Portugal’s Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA) has announced that from April 28, 2025, it will accept residence permit applications made under the Foreigners Law that will only be received when they are complete.
The new tightened rules for granting and renewing residence permits have been confirmed through a statement provided by AIMA on social media, on April 22, Schengen.News reports.
This means that all the needed documents must be included when the application is submitted.
AIMA said that incomplete authorisation and renewal requests that are not in line with Law No. 23/2007, of July 4, will not be accepted, according to Publico.
It means that if the documentation is incomplete, the immigrant will be sent back to the end of the queue.
At present, immigrants have ten business days to resolve pending issues on their residency process, under the Code of the Administrative Procedure (CPA).
Through a statement, the agency recommends that applicants for authorisation and renewal permit Portugal ensure that at the time of service, they are in possession of and present all required documents.
It is important to remember that a well-informed process in the initial phase is essential for a quick and rapid decision.
Tightened Immigrants Rules “Questionable” by Lawyers
Lawyer Elaine Linhares told Publico that the decision of Portugal’s Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum to make the rules for immigrants stricter is questionable, after, according to her, it goes against the Code of Administrative Procedure, which governs public administration.
The same opinion was also shared by the lawyer, Catarina Zuccaro, according to Publico.
The code establishes, in its article 77, the duty of the administration to notify interested parties to remedy deficiencies or omissions in the requests submitted, whenever possible.
According to Zuccaro, with the new changes from AIMA, those who will suffer the most will be foreigners with fewer or less command of the Portuguese language.
New Measures to Address Golden Visa Delays
Earlier this year, Portugal’s AIMA unveiled new plans to resolve about 55,000 pending applications for Portugal’s Golden Visa Program.
The agency said that it would transform its paper-based system into an electronic process aimed at addressing long Golden Visa delays.
AIMA began scheduling biometric appointments automatically in January 2025. In addition, the agency now accepts documentation in English, French and Spanish without translation requirements.
Since the beginning of this year, residence permit fees can be paid at biometric appointments.
