Is the Portal Open for January–February 2027 Permits?
No. As of September 2026, the AIMA Renewals Portal at portal-renovacoes.aima.gov.pt does not accept submissions for residence permits expiring in January or February 2027. The portal window currently reaches expiry dates up to 31 December 2026 — the November and December 2026 cohort was the most recent extension. If your card carries a January or February 2027 expiry date, there is no "Submeter renovação" (Submit renewal) button next to your file yet, and there is nothing wrong with your account: the system simply has not extended to your expiry month.
This is the single most common source of anxiety for holders whose permits expire early in the new year. They log in months ahead, expecting to get the renewal out of the way, and find no submission option. That is by design, not a fault. AIMA has not announced the opening dates for the 2027 cohorts; one Portuguese renewal-portal guide notes plainly that for permits expiring "from January 2027 onwards, the opening of the next cycle does not have a confirmed date," and that new cycles are usually released with only a few weeks' notice. The correct response is not to panic or to hunt for an alternative channel, but to understand the rollout pattern and prepare so you can file the moment your window opens.
How AIMA’s Rolling Monthly Rollout Works
AIMA opens the renewal portal in cohorts defined by the permit's printed expiry month, not by application date or permit type. Since the Portal das Renovações launched in July 2025, the agency has extended it progressively — a new expiry month becomes eligible every few weeks, so that hundreds of thousands of permits do not all become renewable on the same day. This staggering is deliberate: opening everything at once would flood the document-review and assessment queues and collapse the processing timeline for everyone.
The qualifying trigger is always the expiry date physically printed on your card. During 2026 the cadence was consistent: July 2026 permits opened in April, August in May, the September–October cohort on 29 June, and the November–December cohort in August. Each group gained access roughly three to four months before its expiry month. This gives a submitting holder enough runway for a straightforward renewal to complete before the card lapses, while keeping the queue moving in manageable batches. The same logic that governed every 2026 cohort will govern the 2027 ones — the only thing AIMA has not yet done is publish the exact 2027 dates.
When the 2027 Window Is Likely to Open
Based on AIMA's consistent 2026 cadence, permits expiring in January and February 2027 should become eligible in the final quarter of 2026 — realistically October or November 2026. If each cohort opens three to four months ahead of expiry, a January 2027 permit would be expected to open around September–October 2026, and a February 2027 permit around October–November 2026. These are projections from the established pattern, not published AIMA dates, so treat them as a guide for when to start checking rather than a guarantee.
The practical instruction that follows is simple: log in to portal-renovacoes.aima.gov.pt roughly once a month starting in October 2026, and watch AIMA's official news channel at aima.gov.pt/pt/noticias, where each cohort opening is announced. When your expiry month becomes eligible, the "Submeter renovação" button appears next to your file automatically — you do not need to request access or complete any pre-registration step to trigger it. Because AIMA typically gives only a few weeks' notice, the value of checking monthly is that you catch the opening early and submit while you still hold the maximum buffer before your card expires.
Why You Cannot (and Should Not Try to) Submit Early
There is no legitimate way to submit a renewal before your cohort opens, and no advantage to trying. The portal is the single official channel for standard temporary-permit renewals, and it will not display the submission option until AIMA extends the window to your expiry month. Third-party websites that claim to "renew your AIMA permit early" or charge a fee for portal access are not official — the submission is free on portal-renovacoes.aima.gov.pt, and paying an intermediary buys you nothing the portal will not do for free once your window opens.
Equally, do not try to substitute an in-person AIMA appointment for the online renewal. For most temporary permits — work, D7, D8, family reunification, and student permits — a standard renewal is handled entirely online, without an in-person appointment. Booking a physical slot for a renewal the portal will process only consumes one of AIMA's scarce appointment slots and does not move your renewal forward. If your permit type requires biometrics, AIMA schedules that step itself after you submit online. The correct posture for a January–February 2027 holder today is patience plus preparation: you cannot act on the portal yet, but you can be completely ready for the day it opens.
