The Portuguese Immigration Law is once again undergoing amendment.
The last relevant revision came into force with the publication of the law approved in October 2025. Less than nine months later, the Government has presented a new proposal that once again directly modifies the legal regime for entry, stay, exit, and removal of foreign nationals from national territory. The proposal itself describes this intervention as the twentieth amendment to the Immigration Law.
The succession of reforms confirms a trend that has become evident since the elimination of the expressions of interest pathway in June 2024: the Portuguese system is progressively moving away from possibilities of regularization from within the territory and requiring, as a rule, that the immigration process be initiated at the Portuguese consulate in the country of origin or residence.
The new amendment is not yet in force.
However, some of the measures under discussion may affect people already in Portugal, students, parents of resident children, and holders of residence permits awaiting renewal decisions.
The initiative in question is a bill presented by the Government on May 12, 2026, which was approved in general terms on June 12, 2026 and proceeded to detailed discussion in the Assembly of the Republic.
Formally, the proposal aims to adapt Portuguese legislation to the new European framework on screening, border procedures, and return, as well as transpose the European directive on the single permit for residence and work. However, the text currently under discussion also includes internal amendments that go beyond the implementation of European norms and that restrict some residence pathways that currently exist in Portuguese law.
What could change for students in vocational courses?
The wording currently in force allows, under certain circumstances, a person who has entered and remains legally in Portugal to obtain a residence permit for study, even without having previously applied for a residence visa, provided they are admitted to a course in:
- Secondary education;
- Qualification level 4 or 5 of the National Qualifications Framework; or
- Vocational training.
This is not automatic regularization. The applicant remains obliged to demonstrate that they entered and remain legally in the country, that they are enrolled and admitted to the course, and that they meet the remaining legal requirements. Nevertheless, this possibility has allowed, in some cases, the transformation of a legal short-term stay into residence for training.
The text currently under discussion proposes to eliminate this specific possibility for those in Portugal without an appropriate residence visa, revoking the provision that allowed, in certain cases, the waiver of a visa for students already present in the country who enrolled in vocational training or qualification courses at level 4 or 5.
If the version currently under discussion is approved without significant changes, enrollment in a vocational course after entry into Portugal will, as a rule, no longer constitute a pathway to apply for residence with a consular visa waiver. Training will remain possible, but the pathway will change: the interested party will, in principle, have to obtain the appropriate visa beforehand before traveling to Portugal.
Parents of foreign minors may lose an important residence pathway
Another relevant amendment concerns the regime that currently allows, in certain situations, a parent to obtain a residence permit without the need for a visa, based on the relationship with a child living in Portugal.
Currently, this possibility covers parents of foreign children residing in Portugal and parents of children with Portuguese nationality, provided they effectively exercise parental responsibilities and ensure the child’s support and education.
The text under discussion restricts this regime. In its current version, the visa waiver is clearly associated with parents of minors with Portuguese nationality who reside in Portugal, over whom they effectively exercise parental responsibilities.
In practice, the mere circumstance that the foreign child has a residence permit in Portugal will, by itself, no longer be sufficient to use this specific pathway for a residence permit with a visa waiver. This amendment may affect families in which the child is regularized, attends school, and lives stably in Portugal, but one of the parents does not yet have their own residence permit.
This does not mean that these parents are automatically left without any solution. Other possible pathways may exist, depending on the child’s nationality, the other parent’s situation, residence history, the existence of an employment relationship, or humanitarian circumstances. But the direct pathway that currently exists for certain parents of foreign resident minors tends to become significantly narrower if the text currently under discussion is approved.
Will AIMA’s silence no longer produce tacit approval in renewals?
The law currently in force determines that an application for renewal of a residence permit must be decided within 60 days. When the lack of decision is not attributable to the applicant, the law provides that the application is considered tacitly approved, that is, that, at least in legal terms, the Administration’s silence produces a favorable decision in the renewal procedure.
