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Residence permit for family reunification

Route status

Active as of 2026-02-28[2][5]
The subsection is live in the consolidated text and AIMA's fee table in force from 1 March 2026 lists concession of a residence permit for family reunification among its current procedures.

Open to new applications under the rules recorded below.

Status details
In force since2025-10-22 as of 2025-10-22[5]

Residency route facts

Identity

Identity
Official name (local)Autorização de residência para reagrupamento familiar as of 2026-02-28[2][5]
Official name (English)Residence permit for family reunification as of 2025-10-22[5]
Legal basisLei n.º 23/2007 (REPSAE), arts. 98.º to 108.º, read with art. 64.º (residence visa for family reunification) and art. 77.º; arts. 98.º, 99.º, 101.º, 103.º, 104.º, 105.º and 106.º amended by Lei n.º 61/2025, de 22 de outubro as of 2025-10-22[5]
Instrument typeresidence permit as of 2025-10-22[5]

Who can apply

Who can apply
Nationals not served by this routeEU, EEA as of 2025-10-22[5]
Criminal-record conditionYes as of 2025-10-22[5]

Permit terms

Permit terms
Initial durationNot applicable
REPSAE art. 107.º/1: the family member admitted under this route receives a residence permit of duration identical to the sponsor's, so the term has no numeric value of its own. Art. 107.º/2 is the exception: the family member of a permanent-residence holder receives a permit valid for two years. The rule is carried by initial_duration_basis.
How the initial term is setmatches the sponsor's permit
RenewableYes as of 2025-10-22[5]
Renewal duration3 years as of 2025-10-22[5]
Work rightsfull as of 2025-10-22[5]

Permanent residence and citizenship

Permanent residence and citizenship
Counts toward permanent residenceYes as of 2025-10-22[1][5]
REPSAE art. 80.º/1/a) requires five years' holding of a temporary residence permit and states no exclusion for this route.

Requirements

Requirements
Who can sponsortemporary permit holder, permanent resident as of 2025-10-22[5]
Eligible relationsspouse, unmarried partner, minor child, adult dependent child, parent, sibling as of 2025-10-22[5]
Sponsor income requirement1 × guaranteed minimum monthly remuneration (national minimum wage) per month as of 2026-08-07[3][4][5]
Sponsor accommodation requirementYes as of 2025-10-22[5]
Sponsor waiting period2 years as of 2025-10-22[5]
Pre-entry language testNo as of 2025-10-22[5]
Who qualifies as a sponsor
  • Minimum permit duration: 2 years as of 2025-10-22[5]
Sponsor and relation matrix
    • Sponsor status: temporary permit holder
    • Relation: spouse
    • Resulting condition: Sponsor must hold a residence permit valid for at least two years (art. 98.º/1), reduced to 15 months where the couple cohabited for at least 18 months immediately before the sponsor's entry (art. 98.º/2), and disapplied where the spouse is with the sponsor the parent or adopter of a dependent minor or incapacitated person (art. 98.º/3/b)). The permit's duration is identical to the sponsor's (art. 107.º/1). It becomes autonomous two years after first issue while the family ties subsist (art. 107.º/3), or is autonomous from the first issue where the marriage or de facto union has lasted more than five years (art. 107.º/5).
    • Sponsor status: temporary permit holder
    • Relation: minor child
    • Resulting condition: No waiting period (art. 98.º/3/a)). The permit's duration is identical to the sponsor's (art. 107.º/1) and becomes autonomous after two years, or without waiting for that period where the sponsor has minor children resident in Portugal (art. 107.º/3), and in any case on reaching majority (art. 107.º/4).
    • Sponsor status: temporary permit holder
    • Relation: parent
    • Resulting condition: Dependent first-degree ascendants in the direct line of the sponsor or of the sponsor's spouse (art. 99.º/1/f)); the two-year sponsor-permit requirement of art. 98.º/1 applies, since art. 98.º/3 does not cover them.
    • Sponsor status: permanent resident
    • Relation: spouse
    • Resulting condition: Permit valid for two years, renewable for successive three-year periods (art. 107.º/2), rather than matching the sponsor's own term.
    • Sponsor status: specific permits
    • Relation: spouse
    • Resulting condition: Family members of holders of permits granted under art. 90.º (teaching, highly qualified or cultural activity), art. 90.º-A (investment activity) or art. 121.º-A ('cartão azul UE') are exempt from the waiting period altogether (art. 98.º/3/c)). For 'cartão azul UE' holders, art. 121.º-A/2/a) additionally allows periods of residence in other Member States to be aggregated for the art. 107.º/3 autonomy calculation, and art. 121.º-A/2/b) requires simultaneous applications to be decided and notified together.

Process

Process
Where to apply fromeither as of 2025-10-22[5]
Statutory processing time9 months as of 2025-10-22[5]
Fees
    • Kind: application
    • Amount: Not established from a qualifying source
    • Charged per: application

Physical presence

Physical presence
maximum consecutive absence6 months · to keep the permit as of 2025-10-22[5]
maximum total absence8 months · to keep the permit as of 2025-10-22[5]

Family inclusion

Family inclusion
Family members may be includedNot established from a qualifying source

Your next step

Read the requirements above considering your own situation: the income multiple, the absence limits, who you can bring. Check the country record for the reference figure those amounts are calculated from, and for anything that has changed recently.

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Verification

Verification
Sources cited5
of which official (tier 1)5
Oldest as-of date2025-10-22
Newest as-of date2026-08-07
Reviewed on2026-08-11
Schema version1.1

Sources

  1. [1] Autorização de Residência Permanente – Art. 80.º
    AIMA, I.P. – Agência para a Integração, Migrações e Asilo · official portal · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-06
  2. [2] Atualização da Tabela de Taxas (em vigor a partir de 1 de março de 2026)
    AIMA, I. P. · official portal · Tier 1 · Published 2026-02-28 · Accessed 2026-08-07
  3. [3] Meios de subsistência – Documentação instrutória – Vistos Nacionais
    Ministério dos Negócios Estrangeiros (Portal dos Vistos) · official portal · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-07
  4. [4] Portaria n.º 1563/2007, de 11 de dezembro – meios de subsistência
    Diário da República, 1.ª série, n.º 238 · gazette · Tier 1 · Published 2007-12-11 · Accessed 2026-08-06
  5. [5] Lei n.º 23/2007, de 4 de julho (REPSAE – regime de entrada, permanência, saída e afastamento de estrangeiros), texto consolidado, 19.ª versão
    Procuradoria-Geral Distrital de Lisboa – base de dados de legislação consolidada · statute · Tier 1 · Published 2025-10-22 · Accessed 2026-08-06

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