Great! One item removed from the worry list.
@anonymous69 agree with you that registering NISS (social security) is easy if one has a valid resident permit and a job contract. Paying into NISS monthly is not difficult either. Even setting up a company Portugal and running it is manageable for many. But staying over 183 a year could be potentially very expensive to deal with without NHR. Most ARIs do not live in PT for over 183 days a year or pay SS.
The conversion of ARI to D2 permit is one-off, but holding D2 and renewing D2 is a whole different matter. Asked a number of law firms and all gave different answers. They are aware that there are existing D2 permit holders who are not ex ARI - these people follow article 89(4) of Law no. 23/2007. How does AIMA differentiate the two groups?
Note also the âMore Housing Lawâ specifically says under Article 42(5) that ââŠa residence permit for entrepreneurial immigrants, under the terms of article 89(4) of Law no. 23/2007, of July 4, and its holders must comply with the minimum period of stay of seven days, consecutive or interpolated, in the first year and 14 days, consecutive or interpolated, in subsequent two-year periods.â
If you read article 89 of Law no. 23/2007, of July 4, here it says "a residence permit for the exercise of independent professional activity shall only be granted to nationals of third countries who meet the following requirements:
a) Have formed a company in accordance with the law, declared the commencement of activity to the tax authorities and social security as an individual or entered into a service provision contract for the exercise of a liberal profession;
b) Are qualified to carry out an independent professional activity, where applicable;
c) Have means of subsistence, as defined by the order referred to in paragraph d) of paragraph 1 of article 52;
d) Are registered with social security;
e) When required, present a declaration from the respective professional association that they meet the respective registration requirements.
Even lawyers donât know the answer. They say it depends on AIMAâŠ
@Joan219 It is possible that upon renewal of the D2, you will then need to comply with the requirements under article 89(4) of Law no. 23/2007, of July 4. Itâs not clear right now so I think you will need to wait until that time of renewal to determine exactly what is required.
@portugalwanderer exactly my thoughts. Also article 89(4) of Law no. 23/2007 has no clause 4, which adds to the confusion.
No one seems to know, so D2 (ex ARI) are in uncharted territory.
Fun fact: although Art 42 of the MH law refers to Art 89(4) of Lei 23/2007, Art 89(4) itself was repealed in June as part of the manifestação de interesse changes. I donât know if this has any implications for anything.
@cj807 Exactly right. Clause 4 of Article 89 of Law 23/2007 was revoked in June. So we are gazing into the void. 
With Roman law system, it is already hard enough to cross-reference and navigate all past laws and decrees on a given subject in order to form a view. Now we have to deal with missing references and conflicting languages.
A few comments/corrections:
- A job contract is not required for obtaining NISS
- As I previously noted, I do not understand why you refer to â183 daysâ. The requirements of stay for any non-ARI permits are NOT 183 days, they are stricter - refer to Article 85, clause 2 (a) of the Law 23/2007:
"
a autorização de residĂȘncia pode igualmente ser cancelada quando o
interessado, sem razĂ”es atendĂveis, se ausente do PaĂs:
a) Sendo titular de uma autorização de residĂȘncia temporĂĄria, seis meses consecutivos ou oito meses interpolados, no perĂodo total de validade da autorização;"
E.g. for a 3 years validity of a D2, youâd need to stay in PT approx. >280 days each year.
An employment contract is in fact required in order to get a NISS. This is a recent change. I believe itâs tied to the governmentâs recent cancellation of the âexpression of interestâ procedure in June. Iâm under 65 and retired, and applied and was denied a NISS since I donât have an employment contract.
If you or anyone on this platform has obtained a NISS in the last 2 months without a job contract, please provide details: where you applied, what documentation you presented, and any other tips.
I obtained a couple of NISSâs back in June this year.
They only required a passport, residence permit and a filled-in form.
If they now require a job contract, then I donât know how people would be getting their SNS number, as the sole reason I applied for NISS was because they would not give me the SNS without a NISSâŠ
By the way, if you look up the NISS requirements online, it does not mention a job contract, but the online application form indeed doesâŠ
https://eportugal.gov.pt/servicos/pedir-o-numero-de-identificacao-da-seguranca-social-niss-
Some schools require NISS to enroll children, how are children meant to get a job contract?
