Applying for Residence in Portugal

For Living in Portugal and Family Reunification

Article 125 – Acquisition of long-term resident status
Documents Required

The application for the long-term resident status is submitted by scheduling, delivered in person on a model form duly signed by the applicant or his/her legal representative, and may be submitted by the person itself in any directorate or regional delegation of SEF, which can forward it, after assessment and decision, to the directorate or regional delegation of the applicant’s area of residence. It should be accompanied as follows:

  • Two identical passport photographs, in colour with blank background, updated and in favourable conditions for identification (in case the scheduling is to be held in a SEF bureau of Odivelas, Aveiro or Braga)
  • Valid travel document or a certified copy
  • Supporting evidence of stable and regular resources, sufficient for his/her own subsistence and his/her relatives, without resorting to the welfare subsystem, as provided in Order n.º 1563/2007, of 11/12
  • Supporting evidence of accommodation
  • Copy of the health insurance contract or supporting evidence he/she is covered by the National Health System
  • Whenever applicable, demonstration of fluently speaking basic Portuguese language, by means of submitting the following:
    • Certificate of eligibility issued by an official Portuguese teaching establishment or private or corporative teaching establishment recognised by law, or
    • Certificate of completion on Portuguese basic course, or
    • Certificate of completion on Portuguese basic course issued by an official teaching establishment or private or corporative teaching establishment recognised by law, or
    • Certificate on Portuguese basic course, with the completion of a test in an Assessment Centre of Portuguese as foreign language (CAPLE), recognised by the Ministry of Education and Science; or, in addition
    • Certificate of completion of level A2, or higher, of the Course on Portuguese as Host Language (see attached form), promoted by public teaching establishments, by the direct and participated managing centres network of Instituto do Emprego e da Formação Profissional, I.P., and by Centros Qualifica network (or other public and private entities with proven experience in working with migrants, with which those entities or ACM. IP hold protocols), under Order n.º183/2020, of 5 August.
  • Authorisation for consultation of the Portuguese criminal record by SEF
  • When applicable, supporting document of absences due to deployment for working reasons, in particular within cross-border services
  • Supporting evidence of compliance with the obligations to the Tax Authority and Social Security
  • Supporting evidence of legal and continuous residence in the national territory for five years immediately before the submission of the application
 Notes
  • The holders of EU Blue Card may apply for long residence provided they comply with the provisions set out in Article 121-I of the Aliens Act
  • The long-term resident status is a permanent status, wherefore their holders are granted a long-term EU residence permit, with a five-year minimum validity and renewable.
 Fees

ARTICLE 125, PARAGRAPH 1 OF THE REPSAE, IN CONJUNCTION WITH ARTICLE 74 OF THE RD 84/2007 AS AMENDED

ORDER NUMBER 1563/2007, OF 11/12