The text under discussion eliminates this rule. On the one hand, it maintains the reference to a general deadline of 90 days for decisions on initial residence permit applications, now allowing this deadline to be extended by 30 days, in exceptional and duly justified circumstances, particularly due to the complexity of the process, provided the applicant is informed of this extension.
On the other hand, with respect to renewals, the provision that currently establishes that the lack of decision within 60 days, for reasons not attributable to the applicant, implies tacit approval is expressly revoked.
If this amendment is confirmed, the fact that AIMA exceeds the legal deadline will no longer automatically produce approval in the renewal. Interested parties will continue to be able to challenge administrative delays, including through the courts, but they lose a significant legal protection mechanism against the lack of decision.
Not all amendments are restrictive
The text also contains measures that may simplify life for some residents and employers.
Employed and self-employed workers may change their employment relationship through mere notification to AIMA
Among them, the possibility for the holder of a residence permit for employed work to change employers through notification to AIMA, without the need to immediately issue a new residence permit, as well as the possibility for holders of residence permits for self-employment to change the nature of their activity, also through notification, stands out.
These measures may reduce administrative procedures that, today, generate delays and uncertainty whenever there is a professional change. However, this simplification comes accompanied by the closure or narrowing of several residence pathways and the reduction of guarantees in the face of lack of administrative decision.
At what stage is the process?
The proposal was approved in general terms by the Assembly of the Republic on June 12, 2026 and then proceeded to the Committee on Constitutional Affairs, Rights, Freedoms and Guarantees, for detailed discussion and voting, where a full replacement text was presented by the parliamentary group supporting the Government, maintaining the main amendments relating to vocational courses, parents of minors, and the regime for decisions on residence applications.
At this stage, members of parliament may approve, reject, or amend each provision. As of this analysis, the official page of the initiative does not yet include:
- a final text approved in detailed discussion;
- the final global vote in plenary;
- promulgation by the President of the Republic;
- publication in the Official Gazette.
Consequently, the new rules do not yet apply. The Immigration Law currently in force continues to provide for the possibility of residence for certain students without a visa, the residence pathway for certain parents of foreign resident minors, and tacit approval of some renewals, as described above.
What about applications already submitted?
This is one of the most sensitive questions.
The text currently under discussion provides for rapid entry into force after publication, but does not include – in the version being discussed in detail – a general and clear transitional provision that expressly determines that all residence permit applications already submitted under the current law will be decided according to the previous regime. The more detailed references to the application of the law over time relate primarily to procedures regulated by asylum law.
Therefore, it is not possible to guarantee in advance that all applications submitted before entry into force will be automatically protected. The answer may depend on the final version of the law, the substantive or procedural nature of each amendment, the date of application submission, and general principles of application of the law over time.
Those who already meet the conditions under current provisions should assess their situation without assuming that these pathways will remain available indefinitely. This does not mean submitting hasty or incomplete applications, but rather confirming requirements, organizing documentation, and defining a strategy before the possible entry into force of the new law.
What should interested parties do?
The main message is simple: the proposal is not yet law, but the approval of these changes within a relatively short timeframe is a scenario that should not be ignored.
Potentially affected individuals include, in particular:
- students currently enrolled or admitted to vocational or qualification courses at level 4 or 5;
- parents of foreign minors residing in Portugal;
- parents of minors with Portuguese nationality who reside in the country;
- holders of residence permits with pending renewals;
- people who entered Portugal legally and were considering a residence pathway without a consular visa.
Each situation must be analyzed individually. The date of entry, type of visa, validity of stay, nature of the course, the child’s situation, and the stage of the procedure can completely alter the legal solution.
In a context of frequent legislative changes, advance planning has become an essential part of any immigration process to Portugal: more than ever, it is important not to wait for the publication of the law to begin preparing the response.
Article updated on July 13, 2026. The information presented is general and does not replace legal analysis of a specific case.
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