# New Rule: Only You Can Collect an Online-Renewed Citizen Card

> IRN confirms Citizen Cards renewed online or automatically can only be collected by the titleholder in person — no proxies, no exceptions.

- Source: https://www.growinportugal.com/news/naturalized-citizens-face-new-rule-only-the-cardholder-can-c-2026-10-02
- Publisher: GrowIN Portugal (https://www.growinportugal.com)
- Published: 2026-10-02
- Last reviewed: 2026-10-02
- Language: en

> **Key figures — as of 2026-10-02:** Citizen Cards renewed online or automatically can be collected **only by the titleholder** — no proxy, even with signed written authorisation (IRN, Lei n.º 7/2007, Art. 31(5)) — unlike presential renewals, which still permit third-party pickup — counter pickup typically ready within **7 working days**; registered-post delivery averages **30 days** — in 2025, **25,829 foreigners** were granted Portuguese citizenship, 38% fewer residents than in 2024.

## The rule that catches people out

If you renewed your Citizen Card through the government's online portal rather than at a counter, nobody else can collect it for you — not a spouse, not a lawyer, not a neighbour with a signed note. The Instituto dos Registos e do Notariado (IRN) has reiterated that this restriction is absolute: cards renewed online and automatically can only be collected by the titleholder. That contrasts sharply with the older, more flexible process for in-person requests, where third-party collection is foreseen in certain circumstances for documents requested in person.

The legal basis is specific. As Portuguese outlet Postal reported, Article 31(5) of Law 7/2007 of 5 February, in its current wording, establishes that a card requested electronically is delivered to its titleholder. The same logic extends to home delivery: gov.pt's own guidance states plainly that cards renewed online can only be collected by the titleholder, and cards sent home can only be delivered to the titleholder, or to a third party if the titleholder is a minor.

## Why naturalised citizens are especially exposed

This matters disproportionately for people who gained Portuguese nationality as adults. A first Citizen Card application always happens in person at a *Loja do Cidadão* or IRN counter — but once that card nears its ten-year expiry (for anyone 25 or over), renewal online is available to Portuguese citizens aged 25 or over who meet certain conditions, including biometric data already on file with the IRN. That's precisely the moment a newly naturalised citizen living a mobile, international life — splitting time between Lisbon and a home country, travelling for work, or relying on a lawyer who handled the original nationality file — might assume a proxy can simply swing by the counter. They can't.

The exceptions that remain apply elsewhere: a card can be collected at IRN counters by the titleholder, by someone previously named on the "Levantamento por terceiros" form, or by a representative of a titleholder who is a minor or otherwise incapacitated. None of that helps an able-bodied adult who renewed online and simply can't make the trip.

## GrowIN analysis: how many people this touches

Naturalisation numbers fell sharply in 2025 — the number of estrangeiros who obtained Portuguese citizenship fell 45% in one year, to 25,829 people — but the resident-based route, the one that matters most for people actually living and renewing documents in Portugal, held up better. Using IRN/INE figures, 20,624 Portuguese nationality grants in 2024 went to residents in Portugal, and that resident-based figure fell 38% in 2025, a drop of roughly 7,800 attributions. Running the arithmetic ourselves: 20,624 minus a 38% decline works out to roughly **12,800 foreigners** who naturalised as Portugal residents in 2025 alone. Every one of them now holds a Citizen Card that will, within five to ten years, come up for renewal — and if they choose the online route, as most do for convenience, they will be the only person legally allowed to walk out of the counter with it.

"For Portugal's newest citizens, the convenience of renewing online ends the moment someone else tries to pick up the card," says GrowIN Portugal Editorial.

## What actually happens at the counter

Whichever delivery method you choose during an online renewal — home delivery by registered post or counter pickup — the titleholder rule follows you. Online renewal lets you choose home delivery via CTT or pickup at a Registos counter, with average home delivery taking around 30 days; counter collection is typically faster, with cards ready on average within 7 working days for a normal request with Portugal mainland pickup. Bring the PIN code letter sent to your registered address — this letter, sent to the address given on your renewal request, is required to collect the card — and your current ID.

## What to do and what to watch next

If you're newly naturalised and due to renew, plan the trip into your calendar the way you would a medical appointment: nobody else can stand in for you. If mobility, travel schedules or distance from Portugal make a counter visit genuinely difficult, renewing in person from the outset — rather than online — keeps the third-party pickup option open. For broader guidance on managing Portuguese paperwork as a new resident or citizen, see our [relocation](/relocation/) hub, and get in touch via [services](/services/) if you need help coordinating appointments around travel. Watch for further IRN clarifications as the Loja do Cidadão Virtual rolls out services through February 2026 — it may eventually streamline notification, even if the collection rule itself isn't expected to change.

## Sources

- [IRN (Instituto dos Registos e do Notariado)](https://irn.justica.gov.pt/Noticias-do-IRN/Cartao-de-Cidadao-levantamento-por-terceiros)
- [gov.pt — Levantar o Cartão de Cidadão](https://www2.gov.pt/acesso-aos-servicos-publicos-em-portugal/atendimento-nos-servicos-de-registos-cartao-de-cidadao-passaporte-e-certidoes/como-levantar-o-cartao-de-cidadao-)
- [Postal.pt](https://postal.pt/nacional/nao-consegue-ir-levantar-o-cartao-de-cidadao-neste-caso-so-mesmo-o-titular-e-que-o-pode-recolher/)
- [Jornal de Notícias](https://www.jn.pt/nacional/artigo/atribuicao-de-nacionalidade-portuguesa-sofre-tombo-de-45/18131432)

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© GrowIN Portugal. Cite as: GrowIN Portugal, "New Rule: Only You Can Collect an Online-Renewed Citizen Card", https://www.growinportugal.com/news/naturalized-citizens-face-new-rule-only-the-cardholder-can-c-2026-10-02