Displaced Students in Portugal Face Visa Hurdles and Fee Hikes

For thousands of students who reached Portugal after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the academic year has begun with a fresh layer of uncertainty. Officials have confirmed that temporary protection, the fast-track residence status granted in 2022, will gradually be replaced by the more conventional study visa for anyone whose main purpose in the country is university education. The change could redefine tuition costs, social benefits and even the right to stay after graduation.

Policy shift: from emergency shelter to academic visa

The Government, through the Ministry of the Presidency, says the original humanitarian mechanism has “served its purpose” but no longer matches the reality of students settled in Portuguese classrooms. At the heart of the revision is the view that a study visa offers a clearer legal path for people who intend to complete degrees rather than seek immediate asylum. While protection under the EU’s Temporary Protection Directive remains in force until at least March 2026 for Ukrainian nationals, AIMA—the agency that replaced SEF—has started reviewing individual files, especially those of non-Ukrainian foreign students who fled the war from Ukrainian universities. Comparable moves are happening in Germany and the Czech Republic, but Portugal is one of the first to formalise a phased transition.

Who risks losing protection

Roughly 65,000 people obtained temporary protection during the first months of the conflict, including an estimated 5,000 university students of more than thirty nationalities. Ukrainian citizens will keep their humanitarian status by default, yet classmates from Nigeria, India or Morocco who cannot prove long-term residence in Ukraine are already receiving letters urging them to regularise through the student-residence channel. Lawmakers on the centre-left have denounced “cold-hearted bureaucracy”, while the Government insists that EU rules never intended to cover third-country nationals indefinitely. AIMA has opened an appeals desk, but advocates warn that decisions arrive unevenly, varying from campus to campus.

Paperwork hurdles under the new rules

Switching to a study visa sounds straightforward until the fine print emerges. Applicants must present a passport valid for at least 18 months, an official letter of enrolment, proof of rent or a dorm-contract, comprehensive health insurance and financial statements showing monthly resources equal to the minimum wage. Because many displaced students opened Portuguese bank accounts only after arrival, some scramble to demonstrate the required balance. Criminal-record certificates, often waived under temporary protection, are again obligatory for most. Immigration lawyers say delays are shortening as AIMA gains staff, yet the average wait for a residence card still tops 90 days—time during which travel outside Portugal is legally risky.

Money matters: fees, grants, and hidden costs

The financial implications go well beyond red tape. Under humanitarian protection, students paid the same tuition as Portuguese nationals in several public universities and enjoyed automatic SNS access. Once re-classified as “international students” they face standardised annual fees between €7,000 and €18,000 unless the institution opts for a waiver. The Ministry of Science and Higher Education argues that expanded emergency-scholarship programmes can offset the difference, pointing to a new €5M fund created with EU solidarity money. Still, campus welfare offices report a surge in requests for food vouchers and rent subsidies as families abroad struggle with currency devaluation and wartime disruptions.

Universities caught in the middle

Rectors admit they are walking a tightrope. On one side, they must comply with immigration audits; on the other, they risk losing talented students who have become part of research projects and cultural life. The University of Porto estimates that one in ten master’s candidates in engineering arrived through the temporary-protection route. Lisbon’s NOVA University has created a dedicated help desk staffed by bilingual lawyers and psychologists, arguing that retention, not just admission, shapes Portugal’s innovation capacity. Academic unions fear that sudden drops in enrolment could shrink future state funding, which is partially calculated on head-counts.

Next milestones to watch

AIMA plans to publish clearer guidance on the transition before Christmas, including an online portal where students can upload missing documents. The Ministry promises that anyone who files for a study-residence permit before 15 October 2025 will not be deported even if the card arrives later. Meanwhile, parliamentary committees are discussing an amendment that would cap tuition for displaced persons at €3,000 during the first year of the visa. For households already navigating high rents and inflation, the outcome will determine whether Portugal remains a study destination or becomes another stopover on an uncertain journey.