What are the general requirements for a temporary residence permit in Portugal?

Checked on 2026-10-25

Portugal's immigration law requires, for any temporary residence permit, a valid residence or job-seeker visa, presence in Portugal, means of subsistence, housing, social security registration where applicable, and no conviction for a crime punishable in Portugal by over one year in prison. You must not be under an entry ban or have an SIS or SII UCFE alert.

Key facts

What	The law says	Source
Visa	A valid residence visa for one of the purposes in the law, or a job-seeker visa	Lei 23/2007, art. 77.1(a)
Presence	You must be in Portugal (with one exception in art. 58.6)	Lei 23/2007, art. 77.1(c)
Money	Means of subsistence as defined by the ministerial order (portaria) under art. 52.1(d)	Lei 23/2007, art. 77.1(d)
Housing	Accommodation	Lei 23/2007, art. 77.1(e)
Social security	Registration, where applicable	Lei 23/2007, art. 77.1(f)
Criminal record	No conviction for a crime punishable in Portugal by more than 1 year in prison	Lei 23/2007, art. 77.1(g)
Bans and alerts	Not in an entry-ban period; no alert in the SIS or in the SII UCFE for refusal of entry or return	Lei 23/2007, art. 77.1(h)–(j)
Who applies	You, your legal representative or your employer, at AIMA	Lei 23/2007, art. 81.1

The general conditions

Article 77 lists conditions that every applicant must meet at the same time (“cumulative”), on top of any special conditions for a specific permit type. You need:

a valid residence visa granted for one of the purposes for which the law gives a residence permit, or a job-seeker visa;
no fact that, had the authorities known it, should have stopped the visa from being granted;
to be present in Portugal;
means of subsistence, as defined by the ministerial order the law refers to;
housing;
registration with social security, where it applies;
no conviction for a crime that in Portugal is punishable with more than one year in prison;
not to be within an entry ban period following a removal;
no alert in the Schengen Information System (SIS), and no alert in the national system (SII UCFE) for refusal of entry and stay or for return.

Other grounds for refusal

The law says a permit can also be refused for reasons of public order, public security or public health. Public health refusals can only be based on diseases defined by the World Health Organization’s instruments, or other contagious infectious or parasitic diseases covered by protection measures in Portugal. AIMA may ask you to take a medical exam. A permit can also be refused to people subject to EU restrictive measures.

If you are applying to work as an employee

For a residence permit for employed work, the law adds two conditions to the general ones: an employment contract made under the law and registration with social security (art. 88.1).

Applying for family members: you can ask for family reunification at the same time, and the application can include minors in your care (Lei 23/2007, art. 81.2 and 81.5).
How long AIMA has to decide: 90 days, extendable by 30 in exceptional cases (Lei 23/2007, art. 82.5).

Sources

Lei n.º 23/2007, de 4 de julho (immigration law), arts. 77, 81 and 88 (consolidated text as amended up to Lei n.º 62/2026, PGDL Lisboa) checked 2026-10-25

Change history

2026-10-25: Page created

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