How to Renew Portugal Residence Permit Through Portal de Renovações: Rules and Fees in 2026

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What Changed in Portugal Residence Permit Renewal on February 16, 2026

AIMA's renewal portal became the only channel for ARI holders as of February 16, 2026 — the agency stated this in its own notification. Before this date, residence permit renewal under the investment basis went through appointment booking; now both application submission and fee payment occur in the digital system.

AIMA's wording leaves no alternatives: all ARI owners and family members reunited with them must submit renewal requests and pay applicable fees through Portal de Renovações, which "becomes the only channel for processing these administrative actions."

Note the exact date: the agency initially promised to launch the feature earlier, but on February 2, 2026, AIMA updated its notification and postponed the launch to February 16, explaining this was necessary to refine the portal's functionality.

ARI is the official name of the so-called Golden Visa. Autorização de Residência para Investimento, a residence permit for investment activity. If you obtained status through property purchase before October 2023, your permit falls into this category, and the new rule applies directly to you. You can no longer obtain ARI through home purchase today — we covered how Portugal's Golden Visa works after real estate was excluded separately.

Which Permits the Portal Accepts Now: Three Groups and Time Windows

The portal does not accept residence permit renewals from everyone at once, but in windows tied to the permit's expiration date. This is the main reason why one resident's application goes through while another's is rejected without explanation: the second person's card expiration date simply does not fall within an open range.

According to AIMA's July 1, 2026 publication, the ranges look like this:

Category	Expiration date window
Regular residence permits (AR)	expired or expire from July 1, 2025 to October 31, 2026
Residence permit for investors (ARI)	expired from February 22, 2020 to October 31, 2026
Certificates and residence cards of EU citizens and their family members	acceptance open from July 1, 2026

Note the lower boundary for ARI: February 22, 2020. This is not a typo or an archival date — it reflects the scale of the accumulated backlog, where investors waited for renewal for five years or more. The portal accepts applications from such people on equal footing with recent ones.

A discrepancy worth checking yourself. In AIMA's news section, the upper boundary for ARI is listed as October 31, 2026, but in the "Frequently Asked Questions" section for ARI — as December 31, 2026. The FAQ section updates more often, but do not rely on hearsay: open both AIMA pages before submitting and verify the current boundary on your application date.

How to Submit a Renewal Application: Step-by-Step

The applicant submits the renewal request themselves: a password comes to the provided email, and the form opens only after registration. An attorney-in-fact can also act on the applicant's behalf — the law permits submission either by the interested party or their legal representative.

The sequence that AIMA described when launching the service:

1. Register on the portal and receive access password by email.
2. Submit a request for residence permit renewal.
3. Automatic data verification by the system.
4. Issuance of a payment document for applicable fees.
5. Payment — strictly within 24 hours after the payment document is issued.
6. Issuance of a receipt of application acceptance and start of review.

The payment step is the most vulnerable. Twenty-four hours is not "by end of week" or "ten business days" as in the old submission process through the service platform for permits that expired before July 2025. A missed window means a new payment document is issued, and according to AIMA's clarification, payment outside the deadline may not pass automatic reconciliation.

When to Submit: Law Allows 30 Days Before Expiration

Law 23/2007 requires requesting residence permit renewal no later than 30 days before the permit expires. This is the norm of Article 78, Section 1, and it has not changed either when functions transferred from SEF to AIMA or when the system moved to digital submission.

Thirty days is the minimum, not a recommended timeframe. In practice, the submission window is limited on both sides: below — by the legal requirement, above — by the portal window, which opens by the month of permit expiration. If your card expires in December and the portal currently accepts applications for permits expiring by October 31, you cannot submit ahead of time technically.

What regulates the deadline	Regulation or source	Value
Deadline for submission	Art. 78 Sec. 1 of Law 23/2007	no later than 30 days before expiration
Term of temporary residence permit	Art. 75 Sec. 1 of Law 23/2007	2 years from date of issuance
Term of subsequent renewals	Art. 75 Sec. 1 of Law 23/2007	consecutive periods of 3 years each
Updating permanent residence permit	Art. 76 Sec. 2 of Law 23/2007	every 5 years

A separate ground for application is a change in personal data on the permit. Article 75, Section 4 requires reissuing the card each time the identification information contained in it changes, regardless of validity period.

The chain of renewals continues: accumulated legal residence — this is what subsequently builds the foundation for naturalization rights, and as of May 19, 2026, the residence requirement for citizens of Russia has increased to ten years.

