According to SEF, around 21,500 foreigners can automatically renew their residence permits (AR) using the Automatic Renewal feature, available in the "Personal Area" of the SEF portal.

A SEF source told Lusa that 6,000 foreigners with a residence permit for investment activity, known as the golden visa, which expires until March 31, can also access this feature, being the first time that this type of visa has been renewed. AR can be done automatically over the internet.

This measure of automatically renewing residence permits, which lasts for two years, came about in July 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, with more than 200,000 automatic renewals having been carried out.

“Aware of the difficulties, the Government has been adopting measures that allow expired documents, related to the stay in the national territory, to continue to be considered valid in the national territory until December 31, 2023, and after that date, upon proof of scheduling, for its renewal”, SEF also mentions, specifying that all documents and immigrant visas that have expired in the meantime are considered valid until the end of the year.