIMA run its checks, pay the fee and upload any documents it asks for. Knowing how to renew AIMA residence permit cases online is most of the battle: that is the whole renewal process for most people, and it rarely needs an office visit.

Written as a sequence, an ordinary residence-permit renewal moves like this:

Request submitted, automatic checks, payment of the 'Documento Único de Cobrança' (DUC), documents when needed, assessment, an in-person step only if required, decision, card production, delivery.

You do not normally book an appointment yourself. If AIMA needs you in person, it schedules that step.

What AIMA reassesses when you renew

Renewal is a fresh check that you still qualify. AIMA looks again at your identity, accommodation, means of subsistence, tax and Social Security position, and anything tied to your specific permit. The useful question at each step is which condition AIMA is confirming, and whether it can confirm that on its own.

Is AIMA renewal fully online?

Usually, yes. The request, payment and most of the assessment happen in the portal. AIMA calls a portal applicant in only when documents need verifying or biometric data to be collected. If it can validate what it needs and reuse the biometrics on file, you may never visit an office.

What is the AIMA Renewal Portal?

AIMA Renewal Portal is the official platform for online renewal of a residence permit. It is where you access the AIMA portal, pass the automatic checks, pay the fee, upload documents and track the application.

Ordinary temporary permits renew here, and so do investment permits (ARI / Golden Visa), permanent residence titles, and permanent residence documents for EU nationals and their family members. Fees differ by type; the cost section breaks them down.

You access the AIMA portal with the identifying details AIMA asks for, and it emails the password to the address on your record. A current email address is the single most useful thing to check first, because the password, document requests and appointment notices all arrive there.

Expect an automated flow, not a person reviewing your case live. The portal checks Portuguese databases, generates a payment reference, then opens a document-upload stage only if it needs something. Stages can appear and move on quickly, so have the file ready rather than assembling it inside the portal.

When to apply for AIMA renewal

You can present the renewal request in the 90 days before your card expires, and it should be requested no later than 30 days before expiry. The 30-day deadline is in the Foreigners Law; the 90-day earliest-start is in its regulation. Do not wait until only 30 days remain, because starting early leaves room if a data problem appears.

Your legal renewal timeline

In plain terms: you may renew from 30 days out at the latest, and as early as 90 days out. Anything inside that window is on time, and the renewal timeline below (portal, payment, documents, decision, card) runs from there.

When the AIMA Renewal Portal opens for your card

AIMA enables the portal by expiry month, so the legal window and the portal window differ.

AIMA opens the AIMA Renewal Portal progressively as permits expiring in later months become eligible. As things stand, ordinary permits with expiry dates from 1 July 2025 through 31 October 2026 are covered, and the range keeps extending. Investment (ARI) titles have broader coverage reaching further into the year. Because it moves, the portal itself is the most reliable eligibility check.

The law says when you are entitled and expected to renew; the portal says whether AIMA has switched on your expiry date yet. In reports shared across expat communities, most people actually submitted one to two months before expiry, with relatively few getting in more than 90 days early and a notable share submitting only after their card had already expired. So starting early is possible, but the common reality is a one-to-two-month lead, not the full 90 days.

What if the AIMA Renewal Portal does not recognize your permit?

Check the data first, then eligibility. Confirm your residence card number, passport number, NIF, email, nationality, date of birth and address; any error can stall an eligible renewal. AIMA corrects these through its Contact Form under 'Portal de Renovações'. If the data are right, the question is simply whether your expiry date is enabled yet.

What documents are required for AIMA renewal?

There is no single stack every resident uploads. AIMA pulls what it can from official records first, then asks for the rest. Still, the common renewal documents behind a case are your valid passport, proof of accommodation and current proof of financial means, plus your tax and Segurança Social status and, where relevant, criminal-record information. Prepare by category, because these are the facts a renewal must establish.

Passport and residence card

Your identity information must be current, so the valid passport AIMA holds should match the one in your hand.

