Change of address before residence permit arrives

By making an appointment with them and doing it all again. They will only emit to the approved address after seeing the documentation in person. The card will come to the old address - if you are not there they will return it to AIMA.

quick question: I see that the OP has not yet gotten his first card. In the instance one already has his card and tried to change his address before renewal( assuming all documenta are in order and one is able to make/ secure an appointment with AIMA) , does the card with changed address come to the old address or new?

Just wondering.

@frescura

New address. Once you formally change the address with AIMA and they accept it, the old will not exist for any purpose.

The instant you have the new update card, go to all the necessary state departments to change the address you have on file:

Health service (assigned Centro de Saúde)

Finanças

Social security (if you have it)

@Perpetual_traveler Thank you for your reply. Just  to clarify a doubt. If the card does come to the new address, then why did you initially say "The card will come to the old address - if you are not there they will return it to AIMA."

Just wondering. Thank you.

That was referring to the card already issued to the OP after his appointment, before he changed his address again.

In fact it doesn't even matter if the card is printed already or not. You can't change the address in mid-process.

Hi,

Please let me barge in.

I have a similar situation but, given that the Titulo will have to be renewed relatively soon, I've decided not to change my address on the Titulo de Residencia because, as I have read, AIMA "confiscates" the existing card with the old address before issuing a new one with the new address. And, since the new card will have the same expiration date as the old one and, most importantly, that AIMA is in disarray and mired in delays, I've decided to "sit this one out" until it's time to renew the card, so that I could hit two birds with one stone: update the address and have a new card with a new expiration date issued.

I wonder if I made the right choice. Does anyone has an educated opinion on that?

Thank you!

@EstrellaGalicia

I believe that you’re required to inform AIMA within 60 days of address change otherwise you’ll be fined at the time of renewal online/in-person. I am in your situation too - mine expires early next year yet despite that, I have managed to secure an appointment for address change to avoid future complications. At times, if you have little time left on your card, you’re offered the online change option but it depends from one AIMA agency to another.

Regardless, I’ll be on the lookout for an answer that you’ll eventually receive. Thanks in advance to whoever clarifies our query.

@EstrellaGalicia

What you have read is wrong. If you change the address they DO NOT "confiscate" the old card at the address-change appointment. They clip it (punch a hole in it) and return it to you, so in this way it is invalidated but you temporarily have a Portuguese national identity record in your possession until the new card arrives.

@zoeberg

More wrong information. "At times, if you have little time left on your card, you’re offered the online change option but it depends from one AIMA agency to another."

This is not true. There is NO online address change option anywhere, and online options do not change between AIMA offices. They all have ONE system.

The only online option is for some people who are registered on the old SEF site, and who can still apply for their renewals of temporary residence status on the old site.

@Perpetual_traveler

Hey, I was only correlating it to what I saw last on the other forum where a couple was offered two options — online & re-issuance by Porto SEF in June 2023. They chose the latter option and their residence permits were extended by 1 year in addition to their original expiry date of 2 years from then. I am attaching a link to that forum [link moderated].

I believe that this was the case with SEF at least but AIMA might not necessarily have the same level of leniency.

@Perpetual_traveler

By online, I didn’t mean an option to change it by oneself on the SEF portal but rather during the in-person appointment conducted by SEF/AIMA, the representative at the front desk for the SEF Porto office gave the couple (mentioned above), an option to merely register the change online (changes made by the SEF representative themselves on the system) or an option to re-issue the card. The information is correct but since the switch to AIMA, this option may no longer be offered. For the rest who intend to review what I have said, the comment is mentioned on the expatsportugal website under the thread, “About Changing Address with SEF” - Page 3 - I cannot post its link because of moderation complications.