Documents and Conditions Without Which Residence Permit Renewal Will Not Be Approved

Residence permit renewal is subject to four verifiable conditions under the law, not to the completeness of a document package. Article 78, Section 2 lists them directly: means of subsistence according to established standards, proof of housing, compliance with tax obligations and social security obligations, absence of conviction with punishment exceeding one year of imprisonment.

Additionally, the law describes situations when renewal can be refused or, conversely, cannot be refused:

• Renewal may be refused on grounds of public order or public safety — this is an independent ground unrelated to criminal conviction.
• Illness that arose after issuance of the first permit is not sufficient grounds for refusal of renewal.
• Status is not renewed to a foreign national declared to be evading justice until they prove that such declaration has been lifted.

For ARI holders, AIMA publishes a longer list of significant requirements: valid passport, settled tax and social standing, criminal record certificate if necessary, proof of medical coverage, confirmation that the investment is maintained, compliance with minimum periods of residence, means of subsistence and housing, payment of applicable fees.

How Much Residence Permit Renewal Costs and Why the Digital Channel Is Cheaper

The official tariff gives a 25% discount on fees submitted through the digital channel — this is a direct regulation in the fee schedule, not a marketing promise. The current version applies from March 1, 2026 and is based on the consolidated text of Regulation 307/2023. Section XIV of the schedule directly names the purpose: promoting the use of digital means.

The discount mechanism works on three levels: 25% for submission through the digital channel, 10% for submission through an assisted in-person appointment, and one more rule — until the service is moved to the digital channel, the in-person tariff also receives a 25% reduction.

Fee line	Base fee	Digital channel
Receipt and analysis of application for renewal of temporary or permanent residence permit	€133.00	€99.80
Renewal of temporary residence permit (Art. 75 Sec. 1)	€114.30	€85.80
Renewal of permanent residence permit (Art. 76 Sec. 2)	€61.90	€46.30
Receipt and analysis of application for ARI renewal, including reunited family members	€842.80	€632.10
ARI renewal (Art. 90-A Sec. 2)	€4,210.30	€3,157.80
Renewal of residence permit for family member of ARI holder	€4,210.30	€3,157.80
Permanent residence permit of ARI holder or family member	€5,894.10	€4,420.70

Tariff is composed of components, not a final invoice. The schedule separates payment for application receipt and analysis from payment for the renewal itself; which lines apply in your case depends on permit type and number of family members in the process. The portal issues the final amount in the payment document. AIMA separately warns: if the amount in the document looks incorrect, do not pay — first request clarification.

The difference between columns is real money. For a family of an investor and two family members, the digital channel alone saves over three thousand euros on the ARI renewal line compared to the base tariff.

Expired Card: What Actually Protects Your Status

The right to residence does not cease sooner than six months after the expiration of the renewable permit — this is the norm of Section 14 of Article 63 of Regulatory Decree 84/2007. The wording is constructed in reverse: the law does not "grant a reprieve" but establishes that the right does not expire before this moment.

A second protection works after submission. The receipt of application for renewal, according to Section 7 of Article 78 of Law 23/2007, produces the same legal consequences as the residence permit itself for 60 days, and this period is renewable. In other words, between submission and receipt of your new card, you have a document with the force of a permit, not just a receipt.

Situation	What protects	Regulation
Card expired, application not yet submitted	right to residence does not expire for 6 months	Art. 63 Sec. 14 of Decree 84/2007
Application submitted, decision not yet made	receipt serves as permit for 60 days, renewable	Art. 78 Sec. 7 of Law 23/2007

Practical conclusion: keep your expired card along with the receipt of submission — either document alone does not explain your situation.

Biometrics: The Only Reason to Visit for Your New Card in Person

In-person appointments in 2026 are limited to one function — biometric data collection, and the agency schedules it, not the applicant. If after analyzing an application submitted through the portal it turns out that biometrics need to be collected in person, AIMA itself schedules the date, notifies the applicant with the day, time and location, while all other procedures remain digital.

A separate rule applies to those who had appointments scheduled earlier. Such bookings are preserved, but their purpose has changed: AIMA directly stated that already-scheduled ARI renewal appointments are used exclusively for biometric collection and do not constitute the moment of application submission — the application goes through the portal in any case.

