Portugal Family Reunification Rules 2026: Waiting Periods, Process and Fees

What changed under Law 61/2025

Portugal substantially changed its family reunification rules through Law 61/2025, published on 22 October 2025 and in force from 23 October 2025.

The biggest change was the introduction of waiting periods before many residence permit holders can apply to bring family members to Portugal. Under Article 98(1) of the Foreigners Law, the standard rule requires the sponsor's residence permit to have been valid for at least two years. The qualifying family members under Articles 99 and 100 must also have cohabited with the sponsor or be dependent on the sponsor. The family relationship may have arisen before or after the sponsor entered Portugal.

The law contains important exceptions. A qualifying spouse or partner can be sponsored after 15 months where the couple lived together for at least 18 months immediately before the sponsor entered Portugal. Dependent minors or incapable persons, certain parents or adopters of those dependants, and families of specified residence permit holders can fall within the Article 98(3) no-wait rules.

Recognised refugees are dealt with separately. Article 98(5) protects the right of a recognised refugee to family reunification with family members who are either inside or outside Portugal, and Article 101(2) exempts refugee family reunification from the ordinary housing and means requirements in Article 101(1).

These rules followed Constitutional Court Ruling 785/2025. The court rejected parts of an earlier version of the legislation, including an absolute two-year wait without special provision for spouses and the proposed decision-period regime. Parliament revised the legislation before Law 61/2025 was enacted.

There is also an important transitional point. Article 8 of Law 61/2025 says that its amendments apply to administrative procedures and court proceedings initiated after the law entered into force. A case that was already pending before 23 October 2025 should therefore not automatically be assessed under the new waiting rules.

Law 62/2026, published on 10 September 2026, amended the Foreigners Law again. It did not alter the core Article 98 waiting-period rules, but it did repeal provisions within the family reunification chapter, specifically Article 106(5) and Article 108(6).

How long you must wait

The correct waiting period depends on the family relationship, the sponsor's residence permit and, in some cases, the circumstances of the family member.

The minister responsible for migration can also reduce or waive the waiting periods in Article 98(1) and (2) in exceptional and properly reasoned cases. The law refers to factors including family ties, integration, human dignity and proportionality. This is an exception rather than a general alternative to the statutory waiting periods.

Which rule applies to me

Who counts as family

Articles 99 and 100 define the family members who can qualify for family reunification, subject to the conditions that apply to each category.

• A spouse.
• A properly evidenced unmarried partner in a relationship equivalent to marriage. AIMA's operational guidance asks for evidence of a relationship lasting more than two years.
• Dependent minor or incapable children, including qualifying adopted minors.
• Unmarried dependent adult children who are studying in Portugal.
• For Golden Visa holders, unmarried dependent adult children who are studying, including where they study outside Portugal.
• Dependent parents of the sponsor or the sponsor's spouse.
• Minor siblings placed under the sponsor's guardianship by a decision of the competent authority in the country of origin, where that decision is recognised in Portugal.
• The unmarried minor or incapable children of a qualifying de facto partner, including adopted children where they have legally been entrusted to that partner.

Article 99 also contains special provisions for unaccompanied minor refugees. These can include first-degree direct ascendants and, in specified circumstances, a legal guardian or another family member.

A marriage or qualifying union must be valid under Portuguese law, and both the sponsor and the spouse or equivalent partner must be at least 18 years old on the date of the request.

There is a narrower rule for people holding residence permits for study, unpaid internships or volunteering. They may reunify only with a spouse, dependent minor or incapable children, and qualifying adopted minors.

Housing and income requirements

For ordinary family reunification applications, the sponsor must show suitable accommodation and sufficient means of subsistence. Article 101(2) provides an important exception for refugee family reunification, where the housing and means requirements in Article 101(1) do not apply.

The accommodation should be normal for a comparable family in the area and meet applicable safety and health standards. Evidence can depend on whether you own, rent or otherwise have the right to use the property. Our proof of accommodation guide explains the practical documents commonly used.

