P02E - Residência EU Citizens

Citizens of European Union Countries - Residency Certificate  
When you spend more than 3 months consecutive in Portuguese territory you must apply for Residency in Portugal. The same is the case if you intend to spend more than 6 months in a 12-month period in the country. For this application you will need to go to your local Câmara Municipal with your passport or Identity Card and your Portuguese fiscal number to apply for the CRUE - Certificado do Registo de Cidadão da União Europeia. You will be asked to fill in a form where you basically declare that you are self-sufficient. This self-declaration will require information on the below subjects, and you also need to bring the documentation to prove it: 

• Employment or Self-Employment 

• Declaration of Means (ex. proof of pension, salary, bank statement)

• Education 

• Family

• Proof of address (ex. deeds, rental contract, utility bills) 

The declaration of means is required to ensure that foreigners are not moving to Portugal to become a burden on the state. The self-declaration is exactly that and false representation is an offence, and the card will be revoked (see Loss of Residency below). 

The Câmara Municipal will issue a Certificate, valid for 5 years. This is an A4 sheet of paper which you should carry with you all the time. The Certificate has a cost of approx. 20.00 euros per person and is normally issued immediately. After these 5 years, assuming that you still remain living in Portugal and wish to extend your Residência, the procedure is then different. 

This second Residência will be done at AIMA (Agência para a Integração Migrações e Asilo) and will be a permanent one. This means that after the 5 years you are considered a permanent Resident. Your card however needs to be renewed when due (normally every 10 years), but this is only a renewal of a card and not a re-application for Residency. 

Loss of Residência: This will occur when either the holder is absent from Portugal for two consecutive years or when the authorities consider that the holder is guilty of an abuse of the right to Residency, fraud or marriages of convenience. 

Residência for minors 
Each child living in Portugal is also obliged to have a Residência when registration is made for school. 

Renewals 
To renew your Residência (whether this is the Certificate or a Card), you must first of all make an appointment. This can be done over the phone on tel: 217 115 000 or by email.

Email:

A request for an appointment can be sent by email to AIMA: https://aima.gov.pt/pt/contactos-contacts

In the subject write “Cartão de Residente da União Europeia (CRUE)”.

In the email, you should apply for an appointment for renewal, identify yourself with Residência number, fiscal number and date of birth and you should also mention in which area of the country that you wish to have your appointment. Be prepared that getting a reply can take several months.

It is also possible to book an appointment online on the SEF website www.sef.pt

First you have to do a personal login (Click Log-in and registe-se) and once you have successfully logged in, you can go to “Agendamentos”, then “Novo agendamento” and then follow the steps to choose a date, time and place for an appointment. 

If your Residência is expired for more than two years by mistake (renewal was forgotten) then in order to renew you must present proof that you were living in Portugal that period, otherwise you will be considered a new Resident and you must apply again for the 5-year Residency Certificate at your local Câmara Municipal.

Remember that you can only renew the Residência one month before the expiry date. 

It is normal only to be able to get an appointment 3-4 months after contacting AIMA (by telephone or online), so make sure to make the booking well in advance, simply make sure to choose a date for the appointment that is no longer than 1 month before the expiry date. Should the appointment be after the expiry date of your Residência, it will remain valid till the date of the appointment.

Citizens from EU countries cannot renew their Residência online, only in person, by booking an appointment.

The documents necessary to bring for the appointment are generally:

• Formulário de Renovação can be downloaded from the AIMA website  “Modelo 5​”

• Passport and a copy

• Portuguese Fiscal Card/Number and a copy

• Residency Card/Certificate of Residency

• Approximately €20,00

• Proof of address (ex. deeds, rental contract, utility bills) and a copy

• Proof of income (ex. employment contract, proof of pension, bank statement, Portuguese IRS declaration) and a copy

• Segurança Social (Social Security) number (if you have one) and a copy

• Cartão/Nº de Utente (State health card) number (if you have one) and a copy