There is a flip side. In case of a positive decision, its effect depends on biometric collection: until the data are collected, the new permit is not issued. Failure to appear without valid reason, according to AIMA's clarification, can stop the review and put the renewal itself at risk.

ARI Renewal: Investment, Residence Days and Property Sale

Residence permit renewal for investors requires proof that the investment is maintained — this is a separate requirement that does not exist for ordinary residence permit categories. AIMA formulates it as follows: as long as the applicant intends to renew ARI based on the investment that founded the permit, they must confirm that they continue to meet the regime's requirements, including maintaining the corresponding investment.

A second specific requirement is minimum periods of residence in the country. According to the agency's clarification, the ARI regime provides for seven days in the first year and fourteen days in each subsequent two-year period. Confirmation may be requested if there is reasonable doubt.

From this follows a direct consequence for owners of Portuguese property purchased under the Golden Visa: sale of the property or change of investment can jeopardize renewal if the permit still relies on this specific investment. AIMA recommends analyzing any such change in advance, taking into account the specific process and type of investment.

The agency separately clarifies the situation of those who have already transitioned to another status: if independent permanent residency has been obtained, the position is assessed under the requirements of this status, not under ARI rules.

For those just looking at the market, it is important to separate two things. ARI renewal is maintenance of an already existing status obtained under previous rules; for new buyers, [property in Portugal](/portugal/) does not grant a residence permit as of October 2023. Countries where home purchase remains an active ground for residence are collected in a [summary of residence permit programs for investment](/residence/) — each line lists the regulatory act and verification date.

The Renewal Portal Opens Only From Within Portugal

Portal de Renovações cannot be accessed from outside Portugal: instead of the form, users get a notification that access is permitted only within the country. Verified by accessing the portal on September 2, 2026 — the server returned the page "Acesso permitido apenas em Portugal" instead of the submission interface.

For an investor, this restriction matters more than it appears. The ARI regime by design does not require relocation — the minimum residence is seven days in the first year. But submitting a renewal application while in Russia is technically impossible: you need either access from a Portuguese address or a legal representative by power of attorney who submits on your behalf.

How this changes planning. If your permit expires and a trip to Portugal is not planned, the question of representation needs to be resolved before the submission window opens, not in the last thirty days. A power of attorney is executed in advance — the law directly permits submission by a legal representative.

What the Renewal Portal Does Not Do and Where to Go Instead

Portal de Renovações only processes residence permit renewal — any other request through it, according to AIMA's definition, is not considered. This is not a technical interface limitation but the declared scope of the service.

Where to go with other issues:

• Change of personal data — name, address, tax ID — is submitted through AIMA's contact form with selection of the corresponding topic, not through the renewal portal.
• Initial obtainment of ARI and document uploads for investment file — through a separate Portal ARI; renewal has moved to Portal de Renovações.
• Technical failures — missing tax ID for a minor, lockout due to an open request, account creation error — are resolved by letter to AIMA with a topic matching the problem type and a screenshot of the error.

The agency separately warns: do not create duplicate applications through other channels — this complicates review rather than speeds it up.

Three Channels for Residence Permit Renewal: How They Differ

AIMA's digital system is split among three services with different functions, and confusion between them is a frequent cause of lost time. Below is a comparison by purpose, not interface convenience.

Channel	Purpose	Key detail
Portal de Renovações	renewal of AR, ARI and permanent residence cards of EU citizens	payment within 24 hours after payment document is issued
Portal ARI	initial ARI application submission, family reunification, file uploads, payment document issuance	ARI renewal is no longer submitted through it
In-person appointment at Loja AIMA	biometric data collection	scheduled by the agency, does not constitute application submission

The historical context explains why there are multiple channels. In summer 2025, processing of the accumulated backlog was divided: a AIMA special agency structure handled permits expired before June 30, 2025, while AIMA itself handled those expiring later, through the then-new Portal de Renovações. In parallel, Decree-Law 85-B/2025 extended the validity of residence permits until October 15, 2025 so people in the queue would not fall outside the law.

What Digital Residence Permit Renewal Solved and What It Did Not

Moving renewal online eliminated the application submission queue, but did not repeal any material requirement of the law. This is the main thing to understand when evaluating the reform.

What has actually changed:

• Submission and payment no longer require an appointment and physical visit.
• The digital channel tariff is 25% below the base rate — savings are fixed in the fee schedule itself.
• In-person appointments are no longer a bottleneck: they are needed only for biometrics and are scheduled automatically.
• The ARI acceptance range covers permits expired from February 2020 — the queue is being cleared, not preserved.

