News from afpop

Good afternoon to you all and welcome to the first Member Briefing of October, which must mean that it’s the last Briefing before our BLiP Expo. First of all, my thanks to those of you from outside the Algarve who responded to my comments in the last mailing about the Benefits to Members across the country. My main reason for raising the points, was to encourage all Members to send us details of businesses and services that we can include in our Directory and also to invite anyone who might be interested in organising events in areas that currently have no AEO (Area Event Organiser) to contact the office to discuss the role. On that note I want to record my thanks to our AEO for Aljezur, Hans Saur, who has now returned to Germany to live and therefore has vacated the role of AEO. Hans was AEO when I arrived at afpop 22 years ago and my thanks and best wishes to him for being part of the afpop team. If anyone in the Aljezur area would like to take up the mantle, please contact the office and we’ll be happy to answer any questions you might have. 

Some good news for non-EU citizens who are Resident in Portugal. As you will see in the EES update below, from the 12^th of October when the EES comes into force, all people with a valid Residency card in Portugal will be able to use the EU booths for entry at the airports. More on the EES below in this Briefing.

As usual, this is my annual plea to those of you in the Algarve over the weekend of 11^th and 12^th of October to spend a couple of hours over that weekend and join us at BLiP Expo in Portimão Arena. It is our largest event of the year and a great deal of hard work goes into organising the event. I am immensely proud of the team and the work that they all do to make BLiP happen. It’s our 25^th edition and there will be a short opening ceremony this year at 10h00 on Saturday the 11^th, but of course you can visit any time over the weekend and please take a moment or two to stop by the afpop stand and say hello to the team that works so hard to bring Afpop Information to you all. Who knows? There might still be cake left. 

Finally from me, you might have seen in the media that afpop was awarded a Tourism Medal, which I was very proud to accept on behalf of the Association at the 55^th Anniversary Gala Celebrations of Região Turismo do Algarve at Vilamoura Casino on Saturday evening. The award recognises the many years of collaboration between afpop and the RTA, in particular in recent years with the RTA sponsorship of our annual Better Living in Portugal Exhibition, BLiP Expo, where afpop brings together businesses from across the region and also promotes the charitable work done by many groups for those who are less well off in society.
Thank you to the president of RTA, André Gomes for the honour, which I was proud to accept in recognition of the work of the afpop team.

That being said, here is this week’s information for you:

Residency documents expired between 22/02/2020 and 30/06/2025
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, email address and the district that you live in, complete  the CAPTCHA and click submit. Once successfully submitted, you should wait to be contacted by email by AIMA to start the renewal process. https://services.aima.gov.pt/renovadc.php?la=en 

NOTE especially for our EU Members:
Since we reported this, AIMA has added the information that this option mentioned above does NOT cover renewal applications for expired EU and Family Members Residency cards. It does not mention if it covers for expired EU Residency Certificates (CRUE).

If any Members who have expired EU Residency cards or CRUE did manage to successfully present a request to be notified, we are at present not sure whether you will indeed be notified or not. As soon as we know more about EU Residency cards and CRUE that have expired before the 1^st of July 2025, we will inform Members accordingly.

Entry/Exit System (EES) update
This information only applies to non-EU Members, so if you are an EU citizen (for the EES system that includes citizens from Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland), you can ignore this update. 

The EES comes into force on the Sunday the 12^th of October, with the initial ‘progressive start' phase which will take 6 months to implement. After which the normal operation phase will come into force, once all teething problems are identified and rectified. If you are an EU Resident, you are not required to use the EES gates to enter your country of residence. You can go to the booths direct and show your Residency card and your passport and you will be allowed entry without having your passport stamped, physically or electronically. 

You can also use the e-gates but must then go to the booth in that section and present your Residency card to the agent. Please note: If you use the e-gates you cannot present your Residency card at the gate, it will not read it. Present your passport to operate the gate and then proceed to the booth to show the Residency card. 

It has been confirmed by the PSP Commander at Faro, that non-EU citizens who are Resident in Portugal CAN use the EU passport control booths after the 12^th of October. We have assisted the PSP in producing a leaflet that they will hand out at BLiP Expo that includes the information about the EES and you can speak to the officers on their stand at BLiP if you need further clarification. 

Seasonal vaccination campaign
The Seasonal Vaccination Campaign Autumn-Winter 2025-2026 runs from 23^rd of September 2025 to the 30^th of April 2026 in health units of the National Health Service and in pharmacies.

All eligible patients will receive an SMS with information about the vaccination process.

Patients aged 85 and over, or those with certain health conditions, will be scheduled for vaccination by their local health unit (via SMS or phone call), but they can also choose to arrange their vaccination directly with their health unit.

Patients aged 60 to 84 can book their vaccination themselves, either at their local health centre or through the online booking system of Portuguese pharmacies.

Strike public administration services
The CGTP-IN – Confederação Geral dos Trabalhadores Portugueses – Intersindical Nacional announced a strike of Public Administration workers on the 24^th of October. Public Services might be closed, please make sure you check before travelling to an appointment.

Better Living in Portugal exhibition
Our BLiP Expo will take place next week, on the 11^th and 12^th of October in Portimão Arena. We are particularly excited this year as it’s the 25^th edition of the event, which brings local businesses together under one roof, all interested in showcasing their goods and services to the foreign resident community. There will be more information in the October edition of UPDATE magazine and also on the BLiP website https://betterlivinginportugal.com/ 

This is our major event of the year and each year we have a fantastic mix of previous exhibitors and new additions, as well as representatives from many charities. Without visitors though the exhibition fails and we invite all Members who are in the Algarve over that weekend, to take a couple of hours to visit the Arena and support the Association’s largest event. Please put the dates in your diary and see the article in the UPDATE magazine.

Shine Bright Cancer support
Members will know that one of the organisations that we have always supported is the Associação Oncológica do Algarve (AOA). Each year we invite them to attend BLiP and in past events we even had the annual Mamamaratona charity run starting and ending at the Arena. 

For the second year the good people of the Women of Loulé group will be holding their Shine Bright Algarve, fundraising gala on the 16^th of October 2025 at Thai Beach Club, Vilamoura. The event is in support of the AOA and last year’s event raised over €10,000 to help in cancer research for AOA. The team from Women of Loulé will be on the AOA stand at BLiP on Sunday the 12^th of October. Tickets for the event are €40 and you can see more about their event on Facebook via this LINK

PSP speed ​​cameras in October
The PSP has just released the list of speed cameras in Portugal for this October. See all locations and times HERE. The Public Security Police warns that this is an indicative list and is subject to occasional changes. It should also be noted that unannounced speed checks may occur. It's best to adhere to all speed limits and drive safely.

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 28^th of October between 10h00 and 12h30 (premises of MEDAL Seguros)

• Lagos - Wednesday 29^th of October between 10h00 and 12h30 (premises of MediLagos on R. José Ferreira Canelas, which is behind the Câmara building)