What to Do Now: Prepare the Document Package
The most useful thing you can do while waiting is assemble the full renewal package so you can submit within hours of your cohort opening. The universal set applies to every permit type: a scan of your passport biographic page, proof of your current Portuguese address dated within the last three months (a rental contract or a Finanças registered-address certificate), proof of sufficient means of subsistence appropriate to your permit, and — if you spent more than six months abroad in the preceding three years — a criminal record certificate from that country dated within three months. AIMA runs the Portuguese criminal record check automatically against the domestic register, so you do not obtain that one yourself. Our renewal documents by visa type breakdown lists the exact additions for each permit.
Pay attention to document dating, because it is the trap that turns preparation into a wasted effort. Certificates that must be "dated within three months" — the address proof and the foreign criminal record — should be obtained close to when you expect to submit, not months in advance, or they will have expired by the time your window opens. If the 2027 opening lands in October–November 2026, request those time-sensitive documents in the weeks immediately before, and keep the more stable items (passport scan, income statements, permit-specific proofs) ready throughout. Scan every document at 300 DPI or higher and save each as a PDF or JPG under 5MB, the formats the portal accepts; blurred or oversized files are the most common cause of a review-stage rejection that adds weeks to an otherwise clean file.
What Protects Your Status If the Portal Opens Late
If your cohort's window opens close to — or even after — your card's printed expiry, your legal residence is not automatically lost. The mechanism that protects you is the renovação receipt (comprovativo): once you submit the renewal, AIMA issues a receipt confirming a renewal is pending, and that receipt keeps your status regular while the file is processed. A pending-renewal receipt is accepted as proof of lawful residence even after the physical card has expired, which is precisely the situation the receipt exists to cover. Our guide to the renewal receipt and your work and travel rights explains what it does and does not let you do.
The receipt carries real weight in daily life: it is accepted by employers and Portuguese banks as evidence of continued legal residence, and — issued as a paper renovação certificate with a QR code — it is recognised by border officials and by carriers such as TAP, Ryanair, and Vueling for Schengen re-entry. That said, the receipt only exists once you have submitted, so it is not a reason to relax about timing. The goal remains to submit on the first day your cohort opens. If you have prepared the package in advance, you convert a potentially stressful early-2027 expiry into a same-day administrative task, and the receipt covers any gap between your card's expiry and the arrival of the new one. For the separate question of what happens if a card lapses before you can submit at all, see our guide on the expired-permit grace period and what it actually covers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I renew my residence permit now if it expires in January or February 2027?
Not yet. As of September 2026 the portal covers expiries up to 31 December 2026, and AIMA has not published an opening date for the 2027 cohorts. Based on the 2026 pattern — each cohort opening three to four months before its expiry month — the January and February 2027 window is likely to open in the final quarter of 2026. Check portal-renovacoes.aima.gov.pt monthly from October 2026.
Why does AIMA open the portal one cohort at a time?
To stop hundreds of thousands of permits becoming renewable at once, which would overwhelm the review and assessment queues. Opening each expiry month three to four months ahead spreads submissions across the year and preserves processing runway for each batch. It is the same staggering that ran throughout 2025 and 2026.
What documents should I gather before the portal opens for my cohort?
Prepare the universal set — passport biographic page, proof of Portuguese address dated within three months, proof of means of subsistence, and a home-country criminal record certificate (if you spent over six months abroad in the last three years) — plus your permit-specific documents. Obtain the time-sensitive certificates close to your expected submission date so they are still valid. Scan everything at 300 DPI as PDF or JPG under 5MB.
What if my permit expires before the portal opens for me?
Your residence is not automatically lost. Once you submit, AIMA issues a renovação receipt that keeps your status regular, and a pending-renewal receipt is accepted even after the card's printed expiry. Submit on the first day your cohort opens and rely on the receipt, which is accepted for work, banking, and Schengen re-entry, to cover the gap.
Should I book an in-person appointment instead of waiting for the portal?
No. Standard temporary-permit renewals are handled online through the Portal das Renovações — most permit types no longer need an in-person appointment for a routine renewal. Booking a physical slot wastes a scarce appointment and does not speed up your renewal. Wait for your cohort's window and submit online; AIMA schedules biometrics afterward only if your permit type requires it.