CPLP Residence Permit 2026: What Brazilians Need Now

Last checked: 5 October 2026

The CPLP residence permit (autorização de residência CPLP) is for nationals of Portuguese-speaking countries, including Brazil, under the CPLP Mobility Agreement. It still exists, but since 23 October 2025 the rules are different: you need a residence visa first. This guide explains what changed, how to apply from Brazil, how renewals work and what it means for citizenship.

This is general information, not legal advice. AIMA’s procedures for CPLP permits have changed several times. Check AIMA’s pages, or ask a lawyer, before you plan a move.

What changed: residence visa first

• Law 61/2025 rewrote article 87-A of the Foreigners Law: nationals of CPLP countries who hold a residence visa can ask AIMA in Portugal for a CPLP residence permit (Law 61/2025, article 87-A(1)).
• Article 75(2) says the same for the temporary residence permit: a CPLP national with a residence visa can ask for one.
• The new rules apply to procedures started after Law 61/2025 came into force on 23 October 2025 (article 8).
• The gov.pt service page (updated 3 June 2026) also says you must first get a visa from a Portuguese consulate. It carries a warning that it may be out of date and points to AIMA.

Visa-free entry: what it still allows

Brazilian citizens can still visit Portugal and the Schengen area without a visa for short stays (generally up to 90 days in any 180-day period). What changed is that a visa-free entry is no longer a route to a CPLP permit: under the new article 87-A you need a residence visa issued by a Portuguese consulate.

Applying from Brazil: the visa process

1. Choose the residence visa that matches your reason (work, study, family, retirement or other). The MNE visa site lists the types and documents.
2. Apply in person at a VFS Global centre. In a notice dated 2 March 2026, the Embassy of Portugal in Brazil said that from 17 April 2026 visa applications for Portugal are made “exclusively in person by the applicants at VFS Global’s visa application centres in Brazil, by prior appointment” (de forma exclusivamente presencial pelos requerentes junto dos Centros de Pedidos de Visto da VFS Global no Brasil, mediante agendamento prévio), and that “all visa applications sent by post after 17 April 2026 will be returned”. It lists centres in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, Brasília, Belo Horizonte, Belém, Fortaleza, Recife, Curitiba and Porto Alegre. The VFS Global Brazil FAQ adds that applicants book the appointment themselves on VFS’s platform, which uses facial recognition; that since 20 July 2026 three priority categories can go to a centre without an appointment (degree-level higher-education study, family members of Portuguese or EU citizens living in Portugal, and family reunification after AIMA’s prior approval); and that for a work visa (a residence visa for employment, or a temporary-stay visa for seasonal work over 90 days) the booking procedure is on the Embassy’s website.
3. Bring the documents on the checklist for your visa type, including your criminal record certificate with an apostille. The MNE residence-visa checklists published by VFS (for example the one for Pakistan) say CPLP citizens are exempt from travel insurance, means of subsistence and a return ticket if they present a term of responsibility, in the cases they describe.
4. After the visa is issued, travel to Portugal and ask AIMA for the residence permit within the visa’s validity. AIMA’s FAQ says the Ministry of Foreign Affairs books the AIMA appointment automatically when it issues the visa.

Get a NIF early: you need it for a lease, a job and a bank account.

Example: Ravi Kumar, a Brazilian national living in São Paulo, has a job offer in Lisbon. He can’t fly in as a tourist and ask for a CPLP permit any more. Because his is a work visa, he follows the booking procedure on the Embassy’s website, hands in his residence-visa application in person at the VFS centre in São Paulo, gets his visa, and then completes his residence permit at AIMA after he arrives.

Already have a CPLP permit? Renewing and switching to a standard card

• The old paper model is gone. Portaria 36-B/2025/1 revoked the separate CPLP permit model of 2023 (Portaria 97/2023). Documents issued under it remain valid until they expire (article 3).
• Renewal gives you the standard EU card. AIMA’s FAQ on CPLP renewals says the renewed permit uses the same uniform EU model as any temporary residence permit, valid for 2 or 3 years depending on whether your current permit ran its full term.
• Criminal record from your home country. At renewal, a criminal record certificate from your country of origin is required for permits that came from converted manifestações de interesse (or short-stay visas, per AIMA’s FAQ) where it wasn’t checked before (Portaria 36-B/2025/1, article 4).
• How to renew. AIMA’s FAQ (February 2025) described an invitation by email from the Estrutura de Missão, then registration on a dedicated platform, payment of a DUC within 10 working days, and a biometrics appointment. The Estrutura de Missão formally ended on 31 December 2025, and we couldn’t find an updated AIMA page on the CPLP renewal route as of 5 October 2026. If you haven’t been contacted, use the AIMA contact form (subject type “CPLP”).

For general renewals, see residence permit renewal in Portugal and our AIMA renewal dates tool. To write to AIMA in Portuguese, use our free AIMA email writer.

Travelling in Schengen with a CPLP permit

Portaria 36-B/2025/1 explains that the old CPLP model left holders “deprived of the rights of free movement in the Schengen area”, and that Portugal is adopting the uniform EU residence permit model to end this. In practice: the new uniform card is a standard EU residence permit; the old CPLP certificate was not. Normal Schengen limits for residence-permit holders still apply. If you only have the old model, check with AIMA and your airline before travelling.

Citizenship: 7 years for CPLP nationals

• Under Lei Orgânica 1/2026, nationals of Portuguese-speaking countries need 7 years of legal residence (10 for most others), counted within a 9-year window.
• CPLP nationals are presumed to meet the Portuguese language requirement, unless their lack of Portuguese is obvious. The other conditions, including the new culture, history and civics knowledge, still apply.
• Read when the citizenship clock starts and the full citizenship requirements.

Driving in Portugal? See exchanging a foreign (including Brazilian) driving licence.

FAQ

O visto CPLP ainda existe? (Does the CPLP visa still exist?)

Yes. The CPLP route still exists, but you now need a residence visa before you ask AIMA for the CPLP permit.

Posso entrar como turista e pedir a autorização CPLP? (Can I enter as a tourist and apply?)

Not under the current article 87-A, for procedures started since 23 October 2025.

AIMA CPLP renovação: como fazer? (How do I renew?)

Follow AIMA’s invitation if you received one. If not, ask through the contact form under “CPLP”. Keep proof of your request.

Can I bring my family with a CPLP permit?

AIMA’s Services Portal FAQ says that, for now, only holders of a residence card can apply online for family reunification, and that CPLP permit holders should be included later. Ask AIMA about your case.

Official sources

• Diário da República – Law 61/2025 (arts. 75(2), 87-A and 8)
• gov.pt – Obter Autorização de Residência CPLP
• Diário da República – Portaria n.º 36-B/2025/1 (end of the old CPLP model; criminal record at renewal)
• AIMA – FAQ: renewal of the CPLP residence permit (Feb 2025)
• Embassy of Portugal in Brazil – Change to how visa applications are received in Brazil (2 March 2026)
• VFS Global Brazil – FAQ on in-person visa applications (from 17 April 2026)
• MNE – Visas portal
• MNE residence-visa checklists published by VFS Global (CPLP exemptions)
• Diário da República – Lei Orgânica n.º 1/2026 (7 years for CPLP nationals)
• AIMA

This guide is general information, checked against official sources on 5 October 2026. Rules and portals in Portugal change often, so confirm the current rules with the official source before you act. It is not legal or tax advice. Link in Portugal isn’t connected to AIMA, VFS Global or any consulate.