Residence Permit for the Exercise of Independent Professional Activity
Residency route facts
Identity
| Official name (local) | Autorização de Residência para Exercício de Atividade Profissional Independente (com visto de residência) as of 2026-08-06[1][4] |
|---|---|
| Official name (English) | Residence Permit for the Exercise of Independent Professional Activity as of 2026-08-06[1] Working translation of the official Portuguese name; AIMA's Portuguese page states no official English title. |
| Legal basis | Lei n.º 23/2007 (REPSAE), art. 89.º/1 (entry visa under art. 60.º/1), read with Decreto Regulamentar n.º 84/2007, arts. 51.º and 55.º/1, and Portaria n.º 1563/2007 as of 2026-08-06[1][4] |
| Instrument type | residence permit as of 2026-08-06[1][4] |
Who can apply
| Criminal-record condition | Yes as of 2026-08-06[1][4] AIMA: grant requires the absence of a conviction for a crime punishable in Portugal by a custodial sentence of more than one year, no current entry-and-stay ban and no SII UCFE alert; REPSAE art. 77.º/1/g) to j) states the same conditions. |
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Permit terms
| Initial duration | 2 years as of 2026-08-06[1][4] AIMA: the temporary residence permit for professional activity is valid for two years from the date the title is issued; REPSAE art. 75.º/1 states the same general rule. |
|---|---|
| How the initial term is set | fixed |
| Renewable | Yes as of 2026-08-06[1][4] Renewable for successive three-year periods (AIMA; REPSAE art. 75.º/1). |
| Renewal duration | 3 years as of 2026-08-06[1][4] AIMA and REPSAE art. 75.º/1: successive three-year periods. |
| Work rights | full as of 2025-10-22[1][4] REPSAE art. 89.º/3: the holder of a permit for independent professional activity may carry on employed professional activity, on substitution of the residence title; AIMA describes the same procedure. REPSAE art. 83.º/1/b) and c) give residence-permit holders both employed and self-employed rights. |
Permanent residence and citizenship
Requirements
| Business plan required | No as of 2025-10-22[1][4] Neither REPSAE art. 89.º/1 nor AIMA's document checklist requires a business plan for this route; the evidence required is a services contract, proof of company incorporation or recent invoices, together with registration for tax and social security. |
|---|---|
| Endorsement required | No as of 2025-10-22[1][4] No accelerator, incubator or committee endorsement appears in REPSAE art. 89.º/1 or in AIMA's checklist; where the profession is regulated, a declaration from the relevant professional order that the registration requirements are met is required instead. |
| Innovation criterion | No as of 2025-10-22[1][4] REPSAE art. 89.º/1 imposes no innovation condition; the innovation-based startup pathway is art. 89.º/4, recorded separately as pt-startup-visa. |
| Own means requirement | 1 × guaranteed minimum monthly remuneration (national minimum wage) per month measured over 12 months as of 2025-10-22[3][4] REPSAE art. 89.º/1/c) requires means of subsistence as defined by the portaria referred to in art. 52.º/1/d). Portaria n.º 1563/2007 art. 5.º/1 requires the means for a residence visa for independent professional activity to be secured for a period not shorter than the maximum admissible stay, and art. 7.º/1 carries the same requirement into the grant and renewal of the temporary residence permit; art. 7.º/2 provides that for independent professional activity the amounts are determined using the IRS or IRC criteria for taxable income. The multiplier is the art. 2.º/2/a) first-adult rate of 100% of the RMMG net of social-security contributions; the 12-month window follows art. 5.º/6, the general residence-visa rule. |
Process
| Where to apply from | in-country only as of 2025-10-22[1][4] REPSAE art. 77.º/1/a) and c) require possession of a valid residence visa – here the visa under art. 60.º/1, applied for at a consular post – and presence in Portuguese territory; AIMA takes the permit application in Portugal at a Loja AIMA. The visa stage and the permit stage are separate. |
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| Statutory processing time | 90 days as of 2025-10-22[4] |
| Fees |
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Family inclusion
| Family members may be included | Yes as of 2025-10-22[4] |
|---|---|
| Eligible relations | Not established from a qualifying source |
| Family may apply at the same time | Yes as of 2025-10-22[4] |
| Family members' work rights | Not established from a qualifying source |
| Additional means per family member |
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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.
The next step is your own case. That assessment is legal work. Create profile for our assistance in this.
Profile benefits
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Verification
| Sources cited | 4 |
|---|---|
| of which official (tier 1) | 4 |
| Oldest as-of date | 2007-12-11 |
| Newest as-of date | 2026-08-06 |
| Reviewed on | 2026-08-11 |
| Schema version | 1.1 |
Sources
- [1] Autorização de Residência para Exercício de Atividade Profissional Independente com Visto de Residência – Art. 89.º, n.º 1
AIMA, I.P. – Agência para a Integração, Migrações e Asilo · official portal · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-06 - [2] 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 - [3] 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 - [4] 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