I think you are overthinking this. The online process explicitly requires notarised documents to be scanned (to a pdf) and uploaded by the nature of an online submission process. They are implicitly electronic copies that the online process asks for.
I imagine the theoretical possibility exists that AIMA may ask to see the originals at some point but I’ve not heard they have done so. They undoubtedly reserve the right to do so but it’s no problem if they do because you’ve got your original notarised copies to hand, right?
Our lawyers are completing the upload of the complete set of renewal documents around now. Our first RPs expired mid-April.
Has anyone yet received their new RPs as a result of this new online renewal process?
If so, how long did it take to issue them and what are the dates on them (issued and expiry)?
I am wondering whether they issue the RPs dated immediately following the previous expiry or if the new issue date (and two-year expiry) is when they actually issue it.
If it’s the latter, then the longer they take, the more beneficial it is to us, right? If it takes more than a year then we’d only need to renew once more before we hit five years for Permanent Residency. Maybe.
Thanks, Kay,
You’re absolutely right. The ultimate in authentication is for AIMA to ask to see the original. Until then it’s just phogtocopying notarized and apostilled documents. I worried too much.
Craig
Unfortunately, the Portuguese regulations require investors to maintain the specific investment that was initially approved for 5 years since the residence permit was granted (see Artigo 65.º-B of Lei n.º 23/2007).
Which, of course, is very different from 5 years calculated from the date of investment and there are no provisions that specifically allow switching to another allowed investment.
So lawyers want to be on a safest side and say that ideally you should (i) bring in new money while the previous investment still stands, so there is no time gap when money remains uninvested; (ii) the amount of new investment shall be the highest of the (a) minimum current requirement; (b) initial old investment amount; (c) proceeds from redemption the old investment.
Hi everyone! The portal was recently opened for renewals expiring in October 2026. Can someone please share a current list of documents required for renewal?
I’ve seen two different lists in this forum - one required “comprovativo de meios de subsistencia” while the other required “proof of accomodation conditions” - and I don’t think either one is actually applicable to ARI.
Does anyone know what is required in terms of proof of stay and police certificate, if one has been living in Portugal during the entire validity of their previous residence card? Can I give them an “atestado de residencia” or similar? Do they still want a clearance letter from home?
I provided proof of residence ( long term lease agreement & various memberships, doctors appointments etc). My lawyers advised the PT government would do a local police check that should be sufficient, but also advised including nationality police certificate(s) too. Proof of health insurance or SNS also required for residents.
Submitted in April. I haven’t got approval yet so can’t confirm if they were right.
Congratulations! Thank you for your reply. Perhaps the principal applicant already has a card, which is why the dependent’s application was approved so quickly. In my case, the principal applicant renewed directly from October 2025 until now and has still not received the card. My child and I are dependents, and we renewed online two months ago, but it’s still in the analysis stage.
No it is not true. I am a main applicant and my card is still valid. However the renewing process for my dependents get stuck over the last 3 months. It’s all about luck!
Tried to register, no luck. My card expires 28 09 2026, I plugged in the number at the top right of the card and couldn’t register, citizen not found or ineligible. I’ve only ever had this card. Double checked my NIF (printed on the card), tried password reset (account not found), nothing. I tried the portuguese site, the english site, google translate, no google translate, entering the date a variety of ways
We’re also living in Portugal since we got our first cards in April 2024. We changed immigration lawyers this year and through various conversations we provided: home country PCCs (apostilled for the UK; not for Brazil); home country proof of social security number (apostilled); Financas “no debt” Certificate (created online); Health Insurance policy (Medis - we were not told our SNS registration was sufficient); Bank ARI Investment declaration from Millennium BCP (confirming we still own the shares); Marriage Certificate from Utah for dependent (apostilled - easy process online in Utah as indeed was the online marriage itself in 2021).
In addition, we signed four AIMA documents: two applying for the renewal; one attesting that the principal had kept to the rules; one attesting that my dependent had kept to the rules.
If we had been provided with this list of documentation when we signed the Power of Attorney in January we could have submitted all this before our cards expired in April and received our vital AIMA QR code up front. Next time, I will be more prepared.
As we have been living here, we were told to get an atestado de residencia from our local Parish (Santo António) to prove presence in Portugal for AIMA. The form to apply for this asked for two voting residents to attest we were living there however after failing for weeks to find these (we resorted to asking local shopkeepers who don’t live here) it turned out that our property registration documents were sufficient (a rental agreement is also sufficient). One of our Parish documents came back with an incorrect date of birth so they had to do it again meaning it took about two weeks to get both documents from them.
I understand from my lawyer that there is a 90 day window prior to card expiry date before which the system doesn’t let you start the renewal process. Try again on or after 28 June.
Also, that dependent renewals are allowed to be filed once the principal investor has filed their renewal. I thought my lawyer said something along these lines (re the dependents) but you can check with your lawyer also.
Hello everyone, I was quoted a fee of Euro 3,789.90, per person to renew our ARI residence permits. I believe this is the government renewal fee, not the lawyer’s fee. Can people confirm if this is correct? I’m doing everything through my lawyer so I have never accessed the online portals myself. Thanks.
That’s the exact correct fee to renew the ARI residence card. Per person. Paid up front. This way, they get your money before even glancing at your documents. At least under the old system you paid at your face-to-face appointment so there was a theoretical incentive for them to schedule and process you. Your lawyer’s fee is on top of this amount.
