Citizens of European Union Countries/EEA/Switzerland - Residency Certificate
When you spend more than 3 months consecutive in Portuguese territory you must apply for Residency in Portugal (Residência). 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 subjects below, 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. 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. 30.00 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 is done at AIMA (Agência para a Integração Migrações e Asilo) and will be a biometric card. 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 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 can request an appointment through the AIMA contact form: https://contactenos.aima.gov.pt/contact-form?sfnsn=wa

Once you are on the AIMA contact form:

Choose: “Tipo de Assunto” Cartão de Residência UE and then the “Subtipo de Assunto” that suits your specific request.

Once you have submitted the request on the AIMA contact form successfully, you will be contacted by AIMA with an appointment for the renewal. Make sure to always check your spam/junk filters.

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.

In general, the documents necessary to bring for the appointment are:

Formulário de Renovação can be downloaded from the AIMA website
https://aima.gov.pt/media/pages/documents/993b5fc079-1714494596/modelo-5.pdf “Modelo 5”
Passport and a copy
Portuguese Fiscal Card/Number and a copy
Residency Card/Certificate of Residency
Approximately 30 euros
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

The AIMA contact form can also be used for other requests concerning your permanent Residência card such as change of address, change of passport number, change of nationality, change of name, change of civil status, add/change NISS or NIF, apply for family reunification, extend a visa and further options.

P02E - Residência EU Citizens

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