Give AIMA the new passport number before or during the renewal, using the 'Portal de Renovações' passport-correction route in the Contact Form.

A mismatch is an avoidable reason for the file to stall, so fix it before you submit. Applicants also report the portal asking for a passport copy, sometimes a full one; that is a request in your file, not proof every renewal needs a notarized copy.

Proof of accommodation

Proof of accommodation needs more preparation than almost anything else, and AIMA tightened its guidance in November 2025. AIMA wants both where you live and the legal basis for occupying the home, and checks property and rental records first.

AIMA asks for a declaration from you plus tenancy evidence.

A rental contract identifying you as the tenant.

The rent receipt for the previous month, where applicable.

Evidence the lease is registered with Finanças, which applicants have been asked for at in-person checks.

Ownership is shown through a current land-registry certificate ('certidão predial permanente') or its access code.

For a loan-for-use arrangement, AIMA looks for the 'comodato' agreement plus the property-registration evidence.

You carry more of the proof: your own declaration that you live there, identifying the property and owner, plus a tax-authority certificate showing your fiscal domicile.

A 'Junta de Freguesia' certificate is not accepted as proof of accommodation here. Older guides still list it, so a checklist that reads correct in general can point you to a document AIMA no longer wants.

Current proof of financial means

Your means of subsistence are judged on your current situation, and you must show sufficient resources, not the visa category from your history. The documents change with how you support yourself: employees show a contract and payslips; self-employed residents show their activity and tax records; passive-income residents show pension or investment statements; remote workers show the contract and matching tax record; students and dependants show scholarship funding or the supporter's resources. Do not assume you prove income the same way you did for your first visa.

Tax and Social Security

AIMA validates your position with Autoridade Tributária and Segurança Social automatically, so you often upload nothing. A pending "under review" status is not proof of a debt: check your own 'Portal das Finanças' and 'Segurança Social Direta' first, since some applicants report a status that resolved once the system refreshed. Real debt needs fixing; a clean account behind a stuck validation is a sync issue, so keep a current no-debt certificate handy.

Criminal record

AIMA obtains Portuguese criminal-record information directly where the framework allows, so this is not an instruction to order a foreign certificate by default. Additional evidence comes up only when AIMA cannot get it or your permit type needs something specific.

What if your situation changed since your first permit?

Your life does not have to look the way it did when Portugal first issued your card. What matters is whether you still meet the legal conditions, or whether your case now belongs under a different permit type.

Can you renew after changing employer?

Usually, yes. Under the 2026 Foreigners Law, a professional-activity permit holder can change employer by notifying AIMA, without a new card just for that. Your file should reflect your current job.

Can you renew after switching between employment and self-employment?

Potentially yes, and the same law allows a change in the nature of the activity by notification. The evidence changes with the situation, which is why re-uploading an old dossier rarely makes sense.

Can you renew if your income source changed?

Yes. Someone who first qualified on passive income may now work; someone self-employed may now hold a permanent contract. Prove the current reality that supports your residence.

Can you renew if you moved?

Yes, but fix the address first. AIMA says an address change through the Contact Form should appear within two working days, and recommends waiting until it shows in the portal before you pay the DUC. Applicants report it taking longer while the clock runs, so do not leave it late.

Can you renew with a new passport?

Yes. Update the passport number with AIMA so it matches the document you hold.

Does a changed situation mean you need a different permit?

Not usually, but not never. Most life changes are compatible with renewing the same permit. If your basis for residence genuinely shifted, a different permit may fit better, and that is a good moment to have the case looked at before you submit.

What to check before you start

Before you open the AIMA Renewal Portal, confirm your passport number and validity, address, email, NIF and NISS, tax and Social Security status, current work records, and accommodation documents. Then have the full file ready, and err on the side of bringing everything on AIMA's requirements list, plus anything that could make the process smoother. If a document is on their list, take it and present it, even if other applicants say it was not needed, or it was not asked for at a first appointment. The one thing not to do is invent a document for a portal field that genuinely does not apply to your permit. Having it all ready also avoids a scramble if the portal moves to the upload stage, which applicants say it can do quickly.

