What Changed: The November–December Opening
AIMA has opened the Renewals Portal at portal-renovacoes.aima.gov.pt to residence permits expiring in November and December 2026. This is the final cohort of the 2026 calendar year, and its opening means the entire non-ARI renewal window — every permit expiring after 1 July 2025 and up to 31 December 2026 — is now live on the portal at the same time. If your card carries a November or December 2026 expiry date, the practical action today is straightforward: log in and submit.
This follows the pattern AIMA set out earlier in the year. When the agency opened the September and October 2026 cohort on June 29, it committed to "continue working towards bringing forward the opening of the Portal to the coming months, in order to meet the needs of citizens." The November–December opening is that commitment delivered. It also confirms the trajectory that earlier cohort posts projected: July 2026 permits opened in April, August in May, September–October on June 29, and now November–December — each cohort gaining access roughly three to four months ahead of its expiry month.
For this cohort the timing is favourable. A permit expiring in late December 2026 that is submitted in August or September 2026 carries three to four months of processing runway — more than enough for a straightforward renewal to complete before the card expires, even accounting for the seasonal slowdown around the winter holidays. The single most valuable thing a November or December holder can do is not wait: submitting now converts a potentially stressful end-of-year expiry into a routine administrative step.
Who Qualifies for This Cohort
The November–December 2026 cohort covers any holder of a Portuguese residence permit — regardless of permit type — whose current card carries a printed expiry date falling between November 1 and December 31, 2026. This includes D7 passive income permits, D8 digital nomad permits, family reunification authorizations, Golden Visa (ARI) permits processed through the standard renewals track, student residence authorizations, work-related residence permits (D1, D2, D3), CPLP-specific permits, EU family member cards (Article 15), and temporary protection authorizations. Permanent residence cards, which follow a separate renewal track, are not processed through this cohort window.
The qualifying date is the printed expiry on the physical card, not the date your original application was submitted or the date of your last biometric appointment. If your card says November 30, 2026, you are in the November cohort and the portal is open for you today. If it says December 20, 2026, you are in the December cohort — also open today. If it says January 1, 2027 or later, you are not yet eligible; the current portal window closes at 31 December 2026 expiries, and you should check again from October 2026 onward for the 2027 extension.
The portal treats first-time renewers and repeat renewers through the same submission flow. The main practical difference is credentials: returning applicants who renewed through the portal before will already have an AIMA portal account, while first-time portal users need to create access credentials before the submission form becomes available. If you renewed on paper or in person in a previous cycle, treat yourself as a first-time portal user and allow extra time to set up and verify your login before your target submission date.
How to Access the Portal and Check Eligibility
The portal URL is portal-renovacoes.aima.gov.pt. It is geo-locked to Portuguese IP addresses, which means it will fail to load correctly or return an error if you try to reach it from a non-Portuguese connection. If you are in Portugal, access it directly from any browser. If you are travelling or living abroad, you have two options: connect through a Portuguese VPN endpoint (available by selecting Portugal as the server location on most major commercial VPN services), or have a trusted representative in Portugal with a procuração complete the submission for you. Our guide to the geo-lock and the three-month window covers each workaround step by step.
You log in with your NIF (tax identification number) and the credentials tied to your AIMA file. If you have lost credentials from a previous portal interaction, use the password-reset link on the login page, which sends a recovery email to the address AIMA holds on file. If that email is outdated, the reset will not work until you update your contact email through the AIMA contactenos channel — a step that currently takes several business days, so resolve it early if your access is uncertain.
Once logged in, the portal lists your active files. If your permit falls inside the eligible expiry window, a "Submeter renovação" (Submit renewal) button appears next to the relevant file. If it is missing, one of three things is true: your expiry date is outside the current window (unlikely now that the full 2026 window is open, but possible for January 2027 expiries); your file carries a flag requiring manual AIMA review before a submission is accepted (you will see an informational message); or there is a data mismatch between the portal and AIMA's underlying database. For the last case, contact AIMA through the contactenos form quoting your process number and the exact on-screen message.
Documents Required for the Renewal Submission
The portal requires the same core documentation for all permit types, with type-specific additions. The universal set is: a valid passport (biographic page scan), proof of current address in Portugal (a rental contract or a Finanças registered-address certificate dated within the last three months), proof of sufficient means of subsistence (which varies by permit type), and a criminal record certificate from your country of origin dated within the last three months if you lived there for more than six months in the preceding three years. AIMA runs the Portuguese criminal record check automatically against the domestic register, so you do not need to obtain that one separately.
The type-specific documents cause the most confusion at submission. D7 holders typically need three to six months of bank statements showing the passive income plus the original source documentation (pension letter, rental contract, or dividend statement). D8 digital nomad holders need evidence of remote employment or freelance income at or above the 2026 threshold — the figure and how to document it for dependants is covered in our D8 family income guide. Golden Visa holders must show the ARI-qualifying investment remains in place. CPLP holders attach the CPLP certificate or equivalent nationality proof alongside the standard package. Our renewal documents by visa type breakdown lists the exact set for each permit.
