Residency in Portugal

As reported in The Portugal News, 17^th September 2022, the Foreigners and Borders Servers (SEF) stated that after Cascais, Loule is the second county in the country where the cooperation protocol between SEF and the municipalities has been implemented.

Under this protocol, the municipalities, provide the facilities and resources to perform the service and collection of biometric data, whilst SEF provides the support, training and infrastructure to support the process.

Some individuals have already received appointment from Loule municipality…….so the long-awaited collection of data and provision of residents’ cards post Brexit has finally begun. According to SEF there are over 3,500 individuals in Loule so if you haven`t been contacted yet don`t worry.

The SEF office in Loule is located at the back of the covered Market, just around to the left if you come out at the fish end. It is not in the Town Hall as it states in the email invitation.

When you go for your appointment, take the following documents:

• Valid passport
• Proof of Address
• The original of your EU certificate of residency (if you were registered with the Town Hall or SEF prior to 21^st January 2021). This will be cancelled and returned to you.
• Your Fiscal Number (NIF)
• Your Health Number (número de utente de saúde)
• Your Social Security number (NISS) if you have one

On arrival for your appointment:

Some of this info is input into the computer, there’s a second screen facing you so you can see the input, you will also be asked to confirm the other data, like DOB, telephone number and address if it is all correct or needs to be updated.

With regards to the address, this will be where the new card can be delivered to, so it might not actually be where you live. For example, if you do not have a post box at your house but have an Apartado in the local post office.

No proof of address may be asked for but if the address was very different to what was in the system (if you´ve moved house) then you may be asked to provide evidence i.e., utility bill etc to show where you have post delivered.

Once the data input is complete, you will have a photo taken, index fingers scanned and sign your signature on the electronic pad, all done on one machine.

If this is all okay then job done.

A hole will be punched in your existing residencia it is returned to you but at this stage it is invalid you have to carry around the piece of paper with the QR code.

Following on from your appointment: 

You must wait a couple of days, log back into your SEF account and find the “€” button (think it’s on the top right) and print off the payment slip, it’s €18. You then wait another couple of days before paying it and there will also a date by which it must be paid by.

Then you wait……. You will receive the new Residencia card in 3-4 weeks time.

The process will be rolled out to other municipalities, but no date has been agreed for this yet, and it`s worth noting that there are over 18,000 individuals in Faro to be processed.

The certificate with the QR code remains an official residence document and is valid until the new Residencia card is issued.