How to use the AIMA Renewal Portal, step by step

For an ordinary renewal the sequence is straightforward; the care is in payment and uploads.

Step 1: Access or create your account

Enter the identifying details the portal asks for. AIMA emails the password to the address on file, so if that email is wrong, correct it through the Contact Form before going further.

Step 2: Start the renewal request

Once your permit is recognized as eligible, submit the renewal request. The portal checks the information AIMA can get from other Portuguese authorities.

Step 3: Let the automatic checks run

Validations do not all update at once, and a temporary message is not a refusal. Your tax (AT) and Social Security positions are checked directly; a pending status against a clean account is usually a sync delay.

Step 4: Generate the DUC

AIMA issues the 'Documento Único de Cobrança' (DUC), the payment reference for renewal. Keep a copy.

Step 5: Pay the renewal fee

Pay through an accepted method and keep the proof. Do not expect the status to update instantly. In mid-2026, some applicants reported paying and still seeing 'Pedido Aguarda Pagamento' for weeks, in one case with the bank confirming the charge while AIMA had not recorded it.

Confirm with your bank and keep the DUC and payment proof. If it is genuinely paid, report it through the Contact Form and do not pay twice, which only leaves you chasing a refund.

Step 6: Upload documents if asked

The portal opens a document stage when it needs something it could not confirm. Have the full file ready before uploading. Applicants report the upload had to be done in one session, and that the tab sometimes appeared after payment and moved to assessment within a day. That is portal behavior, not a published rule, but a good reason not to start with half the dossier missing. Do not count on saving and returning later.

Step 7: Keep the renewal receipt

Once the request is registered and paid, AIMA issues a receipt that stands in for your title while the renewal is pending. Under Article 78 it has the same effect as the permit for 60 days, renewable until the decision. Keep it with your card. A "180 days" figure you may see elsewhere belongs to a separate proof for the old backlog cohort, not an ordinary current renewal.

Why is the AIMA Renewal Portal asking for documents that do not apply to you?

Applicants report generic upload fields unrelated to their permit, such as internship or exceptional-situation slots on a work or income-based permit. A portal field label is not always the legal minimum for your permit type, and the underlying test is the Foreigners Law and its regulation.

That said, AIMA can and does ask for documents beyond a published checklist, sometimes at the appointment itself, including ones other applicants say are never requested. Whether or not a document seems to fit your case, the practical priority is to provide what AIMA asks for rather than treat the request as a mistake. Posts saying "you do not need that, nobody checks it" describe someone else's case, not a rule you can rely on.

Faced with a field that genuinely does not fit their situation, some residents upload a short note in Portuguese explaining why it does not apply, and have the renewal approved without being asked again. That is a reported workaround, not an official AIMA instruction, and it is not a way to refuse a document AIMA actually insists on. If a requested document is genuinely hard to obtain, that is the point to get professional or legal help to discuss or challenge the request, rather than simply leaving it out.

When does AIMA ask you to appear in person for a renewal?

For online renewals, an in-person appointment is the exception. AIMA calls a portal applicant in for document verification or biometric data.

When biometrics are the reason

The clearest trigger is biometrics AIMA cannot reuse: data that need updating, fingerprints or a photo that cannot be reused, or a biometric error found during card production. Some applicants describe a renewal that looked approved but stalled on a biometric error until they returned to redo it. These are reports of how it can go, not a published rule.

When document verification is the reason

AIMA can also call you in only to check documents, and its guidance names this as a reason. Applicants have shared notices asking them to return specifically for an in-person documentary check, so physical presence is not only about fingerprints.

Does an appointment mean something is wrong?