What a giant, expensive mess this whole thing is. Year after year after year.
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Indeed. My CPA said the same. Now Social Security asks for proof of a valid resident permit and employment contract to issue NISS. Recent change.
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Tommy: you are right - for a 3 years validity of a D2, youâd need to stay in PT approx. >280 days each year.
My point was for D2 (ex ARI) permit holders to renew, they would need to demonstrate they have lived in the country for more than 183 days a year. This is to contrast with 7 days a year for ARI. D2 also need to operate a company. All ARI holders have invested a BIG sum upfront. To obtain D2, no investment is required by law.
We are talking about the life after being converted to D2 permit. It affects ARI/Golden Visa investor who had invested in real estate or capital transfer whether you have a residence permit or just applying.
I am completely unaffected by the D2 conversion, because I didnât invest in things that got converted to D2.
I donât know why youâre posting so aggressively about this. If you havenât yet invested, donât. Youâre way too worked up
Garrett, some of us bought real estate WELL before the Mais HabitatĂŁo trainwreck was even a twinkle in Costaâs eye and are now facing a situation of exponentially MORE uncertainty. For example, we closed on our ARI-qualifying real estate in early Oct. 2022âin the âinteriorâ and in good faith under a recently renovated ARI program that specifically said the government wanted to encourage investment in the interior. Now we have no idea whether we will ever get any kind of visa and if we do, what new and additional hoops we will have to jump through. Thatâs life-ruiningly terrible. Iâm glad youâre sitting pretty, but show some sensitivity to those of us who arenât.
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The Mais Habitação law seems clear that it is only converted to D2 on renewal. So your first card will still be GV.
For myself, the online renewal did not require demonstrating any entrepreneurial activity, although if I had to I guess I could argue leasing our share of a hotel to Mercan counts.
With the new citizenship law you can apply for citizenship in 2027 which may even be during your first card at this rate. So you may never have to deal with D2 requirements much at all.
I donât think there is any point in worrying until your lawyer tells you thereâs something to worry about. If you worry and then AIMA makes renewal easy, you just wasted time worrying. If renewal is hard, will worrying have helped anyway? I think not.
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Appreciate that positive perspective but mine is justifiably pessimisticâour lives have been in limbo for almost 2 years and thereâs no end in sight. We donât know the conversion wonât apply to first cardsâwe just havenât seen it yet because Preapprovals have stopped! The common wisdom was that the conversion wasnât going to happen at all because it raised retroactivity problems yet here we are.
And the new citizenship law doesnât necessarily apply to us. Thereâs no reason to think itâs not just another empty marketing ploy that the government and marketers of this perpetual fraud are keeping alive to keep us from active revolt.
I can no longer give this government any benefit of the doubt. It seems hell-bent on breaking its promises.
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@ThroughtheMill I sympathize with your situation. Tens of thousands of investors have invested in the ARI program from 2012 to Oct 2023 via real estate. If the âMore Housing Lawâ does not honor their rights in line with ARI rules at the time of their investments, then it means the new law IS being applied retrospectively.
Getting citizenship for kids without being ARI is tricky. So whether the recent change to D2 affects that path is to be seen. The nationality law does not apply to those who got the citizenship by naturalization. Their kids (if not born in PT) do not automatically qualify for citizenship even if their parents naturalize and become citizens. If kids do not have ARI permit, they need to live in Portugal for at least 5 years to apply for citizenship.
For anyone wanting certainty and genuinely hoping to get a clear-cut response from AIMA on ARI to D2, it will be useful to lean on your lawyer to talk to AIMA and have a plan. Collective voice speaks louder.
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I asked my lawyer on the matter and he mentioned Law states that for these new D2s the stay requirement is the same 7 days .
When asked about reference , He says â They will not see it clearly in the lawâ
Nota_Informativa_-MAIS_HABITACAO-GOLDEN_VISA-FINAL-_ENG-5961392.1-.pdf|attachment (170.3 KB)
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My lawyer also confirmed it is still 7 days per year.