If you go the Livro Amarelo complaint route, you’re supposed to be able to check on the status of your complaint if you have a Chave Móvel Digital - so I got one (see my experience here)
…I then found out that only works if your complaint is associated with a Citizen Card (not just a Passport, which is all I have so far). If you’ve got a card then great.
Just to note that CMD will stop working on the day your GV card expires, so you’d be left without one for some months/years waiting for your next card until you could re-register the CMD again.
Are you sure about that? I originally registered my CMD with just my Portuguese phone number and NIF, well before my first card arrived. I am not certain the two are linked.
You may have a more liberal system on the continent 
Mine stopped working the day after expiry of the card, and my attempt to re-enable it at RIAC failed miserably.
My residency card expired June 2025, but CMD is still working.
Conceptually, do people advise taking an A2 class now if I am still waiting for my first residency card?
Given how many more years I might have to wait and the chance that they will require a B1 level of knowledge in the future - is it smart to invest my time into this atm?
I am not actually planning to learn the language unless I absolutely have to. I do love Portugal but I haven’t decided 100% it I want to live in that country or any other EU country in the future.
That’s a great question, and I’m wondering the same thing myself! I just did my biometrics in Feb 2026 for my GV, and I’m still waiting for my first resident card.
I will add to your question, by asking, is there any expiration or validity period for a completed A2 language course?
I know I won’t try taking the A2 test (because I’m horrible at tests), so I’ll be signing up for an accredited 150 hour A2 course (probably EduSetPT).
Anyway, regarding your original question, two things that have me considering taking the A2 course are:
I haven’t heard any official sources suggesting the language level will increase beyond A2 (just that they’re adding the civics/history test).
The requirement to obtain permanent residency (PR) remains A2 without any civics/history test.
My final goal is Portuguese nationality, but now that it seems likely to require 10 yrs of residency, I know I’ll be applying for PR before nationality, so the A2 requirement will be there, regardless of nationality requirements.
Some might say, I could just keep renewing my Temporary Residency and never apply for PR, but the costs associated with PR for GV holders makes me plan to get PR asap…
I waited nine years to start, and looking back, I wish I had acted sooner. If I had, I could have applied for citizenship six months earlier — and at this stage, we all know how much that time matters.
The CIPLE test does not have an expiry date, and you can use it for PR aswell.
I don’t know if it’s true, but I’ve heard that having an A2 certificate from CIPLE can make the decision a bit faster compared to doing the course. And if you’re already doing the course, you might as well take the CIPLE too.
I did it in 2–3 months from zero. My family is Spanish, so it was a bit easier for me, and everyone said I spoke Portuguese with a Spanish accent — but I still passed.
No, there isn’t. Once you obtain your certificate, it is good forever, or so it was advertised before.
Actually, it was not as horrible as you might think.
…always good to qualify “forever” in Portugal 
How about “Portuguese para sempre”? The keyword - Portuguese.
I think the issue with relying upon one of the courses in the future, rather than taking the A2 exam, is that the Civics test will be in Portuguese. Whilst (hopefully) it’ll be a multiple choice that you can revise for, I think you’ll still need to know at least a basic level of Portuguese. Therefore may as well study and take the exam.
That’s a good point. I wonder if the government will allow certificate course to incorporate at civics requirements, just as the language requirement. That be ideal.
In Spain, there is something called CCSE serving the same purpose, a multiple-choice exam that is super easy to study over the weekend or 2 and pass.
Avoid the CIPLE at all costs unless you are very comfortable with your knowledge of PT language. I did the 150 hours course through LUSA and thought I was done, it turns out that they are not accredited to offer the certificate- even after several emails telling me that they are. So I just took the CIPLE last week in CDMX- sheesh. After 150 hours and a tutor for 5 months 2x/wk, i knew very little. The listening portion was extremely difficult and the dreaded speaking portion was ok. There is no published pass rate for this exam.
You do not have to ace each section of the exam to pass. As long as you managed to utter few sentences and get 25%, you passed the conversation test. As long as you correctly “guessed” 25% of the listening comprehension, you passed that portion. Reading should have been fairly simple, though you still will pass with only 25%. And so is writing.
If you really trying to learn the language, classes typically will not do too much for you. Of course, it really sucks to be swindled by a non-compliant and dishonest educational institution.
Hopefully you have passed the test.
Understood. I have replayed it in my head so many times…i dont think I got 25% on the listening section. Fingers crossed. I will know in 57 days.
If you really trying to learn the language, classes typically will not do too much for you.
Immersion is definitely the best method, but I’m curious what leads you to say that classes won’t help much? What have you found to be more effective for learning? (Selfish requests, because I’m about to start these classes and do want to learn!)