The initial answer is yes, dependent children qualify.
But with their ages, will they age out? Do they need to be under 26 at the 5 year mark after application submission? We are being told yes but some people and no by others. Would a 22yo never qualify since they canāt reach the 5 year requirement before age 26?
Can anyone point me to a government document or law stating what is allowed?
Iām eager to hear what others say here. My understanding is that children will qualify if they are (1) unmarried, (2) receiving financial support, and (3) students (part- or full-time). If all three criteria are met, the child will qualify. But Iāve never seen a definitive statement of that.
I am afraid that there may not be anything official on this subject. My understanding is that they are considering someone not to be a dependent after age 21. I think the reason for the age 26 limitation is that they took 21 + 5 = 26. Do you see what I did there?
Yes, thatās what Iām afraid of. Iāve also learned from a PT tax consultant that families can get D7s for college students by setting up an annuity with passive income. You basically take what you are spending for college and put it into an annuity with monthly deposits. That was one I had not heard about! We have VHS appts in July but are still figuring out the best route (if not GV).
The upper limit is 25 years of age (I presume inclusive)
Hereās the official PDF from AIMA:
I would not trust anything from AIā¦
So back to the original question - there should be no problem for a 22yo applying for GV. Theyād not āage outā as long as they stay single, in full-time education, and financially dependent on the main applicant.
Thank you for the resource which Iāve translated and am now reading. The pertinent language refers to whatās been mentioned above:
Sons and/or daughters over 18 and up to 25 years of age, dependent on the couple or one of the spouses, who are single and studying at an educational establishment in Portugal
The question is still out there on whether a 22 year old would never quality as heāll be 27 after the 5 year requirement. There seems to be no documentation one way or another it seems.
The 22 year could be able to make this work depending on the renewal timing. If a 2 year card at age 22, then at age 24 you could get a 3 year card that might make it possible. Because it is a possibility that they donāt need to renew again after age 25. unfortunately, the renewal system is totally broken and no visibility into that. I think it would probably not work out.
If it were me, I would just assume that the 22 year would not be eligible and if it works out you will be pleasantly surprised.
in the application, I included my oldest son back then 26 years old, and he has received the card last year summer.
I looked into it a bit further and in fact I could not find a legal reference to the upper limit of 25 years of age that AIMA references in the document I shared above.
The older version of the same document by SEF does not mention the age of adult children. The corresponding law Article 99 does NOT mention the age either:
āe) Os filhos maiores, a cargo do casal ou de um dos cĆ“njuges, que sejam solteiros e se encontrem a estudar, sempre que o titular do direito ao reagrupamento tenha autorizaĆ§Ć£o de residĆŖncia concedida ao abrigo do artigo 90.Āŗ-A;ā
https://diariodarepublica.pt/dr/legislacao-consolidada/lei/2007-67564445-155563979
But even if somehow AIMA is ālegally correctā in limiting the age at 25, there should be no problem in your case as long as your dependants attend the biometric appointment before they are 26.
Meaning if you apply now, youād have 3-4 years to nail the biometrics, which should be sufficient even at the current pace of AIMA.
Which proves the point that thereās likely no upper age limit at all, as per the law itself.
I thought perhaps the age is limited by the regulations to the same law, but no, there is no mention of age either:
https://diariodarepublica.pt/dr/legislacao-consolidada/decreto-regulamentar/2007-116373592
Did AIMA just pull the age 25 out of thin air in the document mentioned above? I donāt understand how they come up with some of things they do.
Thank you. I saw your past posts. Was your initial GV app in 2021, then your pre-approval for everyone (over those few months) in summer 2024? If so, that gives me hope.
Itās certainly worth the gamble to at least get 3 out of 4 of us to qualify. Next question where Iām getting conflicting info is whether we can live in PT while waiting for GV approval. We spoke to an attorney this week (on NomadGateās list) and she basically said that āyou are not an illegal, but itās also not allowed.ā Others firms/outfits weāve met with say itās not problem, and their GV clients live there now waiting.
Hello, I included my then 20.9 yr old on my application in June 2022 (resubmitted Feb 11, 2025). I chose the law firm we used based on their willingness to advocate for a child, regardless of age, as long as they were single and a student. We have not had a biometrics appointment yet. The lawyer also stated that even if the child times out (marriage, graduates), the years of residency they accumulate during the GV process will still count towards future citizenship for the next 15 years. Additionally, they had a lax definition for student, but did say the kid could not earn money except as part of a training program. No real job.
I am afraid this is indeed the correct answer 
It has been discussed here many times over - there is a specific law allowing applicants from before 2022 to stay in Portugal. From 2022 onward there is no such law, but in practice it seems to be equally ātoleratedā.
I wonāt work based on your logic. No way they are getting first card at 22. It took us 2 years so assume that the first card (approval will be at 24). Weāre dealing with same thing and no one knows the response from AIMA in my eldest daughter (no 24). She could not make her August visa visit due to work. Of course attorney is wiling to charge money
I bet you meant to say ādue to studyā 
Is resubmitting typical? Does your attorney feel that if your child can get biometrics while a dependent (single, in schools), they will still qualify for citizenship after the 5 year mark?