Families weighing a move to Portugal now face a much longer runway before they can legally bring spouses, children or dependent relatives to join them. Law 61/2025, which overhauled the Foreigners’ Law (Law 23/2007) after months of political wrangling, replaced Portugal’s relatively open family reunification regime with a default two-year waiting period — a change that catches many relocating professionals off guard mid-planning.
What the law actually changed
In October 2025, a new law entered into force in Portugal tightening regulations on the entry, residency, exit, and removal of foreign nationals, introducing three primary modifications: a minimum residence requirement for family reunification visas, narrower job-seeker visa eligibility, and tighter rules for CPLP nationals. The reunification piece sits in the reworked Article 98.
The new law now requires a sponsor to have at least two years of legal residency in Portugal before requesting a family reunification visa for dependent family members or cohabiting partners left abroad. Previously, the law did not stipulate a minimum waiting period at all — any valid residence permit was enough to start the process immediately.
This is a genuine reversal of philosophy. Under the old rules, any holder of a valid residence permit was entitled to family reunification without any waiting period, and family members already in Portugal — including adults — could be reunified immediately. That door has now closed for most newcomers.
The exceptions that actually matter
Not every family faces the full two years. The two-year deadline doesn’t apply to minor or incapacitated children, nor to a spouse or equivalent who is, together with the residence permit holder, a parent or adoptive parent of a dependent minor or incapacitated person.
Couples without shared children get a middle path. For couples who already cohabited for at least 18 months immediately before the sponsor’s entry into Portugal, the law sets a 15-month legal residence threshold for reunification with that spouse or equivalent partner. The union must also meet Portugal’s legal parameters, excluding forced, polygamous or underage marriages.
Certain visa holders skip the wait altogether. Golden Visa holders, highly qualified professionals, and EU Blue Card holders are exempt from any minimum residence period. For everyone else — including most D7 and D8 sponsors — the two-year condition remains the rule for reuniting with other family members, adult children and ascendants who aren’t incapacitated. A government minister can waive or reduce the deadline in exceptional, duly justified cases, weighing the strength of family ties and the person’s integration in Portugal against principles of human dignity and proportionality.
New conditions attached to every application
Beyond the waiting period, sponsors must clear a higher practical bar. The sponsor must demonstrate sufficient means to support the entire family without relying on social benefits, and that their accommodation meets safety and sanitation standards. Marriage or de facto union must be valid and recognised under Portuguese law, with both parties at least 18 at the time of the request.
Once approved, families take on new obligations. The government created measures to help reunited family members integrate, including Portuguese language courses and training on constitutional principles, while minors must attend school. Public order, security or public health grounds are now written into the law as explicit reasons AIMA can refuse an application.
Processing has also slowed on paper, even if it’s meant to bring more certainty. The minimum residence requirement drops to 15 months for spousal reunification, or is waived entirely for minors or dependent incapacitated relatives. Anyone intending to reunite family should check whether an exception applies, gather proof of cohabitation or dependency, secure adequate housing and income, and expect a decision timeframe of up to nine months, extendable once. That’s three times the old three-month benchmark for AIMA decisions.
The transitional window — and what’s still moving
Families already living together informally in Portugal got a lifeline. For 180 days after the law’s entry into force, anyone with the right to family reunification could request residence for family members already in Portugal, provided they entered legally and meet Article 98’s requirements. That window opened 23 October 2025 and has since closed, so families who missed it now face the full new criteria.
The law itself had a rocky path to the statute book: the Constitutional Court had earlier struck down key immigration clauses linked to family reunification rights, administrative delays and restricted judicial access as unconstitutional, forcing a presidential veto and a revised text before final approval.
What this means for relocating families
For anyone planning a move built around a D7, D8, Tech Visa or standard work permit, the practical takeaway is blunt: don’t assume your spouse or children can follow within months. Budget for a genuine multi-year separation unless you qualify for one of the carve-outs above, and get professional advice before signing a lease, enrolling children in school abroad, or timing a resignation around reunification. Our visas hub tracks how this interacts with D7, D8 and Golden Visa routes, and our visa and relocation services can help assess which exception, if any, applies to your family’s timeline.
Rules under this law are still bedding in through AIMA guidance, and further adjustments are plausible as the agency works through its backlog — treat any online estimate of processing times as provisional and verify directly with AIMA before making irreversible plans.
This article was produced with AI assistance and editorial oversight in line with our editorial policy. It is general information, not legal or tax advice.