How do you get a residence card in Portugal in 2026?

After a positive decision path, AIMA schedules or invites you for biometric capture: fingerprints, a digital photograph, and signature checks against your passport and file. Bring the original passport, appointment references, and any supporting originals named in the invitation. Review the name, address, and nationality shown on screen before you leave; fixing a printed card later is slower than correcting a typo at the desk.

When production finishes, AIMA notifies you by SMS, email, or letter that the título de residência is ready. Collect it at the Loja AIMA (AIMA store) or channel named in that notice. Store hours for card delivery vary by city, so check the live Lojas AIMA page before you travel. Bring passport and the collection message. Keep NIF and NISS details handy if staff cross-check identifiers.

If a posted card is returned to AIMA, in-person pickup at a Loja AIMA can carry a published collection fee. Prefer an address that actually receives post, and update AIMA contacts when you move.

EU, EEA, and Swiss citizens using free movement do not collect a third-country residence title as their main stay document. They follow EU registration rules, often summarised as CRUE-style residence certificates for Union citizens and related family cards where applicable. That track still needs address and tax identifiers, but it is not the same biometric card queue described above. Read AIMA and gov.pt pages for the EU registration product that matches your passport rather than booking a third-country title collection by mistake.

After you hold the card, finish the civilian stack: register your address across Finanças and parish desks, keep health cover coherent, and complete the rest of paperwork after moving. Banks and employers usually want to see the physical title once it exists.

Lost, stolen, or damaged cards need a replacement process through AIMA contact channels, typically with a police report for theft or loss. Renewals follow the channel AIMA publishes for your title type; some renewals move through IRN desks or online portals depending on the category.