News from afpop

Good afternoon to you all and welcome to the third October Member Briefing, yep, - it’s a long month and Happy Hallowe’en to all those witches and warlocks amongst you. There’s quite a lot to get through in this Briefing, but I wanted to give you all a short update on the passport control problem reported by quite a few of you since the EES began and also my thoughts on the options open to those affected by the new ‘Nationality Law’, more on which in the main mailing below.  

To begin a further quick note to those non-EU Members who will travel through the airports in the coming months and the use of the EU booths for non-EU citizens with Residency in Portugal. It seems that there are still officers at Faro who refuse to acknowledge the rules about Residents being allowed to use the EU booths on entry to Portugal. The PSP officers at BLiP gave leaflets to non-EU citizens, expressly confirming that they can use the EU booths at the airports. You can download a copy of that leaflet HERE and either print it or save it to your mobile device to show at the booth if challenged. This is NOT an afpop document, but one provided by the PSP command themselves. It might have no effect at all, as it seems that it is once again down to the attitude of the officers on duty, but at least you have something to show if challenged.  

You might have seen a lot in the press about the new “Nationality law”. Part of the new proposals is the condition that all foreigners applying for citizenship will be governed by the changes when they come into force, which means that those Members who are intending to apply for citizenship when their current 5-year qualification period ends, will have to wait a further period before they can apply. Existing years will still count towards the total, but the application date will be pushed back if the legislation is not amended. 

Whilst the vote has already been taken and approved, that is not the end of the process and there is still the opportunity to write to the President of the Republic, Dr. Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, to ask for him to intercede on this point, using this contact form, to ask him to consider a request to exempt existing Residents from the new rules on when they can submit their applications, to maintain their right to apply in accordance with the rules in force when they became Resident. My suggestion for any Member who wishes to do this, is to write in Portuguese, even if you have to use an on-line translator, and to keep the request polite and to the point. 

Whilst afpop is not a political organisation, nor a lobbying group, I have taken the opportunity to write to Dr. Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa on this specific point, asking him to look at the intention to include existing Residents in the new legislation, in the same spirit of goodwill as the government displayed when the UK citizens were affected by the Brexit vote several years ago. 

Finally from me, yet another reminder about SMS scams purporting to be from the health service asking for payment for some service. The sum is usually modest, I assume to make people more inclined to just pay it, but again, the health service (SNS) NEVER sends requests for payment by text message. This is just another in an ever-growing list of scams from parasites seeking to con the unsuspecting public, so we do our best to make you aware.   

With more information about renewals and Residency rights, here is this week’s information for you:

AIMA Renewals Portal (non-EU) : November 2025 
The Renewals Portal is now also available for Residency Permit renewals expiring in November 2025. See further details on the renewal process in our previous briefing.

Right of Residency
AIMA has clarified that the right of Residency of foreign citizens remains valid for up to 6 months after the expiry date of the Residency permit (Article 63 (14) of Regulatory Decree No. 84/2007). Foreign citizens from countries outside the European Union who have not yet applied for renewal of their Residency permit will only be in an irregular situation in the following situations:

• 6 months from 15^th of October 2025 for cards that expired by 30^th of June 2025 and the right of Residency maintains valid until 15^th of April 2026.

• 6 months from the expiry date of cards that expire after 30^th of June 2025.

Foreign citizens who have already applied to renew their Residency must take their expired card with them, as well as proof that the renewal application has been started.

For Members who have not yet been able to start the Residency renewal online, for whatever reason, perhaps not being able to add a Social Security (NISS) number, problems with the AIMA renewal portal and the AIMA contact form, we advise you to save screenshots, e-mails and any error messages from failed attempts to start an online renewal process or to book an appointment. These can be useful if you need to prove your efforts at some point in the future.

