Residence permit renewal problems in Portugal 2025: a technical analysis and practical solutions
Thousands of residents across Portugal face obstacles renewing their residence permits online through AIMA's portals. This article documents the structural technical failures identified, and explains the practical strategies you can use while waiting for the system to be fixed.
System with structural failures
The AIMA system presents significant technical problems: different databases that apparently don't communicate with each other, online forms that require physical presence, and staff who cannot access the same system as users.
The most frequent consultations we have received have been about residence permit renewal in Portugal, now through the AIMA online system. What should be a simple and digital process proves to be a technical challenge that demonstrates failures in administrative execution of IT solutions implementation in public service.
The problems affect immigrants in Lisbon, Porto, Coimbra, Braga, Aveiro, Faro and all other Portuguese cities, regardless of where they try to renew their residence permit.
The division created by Decree-Law No. 85-B/2025
The new Decree-Law No. 85-B/2025 only extended until October 15, 2025 the validity periods of residence permits that expired until June 30. Residence permits that expired after that date do not have extended validity.
Government strategy
The government's idea is to renew all overdue residence permits, but at the same time prevent new renewals from accumulating. Therefore, it launched two separate systems
The two disconnected AIMA systems
First Portal: Residence permits expired between 2020 and June 30, 2025
For residence permits expired between February 22, 2020 and June 30, 2025, AIMA started sending emails to people to allow access to the system:
👉 AIMA renewal portal (extension)
AIMA Portal (extracted on 17/08/2025)
Technical problems identified
The portal is available in PT and EN, however, the English version doesn't show the same options. This suggests possible usability testing failures.
Second Portal: Residence permits expired from July 1, 2025
For renewals from July 1, 2025, there's another completely separate portal:
Limited availability
At this moment, only renewals for residence permits that expired in July, August and September 2025 are available.
The NISS problem: Requirement without legal provision
The main problem people are facing is the absence of NISS. Yes, because there are various residence permits that legally do not require Social Security registration.
Problematic technical implementation
The IT system was developed without providing for legal differentiations and ended up requiring all adults to present NISS, even when there is no legal obligation. This particularly affects holders of D7 residence visas (residence permits by own income), who legally are not required to have NISS.
This obviously caused a problem for Social Security, which was not very happy with the attribution of NISS to holders of residence visas for remote workers or job search visas — and now had to start issuing NISS to everyone.
Social Security ensures NISS issuance
Faced with the identified problems, Social Security publicly assured that it will issue NISS for immigrants who need to renew their residence permit. This measure aims to solve the vicious cycle where immigrants couldn't obtain NISS without valid authorization, and vice versa.
Source: DN Brasil - Social Security ensures it will allow NISS for immigrants to renew residence
NISS Online (Social Security)
It's possible to request NISS online through Social Security. The institution assured it will issue NISS specifically for residence renewals.
Citizen Shops (AMA)
It's possible to request at Citizen Shops, through AMA, for those who already have a residence permit.
But Getting NISS Doesn't Solve the Problem...
Naturally, one would expect that obtaining NISS would solve the problem. However, it's not that simple, as the IT system apparently doesn't have effective integration between different databases.
You can access your Portal, but a message appears saying:
Standard error message
"Your debt situation with Social Security and Tax Authority is under review. Once validated, you can make requests. Please come back later."
The fundamental error: Disconnected databases
An alternative would be to go to AIMA in person to include NISS directly. However, this option also has limitations.
Structural problem identified
In practice, it appears that two different databases were created for AIMA. That is, the system that staff have access to at AIMA Shops and the online renewals Portal system.
This means that AIMA staff cannot access the same system that users are trying to use. This situation reveals significant technical failures in the system architecture.
The form that doesn't work: In-person to be online
To solve this issue, an online AIMA form was created for changing information in the system:
AIMA contact form (extracted on 17/08/2025)
At first glance, this solution seemed to allow updating all information online.
Functional limitation identified
However, the form has a significant limitation: to include NISS — which is already registered in the AMA system, Social Security and sometimes even in AIMA itself — it's necessary to do it IN PERSON.
That is, the process requires physical presence for a functionality that should be digital.
This situation creates a practical question: how to proceed in person at AIMA if the system has different databases and Shop staff cannot access the online renewals system?
And there are even more errors...
Wait. You'll try to include your NISS through the form. However, you'll receive an error saying that it's not possible to make modifications if your residence permit expired less than four months ago.
Error messages (extracted on 17/08/2025)
Contradictory error messages
"The permit validity is less than 4 months. Please request permit renewal at IRN"
and
"This card/residence permit number has already been associated with an appointment for in-person service at AIMA.IP."
The conclusion: There's no known solution
If you've reached this point, the situation presents significant challenges: there's no clear and immediate solution.
Technical situation summary
In practice, it appears that a system with significant structural failures was developed. The system presents difficulties both for users and for staff themselves.
What We Recommend Doing
In-Person Attempt
Go personally to AIMA and try to include NISS in the system (even knowing they probably won't be able to help).
Email Documentation
Send daily emails informing of the error to geral@aima.gov.pt and renovacao.ar@aima.gov.pt.
Daily Attempts
Try every day to submit the forms, as the system has been receiving corrections with some frequency.
Registered Letter
Send a registered letter to AIMA requesting renewal and informing of the error.
Why Document If They Don't Respond?
By documenting every attempt, you're creating proof that it's not your fault for not renewing. You're demonstrating that you did everything possible to renew, but due to administrative execution failures, it wasn't possible to do so. Thus, in the future, you cannot be harmed by the public administration's error if they try to use this against you.
Frequently Asked Questions — Portugal Residence Permit Renewal 2025
How to renew residence permit in Portugal 2025?
To renew your residence permit in Portugal in 2025, you must access the AIMA online portal. There are two different portals: one for permits expired until 30/06/2025 (with extension until 15/10/2025), and another for permits expired from 01/07/2025. You need NISS (Social Security Identification Number) for any renewal.
Why is the AIMA portal not working?
The AIMA portal is not working due to several technical problems: disconnected databases between online and in-person systems; NISS requirement without legal provision for all cases; forms requiring physical presence to work online; and error messages such as "debt situation under review".
Is NISS mandatory to renew residence permit in Portugal?
Legally, not all types of residence permits require NISS, especially holders of D7 residence visas (residence permits by own income). However, the AIMA system was programmed to require NISS from all adults, even when the law doesn't determine it. Social Security publicly assured it will issue NISS for immigrants who need to renew their residence permit.
What to do if my residence permit has expired?
Action depends on the expiry date: if expired until 30/06/2025, validity was extended until 15/10/2025 by Decree-Law 85-B/2025. If expired from 01/07/2025, you must renew immediately via the online portal. Document all attempts with emails to geral@aima.gov.pt and registered mail.
Portugal residence permit online renewal not working — what to do?
Follow this strategy: (1) Try to obtain NISS via Social Security online or Citizen Shops; (2) Send daily emails to geral@aima.gov.pt and renovacao.ar@aima.gov.pt; (3) Try to submit forms daily; (4) Send registered mail to create proof of diligence; (5) Seek specialized legal advice on immigration.