Family reunification in Portugal: using the 2-year wait

"I got my residence card. When can my wife and kids join me?" For most people the honest answer is now: not for two years, and then AIMA has up to nine months to decide. That is a long time, but most of the work that decides the outcome can be done during the wait.

The rule since 23 October 2025

This comes from Law 61/2025, which changed the Foreigners' Law (Lei 23/2007) and applies to requests filed from 23 October 2025. Requests filed before that date follow the old rules.

Who does not have to wait

• Minor or incapable children in your care.
• A spouse or partner who is the other parent (or adoptive parent) of a minor in your care.
• Family of holders of a permit for highly qualified, teaching or cultural work, for investment (Golden Visa) or an EU Blue Card.

D7, D8 and ordinary work permits are not on this list. The minister responsible for migration can waive or shorten the wait in exceptional, well-justified cases, looking at how solid the family ties are and how integrated you are in Portugal.

What Law 62/2026 changed, and what it did not

Since 11 September 2026, Law 62/2026 gives AIMA 90 days (plus 30 in exceptional cases) to decide a residence permit application. That article says it does not replace other deadlines in the law, and family reunification has its own: 9 months, extendable only in exceptional, complex cases, and AIMA must tell you if it extends.

Silence is not approval. Before Law 61/2025, a reunification request with no answer after six months counted as approved. That rule is gone. If the deadline passes, you have to act yourself: what you can do when AIMA misses a deadline.

What to prepare while you wait

1. Income you can prove for 12 months

You must show enough money to support the whole family without social support. The rule is set against the minimum wage (€920 a month in 2026): 100% for you, 50% for each extra adult, 30% for each child under 18. The money must be secured for at least 12 months.

Use the wait to build a clean paper trail: payslips or invoices, your IRS returns and bank statements that show the money arriving regularly.

2. A home that fits the family that is coming

You need housing, owned or rented, that is normal for a comparable family in the same region and meets general safety and health standards. Size it for the future household, not for you alone. If you will move before applying, keep your address updated with AIMA.

3. Documents with an expiry date

• Birth and marriage certificates, apostilled or authenticated. AIMA accepts birth certificates for 1 year after issue, so do not order them too early.
• Translations by a Portuguese notary, the Portuguese consulate in the issuing country, or that country's consulate in Portugal.
• Criminal record for each family member aged 16 or over, from their country of nationality and from any country where they lived more than a year.
• For a child of only one of you: written consent of the other parent, or the custody decision.

4. Proof that the relationship is real

The marriage or union must be valid and recognised under Portuguese law, and both of you must be at least 18 on the date of the request. Unmarried partners must prove the union, and AIMA asks for proof that it has lasted more than 2 years. AIMA may interview you and your family. For partners, the law names what counts: a child together, having lived together, a registered union or other reliable proof. Keep it as it happens: a joint lease, shared bills, travel, messages.

5. Portuguese, early

After arrival, family members must attend Portuguese language and civic-values training, and children must attend school. Renewing their permits depends on it. Starting the language now makes that step easy.

A calendar example

Permit issued on 1 March 2026. The two years end on 1 March 2028. If you file then, AIMA's 9 months run to about December 2028. After approval, AIMA notifies you within 8 days and your family has 90 days to go to the Portuguese consulate for the visa, or the approval lapses. The visa costs €110 for a spouse or parent; children are exempt.

If you have not moved yet

Family members can apply for their visas together with yours, from the start. How AIMA then treats them at the residence-permit stage under the new rules is not described publicly, so confirm with the consulate and AIMA before you plan around it.

The full rules, document list and fees: family reunification visa. If your sponsor is an EU citizen, a different and faster route applies: residence card for family of EU citizens.