Portaria 1563/2007 uses reference percentages of 100% for the first adult, 50% for each additional adult and 30% for each child or dependent adult child. It technically defines the reference using the national minimum wage net of Social Security contributions and requires the means for family reunification to be assured for at least 12 months.

Portugal's statutory minimum wage for 2026 is €920. Applying the Portaria percentages directly to the gross €920 figure gives the following simple reference calculation. These figures should not be read as an officially published AIMA 2026 threshold table, because AIMA's own means page was still displaying the previous €870 minimum wage as of 30 September 2026.

Worked example: applying those percentages directly to the gross 2026 minimum wage, a household consisting of the sponsor, a spouse and one child produces a reference calculation of €920 plus €460 plus €276, or €1,656 per month. The Portaria itself uses the minimum wage net of Social Security contributions and requires the relevant means to be assured for at least 12 months.

See our guide to financial requirements for moving to Portugal for more detail on proving income and available funds.

Step by step: family outside Portugal

If your family member is outside Portugal, the process normally begins with the sponsor in Portugal rather than with a direct visa application at the consulate.

1. The sponsor applies to AIMA. The family reunification request is made under Article 103(1), with evidence of the relationship, accommodation, financial means and the other required documents, subject to any applicable exemption such as the refugee rules.
2. AIMA assesses the request. The basic legal decision period is nine months.
3. AIMA communicates an approval to the Portuguese consular authorities.
4. The family member submits the D6 residence visa application at the competent consular post. Article 65 provides for the residence visa to be issued within 10 days after that visa application is submitted, following AIMA's communication. The consular post should not request documents that are already contained in the AIMA file.
5. Portuguese identification numbers are assigned. When the family reunification residence visa is issued, the law provides for automatic assignment of the NIF tax number, NISS social security number and SNS health number.
6. The family member travels to Portugal. After arrival, they request their residence permit from AIMA under Article 107.

For the visa stage itself, see our complete D6 family reunification visa guide.

Family already in Portugal

The statutory route is now much narrower for relatives who are already in Portugal.

Under the current Article 103(2), the ordinary in-country family reunification route is limited to family members covered by the Article 98(3) no-wait categories. The current statutory wording says that the family member must be in Portugal and must have entered and remain in Portugal on the date of the application. It no longer expressly uses the earlier wording requiring "legal entry".

There is, however, an important difference between the statutory wording and AIMA's current operational checklist. AIMA continues to request proof of legal entry for in-country family reunification applications. Applicants should therefore follow the current AIMA filing requirements even though Article 103(2) itself is worded differently.

The temporary arrangement that existed immediately after Law 61/2025 cannot be treated as a permanent route for spouses or other relatives who happen to be in Portugal.

AIMA also operates an online family reunification service through its Portal de Serviços. It is not currently a general online filing route for every family reunification case, and AIMA says that changes to the criteria for online submission will be published as the service is expanded.

If your circumstances are unusual, especially where status or the correct filing route is unclear, consider obtaining individual advice before applying.

Documents checklist

The exact documents depend on the relationship, the route and the circumstances, but AIMA's family reunification requirements include:

• Form Modelo 1 where required under the applicable AIMA procedure.
• The sponsor's Portuguese residence permit.
• A certified copy of the family member's passport.
• Authenticated evidence of the family relationship, such as a marriage certificate or birth certificate.
• Adoption or guardianship documents where applicable.
• Evidence of a qualifying unmarried partnership where applicable.
• Evidence of dependency, such as money transfers, where the family category requires dependency.
• Consent from the other parent where required for a minor.
• Evidence of accommodation, subject to any applicable exemption.
• Evidence of sufficient means of subsistence, subject to any applicable exemption.
• Modelo 4, the term of responsibility, with a certified signature where applicable.
• For applicants aged 16 or over, the criminal record documentation requested by AIMA. AIMA's current family reunification page refers to a criminal record from the country of nationality or the country where the family member resided for more than one year before living in Portugal. The wording of the relevant official texts is not completely aligned, so applicants should check the current AIMA checklist for their procedure.
• Proof of legal entry where requested by AIMA for an in-country application.
• Certified translations of foreign-language documents where required. AIMA states that translations can be certified through a notary or consulate.

