This is some next level “glass is half empty” mentality. The citizenship law says nothing about presence in the National Territory". The presence in the National Territory is a requirement under Article 90-A of the foreigners act.
1 Like
Can you post the PT text? The only thing I’ve seen is a Google translation which is, um, peculiar.
Try chatgpt, their translations and summaries seems to be pretty good
Can you post the URL? The pages I am checking don’t seem to have changed (note that my card is valid until January, though, so I may. not be in the first batch, if they are slowly rolling this out).
can you share more info please?
what It means for us who received preapproval year ago and still didn’t get the biometrics appointment?
thanks
Presence in the National Territory is a requirement of getting a permit. But I agree I’m not reading the email as necessarily saying one way or another when the clock starts. It looks like they are just saying everyone has to transfer their application over into the online portal and upload their documents, and then the system will take over scheduling in chronological order. But if you don’t, you may be considered to have abandoned the application. I’ll be interested to see how the experts interpret this.
1 Like
Could anyone tell me from what date the one week per year residency requirement begins? Is it from the date of submission online of the application or the date of pre-approval or the receipt of the first residency card?
My understanding from my lawyer is that the stay requirements are within the inclusive dates reflected on the issued residency card.
1 Like
How could I figure out when those dates would be before I have received the card?
This is consistent with what my lawyer stated.
So before I have been issued a card I don’t have an obligation to spend the week per year in Portugal?
@SB44, that is correct. Stay obligations start once you have a card in hand, and are relevant for renewals as and when they happen.
3 Likes
Hmm, good question. If you are working with a lawyer, perhaps the lawyer can call on your behalf.
“certain uncertainty” - THIS! 
Is this true? But hope does one enter the country? Through a tourist visa?
Yes, true indeed. However they enter does not matter as long as it’s a legal entry of course. Some need a visa, others don’t.
I wanted to report my and my wife’s journey.
I applied as primary July 2021. My wife was able to submit September 2021.
Biometrics: Myself-November 2023
Wife-June 2024
Residency Card: Myself-December 2024 (expires 12/2026)
Wife-January 2025. (expires 1/2027)
I asked now that we have our Residency Cards what are the next steps:
We are required to spend 14 days before the 2-year residency cards expire. Below is what our Edge International Lawyers (Lisbon) stated to comply:
"Please note that now that the residence card has been issued, in order to comply with the minimum time requirements of the Golden Visa program, all applicants are required to stay at least 14 days in Portugal before the card expires (during the 2-year validity period of the card).
"Upon your next trip to Portugal, please remember to keep your boarding passes, accommodation receipts and also any bills and receipts for your spendings in Portugal during that time. Please note that one bill per day/per applicant is sufficient and you should try to have your Portuguese tax number – NIF (which you can find in the back of your residency card) inserted in the bill. Please do not hesitate to contact us should you have any queries on this.
In addition, I would point out that, to be on the safe side, the days are counted in hours. This means that you should spend 14 days x 24 hours = 336 hours in Portugal (please take this into account when planning your trips)."
I also asked about the 5 year requirement. Below, to our relief is their answer:
"Please note that the Law of Nationality was very recently amended and came into force on 1st April 2024.
One of the most relevant changes is the way the 5 years of legal residency required to apply for nationality will now be considered. With the implementation of this law, the period of legal residency will be counted from the date of submission of the residency application, regardless of the moment when such residency is effectively approved.
This also includes applicants with residency submitted before the entry into force of this Law (such as yourself). So that would bring you and your wife to the following dates (in terms of first day to apply for passport):
- For You: 19-07-2026
-
- For you Wife: 16-09-2026*
10 Likes
Sorry to keep harping on this, but that’s one law firm’s theoretical opinion. In practice - scroll up on this very thread - we’ve seen AIMA actually behave differently. So there is no definitive answer on this yet.
3 Likes
I would suggest that you request your law firm immediately to obtain the contagem do tempo from AIMA. If they have a strong belief on what they said, they should be happy to do it. If it yields a good result, then you can start preparing for the next battle!
4 Likes
Why are there still many people referring to AIMA when it comes to citizenship?
AIMA is NOT the citizenship handling department,for god’s sake.
1 Like