One recurring error delays otherwise-clean files: uploading documents in the wrong format or at insufficient resolution. The portal accepts PDF and JPG only, with a maximum of 5MB per document, and reviewers flag blurred or illegible scans for resubmission — which adds two to four weeks. Scan everything at 300 DPI or higher. Any foreign-language document that requires translation must be translated by a sworn translator or certified by a consular official; an uncertified translation will be rejected at the document-review stage.
What Happens After You Submit
When you complete the submission, the portal generates a receipt with a unique process reference number. Screenshot and save it — it is your only proof of the submission date, and AIMA does not send a separate confirmation email at the point of submission. That process number is what you use to track the file in the portal and to reference in any subsequent contactenos messages or legal correspondence.
After submission, the file enters AIMA's document-review queue, where reviewers confirm every required document is present, legible, and within its validity dates. A complete file advances to the assessment queue, where a case officer evaluates the substantive renewal criteria. If a document is missing or expired, AIMA sends a notification through the portal's messaging system requesting the specific correction — you generally have 10 working days to respond before the file moves into a suspension state, so check the portal inbox at least weekly after submitting.
Once review and assessment clear, AIMA schedules a biometric appointment if your permit type requires one. Most first-time renewals need a biometric update; some subsequent renewals do not. When an appointment is required, the convocation arrives through the portal and by email with the date, time, and office. After biometrics, the new card enters production and delivery. At the current AIMA operating pace in the second half of 2026, the total timeline from portal submission to card delivery is running at roughly eight to twelve weeks for straightforward cases — which is precisely why submitting a November or December permit now, rather than in October, matters.
If your card expires before the renewal completes, AIMA automatically issues a paper renovação certificate (also called a comprovativo or declaração) that serves as legal evidence of your continued residence. You do not request it separately — it generates when the card lapses with a renewal pending. It carries a QR code accepted by border officials, by carriers such as TAP, Ryanair, and Vueling, and by Portuguese banks. Keep a digital and a paper copy during any travel in the gap period; our guide on travelling with an expired permit and the AIMA QR code details which carriers ask for which format.
The Full 2026 Window Is Now Open — What That Means
With the November–December cohort live, every non-ARI residence permit expiring across the whole of 2026 is now renewable on the portal simultaneously. This is a meaningful operational milestone: for most of 2025 and early 2026, holders faced a staggered rollout where later expiry months were locked out until AIMA extended the window, forcing people to wait and check repeatedly. That waiting game is over for 2026 expiries. If your card expires at any point this year and you have not yet submitted, there is no longer a system reason to delay.
The strategic takeaway is about buffer, not eligibility. Now that eligibility is universal for 2026, the only variable within your control is how much runway you give AIMA. A submission made four months before expiry all but guarantees the new card arrives before the old one lapses, eliminating the paper-certificate gap entirely. A submission made six weeks out creates a real risk of the gap and the travel and banking friction that comes with it. For November and December holders reading this in August or September, that means the optimal move is to submit now while you have the maximum buffer the calendar allows.
Looking ahead, the natural question is when the portal extends into 2027. AIMA has not published 2027 opening dates, but the consistent 2026 cadence — each cohort opening three to four months before its expiry month — points to January and February 2027 permits becoming eligible in the final quarter of 2026. Holders in that group should check the portal monthly from October 2026. If your permit expires in early 2027 and you are already gathering documents, you are not doing anything wrong — you simply cannot submit until the window extends. Have the package ready so you can file the day it opens.
Frequently Asked Questions
My permit expires in November or December 2026 — can I renew it now?
Yes. AIMA has opened the Renewals Portal at portal-renovacoes.aima.gov.pt to permits expiring in November and December 2026. Log in with your NIF and credentials and the "Submeter renovação" option will appear if your file is within the eligible window. If it is not yet showing, check again in a few days — the window opens progressively by expiry date.
Does submitting early hurt my application in any way?
No. Earlier submission is always advantageous. The renewal queue runs from your submission date, so submitting sooner gives AIMA more time to finish before your current card expires. There is no penalty for filing months ahead, and the renewal does not shorten or change your current card's validity.
What is the portal URL and why does it block me from abroad?
The URL is portal-renovacoes.aima.gov.pt. It is geo-locked to Portuguese IP addresses. Access it from within Portugal or through a Portuguese VPN server, or have a representative with a procuração submit for you. Our geo-lock guide explains each workaround.
When does the portal open for permits expiring in 2027?
The current window closes at 31 December 2026 expiries. AIMA has not announced 2027 dates, but based on the 2026 cadence, January and February 2027 cohorts are likely to open in the final quarter of 2026. Check the portal monthly from October 2026.
My card will expire before my renewal is processed — what covers my residence in the meantime?
AIMA automatically generates a paper renovação certificate when your card expires while a renewal is pending. It is legally equivalent to the residence card for employment, banking, and Schengen travel, and carries a QR code accepted by TAP, Ryanair, and Vueling at boarding. Keep both a digital and a paper copy while travelling during the gap.