Not necessarily. A biometric refresh can be routine, and applicants also describe duplicate or mistaken summonses. Bring what the notice asks for, err on the side of taking everything on the requirements list as well, and keep the documents you already submitted. Where the issue is biometrics, AIMA says the rest of the renewal continues digitally, so it is a targeted step, not a restart.

What fees are associated with AIMA renewal?

The renewal fee depends on permit type, and the digital channel is cheaper. Figures below are the AIMA table in force since 1 March 2026; to check the fees for your case, your own DUC is the amount that governs.

Ordinary temporary residence permit

Fee	Standard	Digital channel
Reception and analysis	€133.00	€99.80
Renewal of temporary permit	€114.30	€85.80
Total	€247.30	€185.60

A normal online renewal is €185.60. The current amount is set by the official tariff and updated periodically, so confirm it if you read this in a later fee year.

If you see €307.20 quoted, it is not a renewal fee. That is the assessment fee for a request to waive the consular residence visa, a different procedure.

AIMA renewal fees by permit type

Permit type	Standard total	Digital total
Temporary residence permit	€247.30	€185.60
EU Blue Card	€329.70	€247.30
Investment permit (ARI / Golden Visa)	€5,053.10	€3,789.90
Permanent residence title	€194.90	€146.10

€329.70 standard / €247.30 online, combining reception and analysis (€169.20 / €126.90) and the title fee (€160.50 / €120.40).

Far higher: €5,053.10 standard / €3,789.90 online, combining reception and analysis (€842.80 / €632.10) with the ARI renewal fee (€4,210.30 / €3,157.80). ARI renewals now go through the AIMA Renewal Portal.

Set by a different regulation, not the table above: €18 in person or €15 digital for an applicant over 25, €15 or €12.50 under 25, and free for a child up to age one in person. In practice AIMA handles this card at its offices by appointment, so treat the digital rate as the legal rate, not a promise this renewal is online today.

€194.90 standard / €146.10 online, combining reception and analysis (€133.00 / €99.80) with the title fee (€61.90 / €46.30).

Yes. Permanent residence status does not expire, but the physical title must be renewed every five years, or whenever its printed data change. AIMA charges for that title renewal. It is a genuine renewal, not a free re-issue.

How long does AIMA renewal take?

There is no guaranteed number, and the legal deadline is not the same as the processing time you experience. Still, reports shared across expat communities through 2026 point to a fairly consistent pattern for renewals done through the current online process.

In those reports, approvals cluster around 60 to 65 days from online submission, with roughly four in five approved within about 65 days. The physical card then tends to arrive around two to three weeks later. End to end, that puts the whole process near 11 weeks for completed cases.

So the widely repeated "AIMA takes 60 days" really describes the time to the decision, not to the card, and even that is a pattern rather than a promise. Approvals also seem to arrive in batches, with many landing on the same day, which is part of why two people can wait quite differently.

A smaller share of cases sits well outside that rhythm, still undecided beyond 90 days, sometimes for months. Aim your expectations at the cluster, but know a case can simply stall.

Read all of this as what a slice of self-reported cases suggests, not official AIMA statistics. It is a snapshot from people going through the process, not a representative measure of every renewal, and older 2025 cases ran slower, so mixing them in makes today's process look worse than it is.

How to check AIMA renewal status

There is no separate AIMA renewal checker app. You check the renewal status and track your application in the AIMA Renewal Portal, with the process-tracking route in the Contact Form for follow-up. Read the status of renewal as one view of the file, not a perfect real-time picture.

Does "approved" mean your card is ready?

No. Decision and card production are separate stages. A renewal can be approved while the card is still waiting to be produced, which matters when you need the physical card.

Why different AIMA systems show different things

Applicants report an approval visible before the email arrives, one system showing assessment while another moved on, or a card arriving before the online AIMA application status catches up. If two screens disagree, keep screenshots and use the Contact Form to clarify the stage that matters.

What happens if your AIMA permit expires?

An expired card and an expired right to live in Portugal are not the same thing.

