In short — as of August 2026: AIMA's Portal das Renovações (portal-renovacoes.aima.gov.pt) is now the default route for renewing a Portuguese residence permit, and a realistic submission-to-card timeline runs three to six months in 2026. You submit once your expiry month is live on the portal — rollout runs by expiry month and by late August 2026 has reached permits expiring around November–December 2026 — upload documents, and pay a fee of roughly €440. AIMA issues a QR-coded confirmation receipt (comprovativo) within about ten working days; keep it with your expired card as legal-stay proof. Separately, your right of residence extends automatically for up to six months past your card's own expiry date (Decree-Lei 84/2007, Art. 63(14)), since blanket automatic extensions ended on 15 October 2025. From submission, your file cycles through under review, sometimes additional information required, decision pending, and finally approved, before card production and postal delivery.
"How long will this actually take?" is the question every AIMA renewal starts with, and the honest answer is: it depends on your file, but not wildly. This guide walks a real renewal from the week you check the portal is open for your expiry month to the week the card lands in your postbox, stage by stage, with a worked case study so you can see what a typical six-month file looks like in practice.
If you want the click-by-click walkthrough of the portal itself, see our AIMA portal guide. For the full list of documents, deadlines and eligibility rules, our residence permit renewal guide covers those in depth. This page is specifically about timing — what happens when, and how long each stage realistically takes.
The Timeline at a Glance
| Stage | Typical timing | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| 0. Prep | 1–2 weeks before filing | Confirm/update your email via contactenos.aima.gov.pt; check your expiry month is live on portal-renovacoes.aima.gov.pt; gather documents |
| 1. Online submission | Month 1 | Log in, complete the renewal form, upload documents, pay the ~€440 fee; receive the QR-coded comprovativo within ~10 working days |
| 2. Request for extra documents (if any) | Month 1–2 | AIMA flags a missing or outdated document; status reads "additional information required" until you respond |
| 3. Biometrics appointment (if called) | Month 2–3 | A short in-person slot to refresh fingerprints and photo; not every renewal triggers one |
| 4. Decision | Month 3–5 | Status cycles: under review → (additional information required) → decision pending → approved |
| 5. Card production & delivery | Month 5–6 | New physical card is produced and posted to your registered address |
Total: roughly three to six months from submission to card in hand. A clean file that never triggers a document request or a biometrics call can clear closer to three months; a file that gets flagged once or twice more typically lands at five to six.
Stage 0 — Prep: Confirm Your Email Before Anything Else
Before you log into any portal, make sure the email AIMA holds on your case is current. Every status update, document request and biometrics notification goes through that address, and an old or mistyped one is the single most common reason renewals stall silently. Open contactenos.aima.gov.pt, choose the option to confirm and update your email, and do this even if you think it's already correct.
At the same time, check that your expiry month is actually live on portal-renovacoes.aima.gov.pt. The portal opened for permits expiring from July 2025 onward and has been switched on progressively by month since; if your month isn't enabled yet, you'll be told rather than left guessing.
Stage 1 — Online Submission
Once your month is open, log in with the credentials tied to your NIF and case email, select the renewal matching your permit type (work, D2, D7, D8, family reunification, ARI/Golden Visa, and so on), complete your personal and address details, and upload clean, legible scans of the required documents. AIMA has enforced a strict complete-file rule since April 2025 — an incomplete submission is rejected outright rather than paused, so gather everything before you start.
Pay the fee online — a standard temporary permit renewal runs around €440 (roughly €133 for reception and analysis plus €307 for the residence title) under the fee table in force since March 2026 — and submit. Within about ten working days, AIMA issues a QR-coded confirmation receipt (comprovativo) in your account on services.aima.gov.pt. Download it and keep it with your expired card; it's your primary proof that a renewal is genuinely in progress.
Stage 2 — If AIMA Asks for More
Not every file sails through untouched. If a document is missing, unclear or out of date, your status will read "additional information required" and AIMA will specify what it needs and how to submit it. This is the one stage where the delay is entirely yours to control: respond promptly and through the channel specified, because the clock effectively pauses until you do. Files that never hit this stage move noticeably faster than ones that do.
Stage 3 — Biometrics, If You're Called
Some renewals — particularly where fingerprints on file are old, or the case is flagged for review — require a short in-person appointment to refresh biometrics. AIMA notifies you via the portal or email; bring the originals of everything you uploaded. Plenty of straightforward renewals skip this step entirely, but build a few weeks of slack into your expectations in case yours doesn't.
Stage 4 — The Decision Stages
From submission onward, your file moves through a recognisable sequence, best tracked via AIMA's contact form: go to contactenos.aima.gov.pt, choose "Consulta e acompanhamento do processo" then "Qual o estado do meu processo?", and verify the email on your case. Our AIMA portal guide walks through this tracker click by click. The stages you'll typically see:
- Under review — a case officer is actively examining your file. A good sign: it has left the general queue.
- Additional information required — see Stage 2 above; the ball is in your court.
