Requests for extensions to immigrants' visas to stay or reside in Portugal will now be automatically granted, as long as the people in question have no criminal record or other weighting factors
This is one of the Portuguese government's changes to the way visas are renewed, according to the Público newspaper, and is part of the process of abolishing the Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF).
At issue is the "legal regime for the entry, stay, exit and removal of foreigners from national territory", which was approved at the end of November 2023 in the Council of Ministers.
It seems that the law is in its final stages and will still have to pass through Belém to be promulgated by the President of the Republic before being published.
After SEF is abolished, the visa system will be managed by the Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA), which will create a new electronic visa application system.
Tourist Tax in Portugal: 2025 rates for Lisbon, the Algarve & Madeira
To help manage the impact of high visitor numbers, many popular destinations levy a tourist tax. This supplementary fee is charged to visitors staying in a city or region, typically on a per-person, per-night basis, and is collected directly by accommodation providers. The revenue generated from the tourist tax in Portugal, for example, is earmarked for local use. The money helps to finance the maintenance of tourist infrastructure, preserve cultural heritage, and mitigate the environmental effe
Portugal tightens citizenship rules in 2025: what expats and families need to know
Portugal’s path to citizenship just became longer and stricter in 2025, following sweeping changes that reshape who can become Portuguese, when, and under what conditions.
Who’s who in the new Portuguese Government? From ministers to secretaries of state
The 16 ministers forming the 25th Constitutional Government led by Luís Montenegro were sworn in on Thursday, 5 June, during a ceremony presided over by the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, at the Palácio da Ajuda in Lisbon. However, the government’s full composition was only completed after the 43 Secretaries of State took office on Friday, 6 June. These are the key figures who will govern Portugal over the next four years.
Council houses in Lisbon: 721 cases of illegal occupation
The housing crisis in Portugal has led families to occupy council houses illegally. This is a particularly visible reality in the municipality of Lisbon, where 721 cases of illegal occupation of public housing have been recorded. In the rest of the country, however, the situation is quite different.
Residents near Lisbon Airport will receive support to soundproof their homes
The Portuguese Government has approved a set of measures to reduce the impact of noise generated by Humberto Delgado Airport in Lisbon on the populations living near the infrastructure. One of these measures is the Less Noise Programme (Programa Menos Ruído), which will provide funding to residents to improve the insulation of their homes in order to minimise the noise caused by aircraft. The other measure will impose restrictions on night-time flights at Lisbon Airport.
Construction of houses on rural land in Portugal: what changes in the new law
On Friday, 28 February 2025, the Portuguese Parliament approved amendments to the legislation allowing the reclassification of rural land as urban for housing, with part of it designated for “affordable rental” and “controlled-cost” construction. The decree-law 117/2024, dated 30 December, which modifies the Legal Framework for Territorial Management Instruments (RJIGT) and enables the simplified reclassification of rural land into urban land for housing construction, came into force on
Golden visas: Portugal accelerates processes after long delays
Portugal is accelerating the processing times for applications to the Golden Visa programme – also known as the "visto gold" – following long delays in the processes, which have tarnished the programme's image. The programme offers foreign investors, in certain circumstances, the opportunity to obtain a residence permit in Portugal through investments in specific areas, such as real estate, job creation, or capital transfers.