Expired card vs right of residence vs travel

For non-EU nationals, the right of residence continues for up to six months after the card's expiry date. For cards expiring from July 2025 onward, that six months runs from each card's own expiry date. That clarification was AIMA's answer to the confusion left when blanket automatic extensions ended. Keep three things separate: the card's expiry date, your continuing right of residence, and whether your documents are enough for travel. If you have started the renewal, carry the expired residence permit card together with proof the renewal was submitted.

Can you renew an expired permit, and can you travel while it is pending?

You renew an expired permit the same way while you are inside that six-month window; the consequences of expiration bite only once it passes without a submitted renewal. As for travel, the renewal receipt proves a renewal is under way but is not a travel document and cannot replace a valid card through the Schengen Area. Portugal recognizing your residence does not oblige an airline or another country's border to accept an expired Portuguese card, so check the requirements for your specific route rather than relying on someone else's trip.

What if AIMA has not decided after 60 days?

AIMA still has 60 days to decide a renewal, and that deadline is in force. What changed is its meaning.

Is a renewal automatically approved after 60 days?

Not anymore. Until recently the law treated a renewal as approved if AIMA missed the deadline for reasons not down to the applicant. Law 62/2026 repealed that, effective 11 September 2026. Passing 60 days still means AIMA has exceeded its period, but it no longer means automatic approval. Older guides and forum advice that mention a "60-day automatic approval" are now out of date.

What you can do after the deadline

Keep a record of your submission date and any document requests, preserve payment and upload evidence, and contact AIMA in writing to ask for a decision. If it continues, a formal complaint or an escalation to the 'Provedoria de Justiça' (ombudsman) is next. A lawyer becomes proportionate with a significant unexplained delay, concrete harm to work, travel or family, a decision made but no card produced, or a system problem repeated contact has not resolved.

Common AIMA renewal problems and what to do

Most of these are covered above; in short, check the obvious cause first, then use the Contact Form rather than repeating a failed action.

Portal does not recognize your permit: verify your card, passport, NIF and data, confirm your expiry date is in range, then report it.
Cannot access the portal: the password comes by email, so start with the email address on file.
Address wrong: correct it through 'Portal de Renovações' and confirm it shows before paying the DUC.
AT or Segurança Social "under review": check for a real debt; if clean, keep evidence and report the stuck validation.
Paid but pending: keep the DUC and proof, do not pay twice, report it.
Cannot upload everything: have the full file ready, since the stage can require one session.
A field makes no sense: provide what AIMA asks where you can; a "not applicable" note is a reported workaround, not a way to refuse a document AIMA insists on. If it is genuinely hard to obtain, get professional or legal help.
Asked to repeat biometrics: attend; the online renewal does not restart from zero.
Approved but no card: separate approval, production and delivery, and rule out a biometric or data error.
Status makes no sense: keep screenshots before contacting AIMA.

When it is worth having your renewal file reviewed

Most straightforward renewals need no help. A review earns its place when the question is not where to click but what your facts mean: your income or professional status changed, your accommodation is unusual or not in your name, your passport or data changed, the portal is asking for documents that do not fit your permit, you are unsure what proves your current means, or AIMA asked for more documents and you want to answer right the first time. AnchorLess offers an AIMA dossier review for exactly that point, checking the file before it becomes the reason a renewal stalls. It is different from legal escalation: if AIMA has refused the renewal, blown the deadline for a long stretch, or a delay is causing real harm, individual immigration-law advice fits better.

Key Takeaways

What to get right before you renew

For most residents, an AIMA renewal is now online: portal, checks, payment, documents, decision, card. Prepare the file first, fix your address, passport and contact data early, and keep every submission, payment and status screen.

Two current points are easy to get wrong: your renewal is no longer automatically approved just because AIMA passed 60 days, and an expired card or renewal receipt does not work as a travel document even while your right to live in Portugal continues. When your situation has changed, or the portal asks for something that does not fit your case, that is the moment to have the file checked rather than guess.

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