- Decision pending — the review is complete and awaiting formal sign-off. Nothing more to do but wait.
- Approved — accepted. Card production follows.
Stage 5 — Card Production and Delivery
Once approved, AIMA produces the physical card and posts it to your registered address in Portugal. This last leg can itself take several weeks, so a stale address on file is a real risk — it sends your card to the wrong place. Double-check your address in the portal before you submit, not after you're approved.
Worked Case Study: Yousef's November Renewal
Yousef Haddad, a Jordanian entrepreneur living in Lisbon on a D2 residence permit, had his card expiring 30 November 2026. Here's how his renewal actually ran.
- Early August 2026 — Yousef checks portal-renovacoes.aima.gov.pt and finds his expiry month now enabled (the portal reached November/December 2026 expiries around this time). He first confirms his email is current via contactenos.aima.gov.pt.
- 10 August — He logs in, selects the D2 renewal, uploads his passport, NIF proof, updated business activity evidence, Segurança Social and Finanças clearance, and pays €440.20.
- 21 August — His QR-coded comprovativo appears in his account. He saves it alongside his expired card.
- Mid-September — Status flips to "additional information required": AIMA wants an updated IES filing proof for his company. He uploads it within three days.
- Early October — Status moves to "under review."
- Late October — AIMA emails to book a short biometrics slot; Yousef attends, bringing originals of everything he uploaded.
- 30 November — His old card formally expires. He's not worried: his right of residence is separately protected for six months past this date under Decree-Lei 84/2007, and he holds both the expired card and his comprovativo as proof.
- December — Status moves to "decision pending."
- Mid-January 2027 — Status changes to "approved."
- Late February 2027 — His new card is produced and posted; it arrives at his Lisbon address roughly six and a half months after he first submitted.
Yousef's file wasn't unusually slow — one document request and one biometrics call is a common, not exceptional, path. It sits at the upper end of the three-to-six-month range mostly because of those two extra touchpoints.
Legal-Stay Declarations: Staying Regular While You Wait
The rules changed meaningfully in late 2025. Until then, Portugal had repeatedly issued blanket automatic extensions of expired residence permits, a pandemic-era measure. AIMA formally ended that practice on 15 October 2025. In its place is a narrower, permanent rule: under Decree-Lei 84/2007, Article 63(14), your right of residence remains valid for up to six months after your card's own expiry date, provided you've genuinely initiated the renewal.
For legacy cases — cards that expired on or before 30 June 2025 — that six-month window ran to 15 April 2026, and AIMA subsequently granted a further 60-day extension for holders still waiting, with the possibility of another extension if a case remains genuinely pending. For anyone whose card expires after 30 June 2025 — Yousef's case among them — the six-month clock simply starts on the card's own expiry date.
In practice, staying "legal" while you wait means holding two things together: your expired card and your comprovativo/QR renewal receipt. Present both whenever your status is questioned — by a landlord, an employer, a bank, or (domestically) a police check. What this protection does not do is bind anyone outside Portugal. These extensions are a domestic administrative measure; Schengen border officers and airlines are not obliged to honour them, and there are recurring reports of travellers being turned away on an expired card plus a receipt. If your renewal is pending, avoid non-essential travel until the new card is in hand.
Things to Watch
- Assuming your permit is still "automatically" extended. Blanket automatic extensions ended 15 October 2025 — you now need an actual pending renewal, not just an expired card, to be covered.
- Sitting on an "additional information required" status. This is the one delay you fully control; every week you wait to respond is a week added to your total timeline.
- Traveling internationally on legal-stay proof alone. It works inside Portugal; it is not guaranteed to work at a Schengen border or airline check-in.
- Confusing a standard permit renewal with a Golden Visa (ARI) renewal. ARI renewals run through a separate platform and require submission via a legal representative, not the standard portal flow.
- A stale registered address. Your new card is posted — an out-of-date address is a self-inflicted delay at the final stage.
- An out-of-date email with AIMA. Every one of the stages above is communicated by email; fix this first, before anything else.
Frequently asked questions
Submitting a genuinely complete file the first time. A clean submission that never triggers a document request is the fastest path through the whole timeline.
No — that stage is entirely with AIMA. Keep checking periodically via the contact form, but there's nothing to submit.
Yes, in most cases, once your expiry month is enabled on the portal. File as soon as it opens; your legal-stay protection then runs from your card's expiry date.
Use AIMA's contact form and the "Qual o estado do meu processo?" option, verified against the email on your case — our AIMA portal guide shows every click.
Renewal timing in 2026 is more predictable than it was two years ago, but it still rewards preparation over improvisation: a current email, a complete file, and a bit of patience through the decision stages. For the step before this — booking a first appointment rather than a renewal — see our guide to booking with AIMA. For what comes after several renewal cycles, our permanent residency guide covers the five-year milestone. You can also run your own case through our AIMA renewal checker to estimate where your file should sit.
Want someone else tracking the stages for you? Get help with your renewal — our team manages the AIMA Portal das Renovações process end to end, remotely.