Foreign civil documents normally need the appropriate authentication before they are submitted. Requirements can also vary according to the type of family relationship being proved.

Fees

Under AIMA's fee table effective from 1 March 2026, the standard fees for an ordinary temporary family residence permit are:

AIMA's fee framework also provides a 10% reduction for qualifying assisted digital service. This is "atendimento digital assistido", not a general discount for assisted in-person submissions.

Golden Visa family members are subject to the separate and substantially higher ARI fee structure.

The standard Portuguese national visa processing fee is €110. Under the family reunification fee exemption, descendants of residence permit holders are exempt. Other applicants may also fall within a separate exemption where one applies, so it is too broad to say that every spouse or parent necessarily pays the fee.

For more on the appointment process and current charges, see our guide to AIMA appointments, fees and wait times.

How long it takes

Article 105(1) gives AIMA nine months to decide the family reunification request. This is the basic legal decision period, not a promise that every application will take nine months.

Article 105(2) allows an equal extension in exceptionally complex cases, but that extension does not apply to applications under Article 98(1) or Article 98(2). In other words, the equal extension is not available for the standard two-year cases or the 15-month spouse or partner cases.

For cases outside Article 98(1) and (2), an equal extension may be used where the exceptional-complexity conditions are met. It is not automatic.

For a family member outside Portugal, the consular stage follows AIMA approval. Article 65 provides for the D6 residence visa to be issued within 10 days after the visa application is submitted at the competent consular post following AIMA's communication.

The overall process therefore includes more than one stage: eligibility to apply, the AIMA reunification decision, the consular D6 process where the family is abroad, travel to Portugal and the residence permit stage.

Integration duties after arrival

Law 61/2025 introduced integration duties after the family member receives a family reunification residence permit.

Family members must attend Portuguese language training and training concerning Portuguese constitutional principles and values. Minor children must attend compulsory schooling.

However, the regulatory decree setting out the practical details had not been identified in the official sources checked as of 30 September 2026. The law itself does not establish an official language level such as A2 for these family reunification duties.

Renewal is linked to compliance with the relevant conditions and integration measures, subject to an exception where failure is not attributable to the family member. A humanitarian exemption can also be granted by ministerial decision.

We explain what is known, and what is still awaiting regulation, in our guide to Portugal's family permit integration requirements.

If AIMA refuses

If AIMA refuses the family reunification application, the decision must explain the reasons and state the right and deadline for challenging it before the administrative courts.

The normal rule is that a judicial challenge has devolutive effect, meaning the refusal is not automatically suspended. Article 106(8) provides a special rule where family members are already in Portugal and the refusal is based exclusively on Article 106(1)(a), meaning failure to meet the conditions for exercising the right to family reunification. In that situation, the judicial challenge has suspensive effect.

Because the correct response depends on the exact refusal grounds and procedural history, legal advice can be particularly important at this stage.

What happened to the April 2026 transitional window

When Law 61/2025 entered into force on 23 October 2025, it created a temporary 180-day period during which sponsors could request residence for family members who were already in Portugal, provided the statutory transitional conditions were met, including legal entry.

That transitional window ran to approximately 21 April 2026. It is therefore not a continuing route for new applications.

This does not mean that AIMA has no online family reunification system. AIMA currently operates an online family reunification service through its Portal de Serviços and describes it as a portal for submitting family reunification requests online.

However, the portal is not currently a general online route for every family reunification case. Its eligibility criteria are limited and AIMA states that changes to the criteria for portal submission will be published as they are expanded. Applicants should therefore check the current Portal de Serviços requirements rather than assume that every family reunification case can be filed online.

A note on citizenship

Family reunification residence can eventually form part of a longer residence history in Portugal, but citizenship is a separate process. Organic Law 1/2026, published on 18 May 2026 and in force from 19 May 2026, changed the ordinary naturalisation period to seven years of legal residence for citizens of EU Member States and nationals of countries where Portuguese is an official language, and 10 years for other nationalities. Administrative nationality procedures already pending when the law took effect remain governed by the previous rules. See our Portugal residency and citizenship guide.

Common questions

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Sources