Family reunification

Family reunification is the procedure by which a foreigner holding a residence permit in Portugal asks for their family to be able to live with them in the country. The rules sit in article 98 onwards of the Foreigners Act (Lei n.º 23/2007), which Lei n.º 61/2025 of 22 October amended. This guide follows the law and the pages of AIMA and the Consular Portal, with the steps in the order they happen.

Who can apply and who can be reunited

The applicant is the residence permit holder. Under article 98(1), the right to reunification belongs to someone whose permit has been valid for at least two years, for the family members covered by articles 99 and 100 who have lived with them or depend on them. Family ties may predate or postdate the resident’s arrival in Portugal.

The Foreign Ministry’s Consular Portal lists the relatives:

• the spouse;
• minor or incapacitated children of the couple or of one spouse;
• minors adopted by the applicant or the spouse, if Portugal recognises the adoption;
• adult, unmarried children who are dependent and studying at an educational establishment in Portugal;
• adult, unmarried, dependent children who are studying, with no requirement of a Portuguese institution, where the holder’s permit was granted under article 90-A;
• first-degree ascendants (parents) of the resident or spouse, if dependent on them;
• younger siblings under the resident’s guardianship, under a decision from the country of origin that Portugal recognises;
• an unmarried partner, if the relationship is duly proven under the law.

For a spouse or partner, article 99(6) adds that the marriage or union must be valid and recognised under Portuguese law, and that both people must be at least 18 on the date of the request.

If the child was born in Portugal, there are separate routes that do not need reunification: see the guide on children born in Portugal.

The two-year requirement and its exceptions

The two-year period does not apply (article 98(3)) to:

• minors or incapacitated people who are dependants;
• a spouse or equivalent who is, with the permit holder, the parent or adopter of a dependent minor or incapacitated person;
• family members of holders of permits granted under articles 90, 90-A or 121-A of the same act. Check with AIMA whether your type of permit is in that group.

Article 98(2) sets 15 months as the period for a spouse or equivalent who lived with the holder for at least 18 months immediately before the holder arrived in Portugal. And paragraph 4 allows the period to be waived or reduced in exceptional, reasoned cases, by order of the government member responsible for migration, taking into account how solid the family ties are and how well the person is integrating in Portugal.

What the law asks of the resident

Article 101 requires two things:

1. Accommodation, owned or rented, regarded as normal for a comparable family in the same region and meeting the general safety and hygiene standards set by ministerial order.
2. Sufficient means of subsistence to support every member of the household, without recourse to social benefits, as set by ministerial order.

Article 106(2) adds that approval may be blocked on grounds of public order, public security or public health, and says what is weighed in each case. The visas guide and the Path tool help you see whether your case belongs on another route.

How to apply, step by step

For relatives outside Portugal, the Consular Portal describes two stages:

1. The resident asks AIMA to approve the reunification, before any consular request.
2. After a favourable decision, the relatives apply for a residence visa at a consular post. According to that page, only the spouse and ascendants pay the processing fee; visas for descendants of permit holders are exempt. The page gives no amounts.

Article 103(2) also allows the holder to request residence for the relatives named in article 98(3) (those not subject to the two-year period) who are already in Portugal, entered the country and are still there at the date of the request.

The online request

The FAQ page of AIMA’s Services Portal on reunification is marked “under review/update”, and the agency itself warns the criteria may change. The page says that:

• only residence permit holders can apply; CPLP permit holders cannot yet, and the page allows that this might change;
• you can apply for the whole family if the household includes at least one minor;
• it covers only relatives living in Portugal, and children and young people up to and including age 17;
• you can add relatives while the request is unpaid; after payment, no changes are possible;
• each uploaded document must not exceed 1 MB;
• after paying, the status may still read “Por Pagar”; if the payment went through, wait for AIMA to contact you.

Always check AIMA’s website in case the channel has changed.

Documents

On the same page AIMA lists the applicant’s general documents:

• your valid residence permit;
• the relative’s valid passport or other travel document, and proof of lawful entry into Portugal if they are already here;
• proof of the family ties, authenticated;
• a sworn statement of your address and the legal basis on which you occupy it, with a land registry certificate or access code if you own or hold usufruct, or a declaration from the landlord or housing entity in other cases;
• proof of means of subsistence;
• a Termo de Responsabilidade (Modelo 4, described in the guide to AIMA forms), with the signature notarised or certified by a lawyer or solicitor, unless you sign in front of an AIMA official;
• a criminal record from the relative’s country of nationality or the country where they lived for over a year before coming to Portugal (not required for children under 16).

For the family ties, as applicable: a marriage certificate; proof of a de facto union lasting more than two years; the child’s birth certificate; an adoption decision; a medical report or court decision for incapacity; a guardianship decision with a certificate from the national authority recognising it. If the other parent lives abroad, AIMA asks for their written consent authenticated by a Portuguese consular authority, or a court decision on custody. Documents issued outside Portugal must be apostilled or authenticated, and birth certificates are valid for one year after issue. If you bring the originals to an AIMA shop, certified copies of identity documents may be waived.

The page also lists further conditions: no conviction for an offence punishable in Portugal by more than one year in prison, not being within an entry-ban period, and not being listed in the Schengen Information System.

Decision deadline

Article 105 says the request must be decided within nine months. Apart from the cases in article 98(1) and (2), the competent body may extend that by the same period in exceptional circumstances linked to the complexity of the analysis, informing the applicant. Article 104(3) tells AIMA to organise the scheduling of interviews and the assessment of requests in line with its administrative capacity.

Lei n.º 62/2026 of 10 September set 90 days, extendable by 30, as the general deadline for deciding the grant of a residence permit (article 82(5)), but it begins by saving other deadlines the law provides. The published text does not amend articles 98 to 105; it repeals article 106(5) and article 108(6). The 90- and 30-day periods do not replace the nine months for reunification. AIMA’s pages on this application do not say how long it takes in practice, and this guide does not promise any.

After approval: integration

Once the permit is granted, relatives must complete integration measures: Portuguese-language training and training on constitutional principles and values and, for minors, attending compulsory schooling, as set by regulatory decree (article 101(3)). Renewal depends on proving that compliance and the continuing criteria, including that social benefits are not counted and knowledge of the language, principles and values, unless the reason is not attributable to the relative (paragraph 4). For humanitarian reasons the government may exceptionally waive the integration measures (paragraph 5). Keep certificates of courses, such as Portuguese as a Host Language, which the guide on learning Portuguese explains; for minors’ enrolment, see your children’s school.

If something goes wrong

If the request stalls, keep receipts and proofs, check the contact details on the file and use AIMA’s contact centre, +351 217 115 000, Monday to Friday, 8am to 8pm. The site’s message templates help you write clearly and the glossary explains terms such as apostille and title. For counters, see Where to be served. For proof of accommodation and income, also see the AIMA and renting a home guides.