Renewal of Residence Card

Valid and Accepted Documents and Visas until 30 June 2025

AIMA:

https://aima.gov.pt/pt/documentos-e-vis … -june-2025

IRN:

https://justica.gov.pt/en-gb/Servicos/R … nce-Permit

No suggestions, I'm afraid, only empathy. I am in exactly the same situation and also don't enjoy just sitting and waiting without any information. I have tried the same methods you describe with zero success.

Only the Decreto-Lei 10-A that Johnny refers to is keeping me in a job here at the moment, and the IRN are adamant that they will contact us, but time is running out for me as my residency expired over four months ago, and they suggest they will only initiate contact if the expiry is within six months.

AIMA is prioritising the processing of 400,000 pending cases left over from the previous government's immigration disaster. The current government has set a deadline to complete this process by 30 June 2025.

I honestly don't see what your problem is, since visas that expire by 30 June 2025 are accepted. The explanation for AIMA not renewing expired visas at the moment is this one.

Thank for your reply.  I guess I just wait.  Was trying to be proactive.

hopefully they will catch up soon..

I'm not sure I/we were making this out to be an enormous problem but sharing experiences of frustration. I learn most useful advice on the current situation from people on forums such as this and find the pooling of information helpful and occasionally re-assuring.

I hope you can appreciate that it takes a lot of trust in the promises made by (or on behalf of) a system - however well-meaning its intentions are - when that system is not available for you to communicate with, e.g. to indicate unusual circumstances.

It also takes a lot of confidence to make plans based on this trust. Many of us have come from hostile countries where allowing a residency to expire would come with serious, immediate consequences, and whilst I for one am grateful that Portugal is not inclined to be punitive, it remains uncomfortable.

One real problem of an unrenewed residency right now, is that I do not have the right to travel in and out of the Schengen zone so that I could visit friends. I will have to consider not having those rights -  which others who don't live in the Schengen zone currently enjoy - for up to a year an unfortunate inconvenience.

@sr_ianbell

Thank you for your response my feeling exactly. The IRN supposedly contacts you directly.

So sounds like it should be soon for you.

Sending good vibes..  I'm afraid I will be waiting longer

@stefano1966

My Residency Card expired on 14 October 2024. Online renewal is still not open for me. I've emailed IRN so many times and get the same generic answer they don't do renewals and that I must do it online. So frustrating.

Where are IRN suggesting that you renew online??!

My understanding from https://justica.gov.pt/Servicos/Renovar-Autorizacao-de-Residencia was that we must wait to be contacted with news of an appointment, though I have also heard that:

1. they are not able to renew in all cases
2. working chronologically, they are currently contacting those whose residency expired in August 2004, so it may be a few more months.

My residency expired in September 2024, so I will be more than happy to report back if I hear from the IRN in due course.