European citizenship, but still stuck chasing permanent residency in Portugal.
I’ve been living in Portugal for over 5 years. Just before hitting the 2-year mark, I became a German citizen. I was relieved—finally, no more dealing with the same red tape as non-EU citizens. Or so I thought.
When I tried to get my EU residence certificate at the City Hall, they refused because I already had a temporary residence card (from my non-EU days) and told me to contact SEF. That was over 3 years and more than 300 phone calls ago.
Now, my residence is about to expire. I’m still trying to reach SEF (or AIMA now), and I could face problems at work because of this. All while being a European citizen, with full rights to live and work here.
Only in Portugal. 🙃
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Comments4
Apricot Skywalker
May 27, 2025
Sorry to hear this. Been through the exact same issue.
My initial 5 years ran out during covid, but they said I could wait. I requested appointments as soon as I could. Years later I was still nowhere.
I ended up getting a new 5-year initial EU residency at the city hall because of a bureaucratic mistake on my previous one (somewhere it said I was British, but I was not, so now I could apply again under my real nationality… a weird stroke of luck). I was in a legal no man’s land for ages before that, unable to get health care or do other basic things because I was technically not a legal resident even though by EU law I have the right to live and work here.
Indigo Magnetosphere
May 27, 2025
You are a German citizen? I guess if you already have an European passport you don’t need to worry about Portugal residency?
Magenta Andromeda
May 27, 2025
Nope, you have to register with the câmara municipal:
https://aima.gov.pt/pt/nacionais-ue-e-familiares/nacionais-ue/certificado-de-registo-para-nacionais-ue
Apricot Skywalker
May 27, 2025
No, while EU citizens have the right to be here, you still need a piece of paper with a 5 year validity from the municipality (loja de cidadao), otherwise you get no bank account, SNS, driver’s license, etc. etc. After these 5 years you need a different piece of paper which only comes from AIMA. :(