News from afpop

Good morning to you all and here we are in November already. Sadly, there are new scams frauds to warn you about in this Briefing and I wanted to urge you all not to drop your guard when receiving texts or e-mails out of the blue, demanding payment or advising of a missed payment. I feel we should probably just include a general warning about potential scams in every Briefing in fact. They pop up so suddenly and obviously we don’t hear about all of them and the ones we do hear about have probably already caught some people out. Please be careful when receiving SMS messages with links in them or e-mails with payment advice. It’s so tempting to click on the link just to make sure it’s genuine and that’s where they get you.

The current warnings are from the Ministry of Health and SNS24, referring to scams asking you to rectify ‘outstanding payments’ and the Health service reminds users that the telephone line and SNS24 website are free public services and require no payment for use. 

From personal experience, I received notification recently from Netflix and PayPal that my monthly payment had been made and the next morning I received an SMS telling me that it had failed and I was losing the service, but restoration was just a click on this link away. I have no idea how whoever sent it knew I have a Netflix account, or whether it was just a punt in the dark and I’m sure many of you receive similar messages. Please continue to be vigilant, particularly in those rare weeks when we don’t have a new scam to warn you about and especially with things purporting to come from the authorities, who never send such messages.

I wanted to take a moment to mention the AIMA updates that we include in these Briefings. Often there is nothing new to add from one Briefing to the next, but we continue to include them as we have new Members joining every week who will have questions about the situation at AIMA and who won’t have seen the earlier Briefings. We’ve decided to include the AIMA updates at the end of Briefings from now on, to make sure that new Members, such as those who we spoke to at our ‘ChatAbout’ Zoom meeting this week, can see them. If there is anything new to report, we will move the AIMA updates to earlier in the Briefing, however please see the important note for EU citizens permanent Residency renewals in that section below.

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

IMI tax
The final instalment of IMI (Municipal Property Tax) is due by the 2^nd of December.

You can obtain the payment details via the Finanças Portal, following these steps:

Log in > Inicie sessão > A minha área > Pagamentos > Pagamentos a decorrer

More information about IMI is available in our Information Bulletin T02.

General strike 11^th of December
The General Confederation of Portuguese Workers CGTP - Confederação Geral dos Trabalhadores Portugueses and also the UGT - União Geral de Trabalhadores has announced a general strike for the 11^th of December against the proposed labour package. The strike is expected to disrupt public services, including transport, education and healthcare, as workers across sectors are being urged to participate.

Presidential election
You may have seen that the President of the Republic has signed the Decree setting the presidential elections for Sunday, 18^th of January 2026. Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa has served two terms and will not be standing for re-election. A reminder that voting in presidential elections is reserved exclusively for Portuguese citizens.

Transferring phone numbers
As of the 10^th of November, mobile phone companies are no longer allowed to charge customers for transferring their phone number to another provider (info Anacom).

Navegante Pass now available online through CARRIS
Good news for Lisbon's public transport users. You can now apply for the Navegante Pass online via the CARRIS website and choose how you wish to receive it. The process is quick and simple:

1. Fill out the request form on the CARRIS website. Where it asks for N.º do Cartão de Cidadão (Citizen’s Card number) please insert either your Passport or Residency number.

2. Complete your purchase online using a debit/credit card or MB WAY.

Your Navegante Pass will be ready in 3 to 5 business days and can be delivered to your home address for a small fee, or, collected for free at one of the selected CARRIS sales points.

Once you receive your card, simply top it up (you can use the CARRISway App to skip the queues) and you are ready to travel!

AIMA – reduced mobility
Foreign citizens with reduced mobility can inform AIMA of their condition when submitting any requests, as there is now an option on the Contact Form regarding in-person service, that include the field Mobilidade Reduzida (Reduced Mobility).

Right of Residency - reminder
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 permanent Residency CARDS: People who have the 10-year-old (or older) Residency cards (cardboard/plasticised), that has expired or is due for renewal, are now also able to start their renewal on the contact form using the above choices.

AIMA Renewals Portal (non-EU): November 2025 - reminder
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.

Foreigners’ law - reminder
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 are intended to:

• Streamline legal immigration

• Eliminate informal regularisation routes

• Prioritise skilled labour and entrepreneurship

• Strengthen integration and oversight

Factsheet FS 44, which outlines all the changes, is available for download on our website. Alternatively, you may request a copy by contacting us at info@afpop.com.

Please note, this law is not to be confused with the Nationality Law. The new Nationality Law was approved in parliament, 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.

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) 

Social media
Please remember that you can always find us on social media HERE (Facebook) and HERE (Instagram).