Residency documents (non-EU) expired between 22/02/2020 and 30/06/2025 - reminder
We have reported in our extraordinary Briefing that AIMA will be contacting people whose Residency document expired between 22/02/2020 and 30/06/2025 and many Members have already been contacted and have begun the process for renewal. If you have NOT YET been contacted by email, there is now an option on the AIMA website to inform them that you have not received their email. If that is your situation, go to the link below and click on “I wasn’t notified”. This will take you to another page where you fill in your Residency number, Residency expiry date, mobile phone, e-mail address and the district that you live in, complete the CAPTCHA and click submit. Once successfully submitted, you should wait to be contacted by e-mail by AIMA to start the renewal process. https://services.aima.gov.pt/renovadc.php?la=en 

Residency renewal for EU citizens and family members - reminder
AIMA has added an option on their contact form for Residency renewal applications for EU citizens and their family members’ Residency cards and Certificates (CRUE). This option is for cards and certificates that have already expired or are due to expire in the very near future. 

You can find the contact form here: https://contactenos.aima.gov.pt/contact-form 

Choose: “Topic Type” Community Residence Card and then the “Subtopic Type” that suits your specific request. If the English version gives you issues, please try the Portuguese version.

Choose: “Tipo de Assunto” Cartão de Residência UE and then the “Subtipo de Assunto” that suits your specific request.

IMPORTANT NOTE about Residency CARDS: People who have the 10-year-old (or older) Residency cards (cardboard/plasticised), that has expired or is due for renewal, may find that the contact form gives some sort of error. We are not sure why, but we will keep an eye on it and keep Members informed.

Foreigners’ law 
The new so called Foreigners’ Law nº 61/2025 has been published and took effect the day after publication: 23^rd of October 2025.

This law updates Portugal’s immigration framework, specifically amending Law No. 23/2007, which governs the entry, stay and departure of foreigners from Portuguese territory. The 2025 amendments aim to:

• Streamline legal immigration

• Eliminate informal regularisation routes

• Prioritise skilled labour and entrepreneurship

• Strengthen integration and oversight

We are compiling a Factsheet - FS 44 - highlighting all the changes. 

This law is not to be confused with the Nationality Law. The new Nationality Law was approved in parliament on Tuesday, however there are further steps to be taken before it becomes law. 

• Foreigners Law is about living in Portugal without being a citizen - Residency and migration. 

• Nationality Law is about becoming part of the nation through obtaining Portuguese citizenship. We will also include this information in another factsheet as soon as the law has been published.

Seismic Risk Awareness
The national exercise A TERRA TREME will take place on the 5th of November, at 11h05. If you're participating through a school or workplace, they might use their own internal signals (like a bell or announcement) to initiate the exercise, but this is not standardised nationwide.

This initiative is promoted by the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority and is intended to raise awareness of the seismic risk and the importance of simple behaviours that citizens should adopt in the event of an earthquake, but which can save lives.

It lasts just 1 minute, during which participants are invited to perform the 3 protection measures; (Get) LOWER, PROTECT (find cover) AND WAIT (for shocks to stop).

You can inscribe if you want to participate: https://www.aterratreme.pt/o-exercicio/.

This is an opportunity to learn or refresh your memory about the procedures you should adopt before, during and after an earthquake, and organise yourself, your home and family in 7 essential steps.

Living in the Algarve event
We will be present again at the Living in the Algarve seminar that takes place on Thursday the 13^th of November in Vilamoura at the Victoria Golf Resort & Spa. 

Address: Av. dos Descobrimentos, Vilamoura, 8125-309 Quarteira. To reserve a place at the event or for more information, visit the website https://www.livinginthealgarve.pt/ 

Satellite offices
If you need advice or assistance, wish to introduce a new Member to the Association, if you need to renew your subscription or just have a general query, please pass by and see us. We ask you to make an appointment and to inform us about your enquiry, so staff can come prepared to assist you. Please contact the afpop office to make an appointment on 282 458 509 or info@afpop.com.   

The next dates of the Satellites are: 

• Almancil - Tuesday 25^th of November between 10h00 and 12h30 (premises of MEDAL Seguros)

• Lagos - Wednesday 26^th of November between 10h00 and 12h30 (premises of MediLagos on R. José Ferreira Canelas, which is behind the Câmara building)