What has remained the same or become more difficult:

• Article 78 requirements for means of subsistence, housing, taxes and criminal record have not been softened in any respect.
• Submission windows by month of expiration mean you cannot submit "well in advance and with a buffer."
• Payment within 24 hours is stricter than the ten-day window of the old in-person process.
• Portal access is closed from abroad, which for a non-resident investor turns a convenient service into a task requiring a representative.
• The portal does not guarantee review timelines: the receipt is valid for 60 days with possibility of renewal — that is, the legislation itself assumes the decision may take longer.

How We Check Our Data

Dates, regulations and amounts come from AIMA publications, consolidated texts of Portuguese laws and the official fee schedule, not from consultant summaries. Where sources diverge from each other — as in the case of the upper boundary of the ARI window — the divergence is shown directly rather than smoothed over by choosing one version.

Tariffs are given according to the version of the fee schedule effective from March 1, 2026. State fees are reviewed periodically, so verify the current version on the AIMA website before submission: the payment document issues the final amount in any case.

Homzer is a marketplace for foreign property with transaction support. We do not issue residence permits and do not provide migration services. This material is for reference only and does not replace consultation with a Portuguese attorney; AIMA changes procedural details frequently, as evidenced by the portal's own history.

Sources:

• AIMA, notification on availability of ARI in Portal de Renovações — launch date February 16, 2026, notification update from February 2, 2026
• AIMA, notification dated July 1, 2026 on certificates and residence cards of EU citizens — acceptance windows by category
• AIMA, notification on Portal de Renovações launch — registration procedure, payment document issuance and 24-hour payment window
• AIMA, "Frequently Asked Questions" section for ARI — requirements, minimum residence periods, fee payment procedure
• Law 23/2007 (Lei de Estrangeiros), consolidated version — Articles 75, 76, 78, 81-A
• Regulatory Decree 84/2007, Article 63 Section 14 — preservation of residence rights for six months
• Fee schedule under Regulation 307/2023, version applicable from March 1, 2026 — Section XIV on 25% reduction for digital channel
• Decree-Law 85-B/2025 — extension of validity of residence permits until October 15, 2025
• Verification of portal-renovacoes.aima.gov.pt accessibility from outside Portugal — September 2, 2026

Frequently Asked Questions About the Resident Card

How many days before the card expires do I need to apply for renewal?

No later than 30 days before the permit expires — this is required by Section 1 of Article 78 of Law 23/2007. You cannot apply much in advance: the portal opens for applications in windows by the month the card expires.

What happens if the card is already expired?

The right to residence does not cease sooner than six months after expiration of the renewable permit — regulation Section 14 of Article 63 of Decree 84/2007. The portal meanwhile accepts applications for ordinary residence permits that expired from July 1, 2025, and for ARI — from February 22, 2020.

How much does Portugal residence permit renewal cost?

According to the fee schedule effective from March 1, 2026, a temporary permit costs €133.00 for receipt and analysis of application plus €114.30 under the relevant line; through the digital channel — €99.80 and €85.80. For ARI this is €842.80 and €4,210.30, and in the digital channel €632.10 and €3,157.80. The portal issues the final invoice.

Can I renew my Portugal residence permit while in Russia?

The portal does not open from outside Portugal — when accessed on September 2, 2026, it returned a notification stating access is permitted only within the country. The law permits submission by a legal representative, so the issue is resolved with power of attorney executed in advance.

Do I need to travel to Portugal to update my card?

In-person visit is needed only for biometric data collection and only if after analyzing your application AIMA considers it necessary. The agency schedules the date itself and notifies you of it; all other procedures remain digital.

How long is a receipt of application submission valid?

The receipt of application acceptance produces the same legal consequences as a residence permit for 60 days, and this period is renewable — Section 7 of Article 78 of Law 23/2007.

What happens to ARI if I sell the purchased property?

As long as the permit relies on the investment, proof of its preservation is required. AIMA directly states that disposal or change of investment jeopardizes the permit itself if the applicant continues to depend on this investment as its basis, and recommends analyzing such a step in advance.

How many days a year must an ARI holder spend in Portugal?

The regime provides for minimum residence periods: seven days in the first year and fourteen days in each subsequent two-year period. Confirmation may be requested if there is reasonable doubt.