Portugal’s Two-Track Residence Renewal: Graduates Must Reapply Via Form

Thousands of foreign residents woke up this week to discover that the usual online tool for renewing a Portuguese residence permit will not work for everyone this season. The migration authority, AIMA, quietly issued an Instagram alert telling a specific group of migrants to start over through a separate contact form. The move has reignited questions about bureaucratic bottlenecks, duplicate fees, and legal limbo only weeks after the agency rolled out its 2026 renewal calendar.

Snapshot of what changed

• Students-turned-employees must skip the Renewal Portal and file through AIMA’s contact form.

• Residence cards expiring between June 2025 and February 2026 remain valid, but renewal windows open early.

• The former “Estrutura de Missão” service counters are gone, so all follow-ups now run through standard AIMA branches.

• Keep the expired card and the payment receipt on you—together they guarantee legal stay for 6 months.

Why the sudden change?

AIMA’s Instagram alert, posted without prior press notice, said that holders of a student residence card who are now officially working must follow a “different procedure”. The agency argues this route is required by Article 122 o) and p) of Portugal’s immigration law, which treats the switch from study to employment as a new residence authorisation, not a mere renewal. That nuance means the online renewal portal, relaunched on 29 December, is legally the wrong door. The decision affects only a fraction of the 700 000-plus foreign residents, yet it exposes how fragile Portugal’s migration rules can feel when each sub-category faces its own deadline chaos.

Two-track renewal system explained

There are now two distinct digital channels operating in parallel:

The Portal das Renovações (portal-renovacoes.aima.gov.pt) – built for the vast majority of standard renewals. Users log in, upload documents, pay the fee, and wait for a card by post.

The Contact Form (contactenos.aima.gov.pt) – the detour demanded for cases AIMA calls “concessão de autorização de residência”. Applicants must pick the menu line “Dispensa de Visto – Art. 122”, attach proof of employment, and await e-mail instructions.Failing to pick the correct pathway can lead to payment duplication, application rejection, or months of invisibility in the system.

2026 calendar: who can still use the portal

AIMA brought the 2026 timetable forward so that permits expiring in January and February 2026 could be renewed from 29 December 2025. The agency insists the portal is fully operational for holders of regular work permits, family reunification cards, and CPLP residence titles—provided the system recognises their NISS (Social Security Number) and current address. Cards that lapsed between June 2025 and February 2026 stay valid until 15 April 2026 as long as applicants can show the digital payment receipt generated by the portal. That receipt automatically extends legal stay by 6 months, a detail many employers and landlords still overlook.

Special case: students who started working

For the 20-something graduates who found jobs in tech clusters from Braga to Faro, the rule shift feels like a curveball. They must redo the request via the contact form, select “Autorização de Residência – Art. 122”, and attach an employment contract, updated tax ID, passport copy, and a statement from the school confirming course completion. Lawyers warn that the resulting card is typically valid for only 1 year, after which the standard five-year track re-opens. Anyone who already paid on the portal must ask AIMA for a fee refund—a process described by one advocacy group as “a paperwork marathon inside a paperwork marathon.”

Where people are getting stuck

Criticism from NGOs highlights five recurring pain points:

• Portal error messages like “utilizador não identificado” or missing NISS fields.

• Phone centre gag order—staff are barred from giving case updates.

• One-try rule: dossiers lacking a single document are rejected outright.

• Mismatch in legal extensions—banks, insurers, and even some police posts ignore the 6-month grace period.

• Overall satisfaction score of just 17.8 / 100 on the national complaints portal, unchanged since mid-2025.

A quick guide to the contact form

Go to aima.gov.pt > Contactos.

Fill in full name, e-mail, phone, nationality, date of birth, passport or card number.

Under Subject, pick “Concessão de Autorização” and then “Dispensa de Visto – Art. 122”.

In the message box, explain you are a former student now employed and list attached documents.

Upload employment contract, tax ID certificate, passport, and any screenshot of portal errors if you first tried there.

Hit Submit and save the ticket number that appears. Expect a reply in 10-20 business days, though recent cases show longer waits.

Pressure from civil society and what comes next

Associations like Casa do Brasil and Somos CPLP urge AIMA to merge databases, relax the NISS requirement, and restore a 30-day window for missing paperwork. They also advocate for a status-tracking dashboard so applicants can see real-time progress. Inside Parliament, opposition MPs plan to grill the government on whether the new digital tools will handle the estimated 150 000 renewals due by summer. For residents, the takeaway is clear: double-check which channel fits your profile, act early, and keep redundant paperwork at hand—Portugal’s migration maze rewards the prepared.