Residency rule, Portugal

Portugal Temporary Residence — Longest Time Away

Summary

If you hold a temporary residence permit in Portugal, the permit can be cancelled when you are away for 6 months in a row, or for 8 months in total while the permit is valid, without a good reason. Only time with a valid permit counts as legal residence for citizenship. Since 19 May 2026 you need 7 years of legal residence if you are a national of a Portuguese-speaking country or an EU citizen, and 10 years if you are from another country. AIMA, the immigration agency, handles permits, and the Ministry of Justice decides citizenship.

Limit
6 months away in a row on a temporary residence permit
Second limit
8 months away in total while the same permit is valid
Counted as
Time outside Portugal, in one trip or added over the permit
Years for citizenship
7 or 10 years of legal residence, since 19 May 2026
Law
Law 23/2007, article 85, and Nationality Law 37/81, articles 6 and 15
Run by
AIMA for permits, Ministry of Justice for citizenship

Who it applies to

The rule

Article 85 of Law 23/2007, the law on foreigners, lists the reasons for cancelling a residence permit. Paragraph 2, letter a says that a temporary residence permit may be cancelled when the holder, without a good reason, is away from Portugal for 6 months in a row or for 8 months in separate trips during the total validity of the permit. A first temporary permit is valid for 2 years and each renewal for 3 years (article 75), so the 8 months are measured inside one of those periods.

The law says the permit may be cancelled. It does not end by itself on the day you pass the limit. The member of the Government responsible for migration decides and can pass this power to the board of AIMA (Agência para a Integração, Migrações e Asilo). You must be told the reasons, and you can challenge the decision in the administrative courts. The authority looks at the whole situation.

There are two ways to stay away longer. Under paragraph 3 you ask AIMA to accept a longer absence, before you leave or, in exceptional cases, after. Under paragraph 4 the permit is not cancelled if you prove that you worked, ran a business or carried out cultural or social activity while you were abroad.

The link to citizenship is in the Nationality Law, Law 37/81. Article 6 asks for legal residence in Portugal. Organic Law 1/2026 of 18 May 2026, in force from 19 May 2026, raised the period from 5 years to 7 years for nationals of countries with Portuguese as an official language and for citizens of EU member states, and to 10 years for nationals of other countries. Article 15 says you reside legally when you are in Portugal with a valid visa, permit or other title. The periods can be in a row or separate, but they must all fall inside 9 years for the 7-year group or inside 12 years for the 10-year group.

The Nationality Law sets no number of days that you may spend abroad. Time away matters through the permit. If your permit is cancelled or not renewed, your legal residence stops on that date. A later permit starts a new period, and the old years still count only if everything fits inside the 9 or 12 years. Applications that were already pending on 19 May 2026 follow the earlier text of the law.

Why it exists

A residence permit is given to people who live in Portugal. The absence limits let the state take back a permit from a person who has in fact moved away, while leaving room for real reasons such as work abroad or family need. The citizenship years are meant to show a lasting tie to the country, and the 2026 law made those periods longer.

Counting the days

You count time outside Portugal. One count is the length of a single trip away, measured in calendar months. The other is all trips added together while the same permit is valid.

  1. Write down the day you left Portugal and the day you came back, for every trip.
  2. For each trip, count the calendar months. A trip that starts on 1 October reaches 6 months on 1 April.
  3. Add all trips that fall inside the validity dates printed on your current permit. Compare the total with 8 months.
  4. If a trip will pass a limit, ask AIMA to accept it before you leave and keep proof of the reason.
  5. For citizenship, list the dates when each of your permits was valid and check that they add up to 7 or 10 years inside 9 or 12 years.
How Countr counts it. Countr counts the days of your current absence from Portugal for Portugal Temporary Residence — Longest Time Away. It treats 6 months as 180 days and warns you 30 days before. Six calendar months are 181 to 184 days, so the card warns a few days before the law would, never after. When you return to Portugal the count starts again from zero. This card does not count the second limit of 8 months in total. The second card of the pair, Portugal Temporary Residence — Total Time Away, counts it: at most 240 days away in the last 3 years. Countr does not count your years towards citizenship. If the app cannot see where you were on a day, the count starts over, so gaps make the number smaller, never bigger.

Track Portugal Temporary Residence — Longest Time Away on your phone.

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Examples

A long trip that stays under 6 months

Dmitri holds a first temporary permit. He leaves Portugal on 10 January 2027 and returns on 25 June 2027. That is 166 days, and 6 calendar months would be reached on 10 July 2027. He is under the limit of 6 months in a row. It was his only long trip, so he is also under 8 months in total.

Two weeks over the limit

Mei leaves on 1 October 2026 and returns on 15 April 2027. She reached 6 months away on 1 April 2027 and stayed out 14 more days. She did not ask AIMA first, and she did not work abroad. Her permit can be cancelled. If it is, her legal residence ends, and the years she needs for citizenship stop adding up until she holds a new permit.

Three short trips that add up

Omar's first permit is valid for 2 years. He is away from 1 March to 31 May 2027, from 1 September to 30 November 2027 and from 1 February to 30 April 2028. No trip is longer than 3 months. Together they make 9 months inside the same permit, which is over the limit of 8 months in total. This card would not warn him, because it watches one trip at a time. Portugal Temporary Residence — Total Time Away would, because it adds the trips together.

Exceptions

Common misconceptions

“My permit ends by itself on the day I pass 6 months abroad.”
The law says the permit may be cancelled. A decision is needed, you must be told the reasons, and you can go to court. But you carry the risk from that day, and renewal can fail.
“A short visit back to Portugal clears everything.”
A return ends the count of months in a row. It does not clear the second limit, 8 months in total while the permit is valid.
“Citizenship still needs 5 years.”
Since 19 May 2026 it needs 7 years for nationals of Portuguese-speaking countries and EU citizens, and 10 years for others. Only applications already pending on that date follow the old text.
“The Nationality Law tells me how many days I may travel each year.”
It does not. It asks for legal residence, which means a valid permit. Your travel matters because long absences can cost you the permit.

Questions and answers

How long can I be outside Portugal on a temporary residence permit?

Up to 6 months in a row, and up to 8 months in total while the same permit is valid. Past those limits the permit can be cancelled unless you have a good reason that AIMA accepts or you worked abroad.

Does a trip to another Schengen country count as time away?

Yes. Article 85 speaks of being away from the country, which means Portugal. Time in Spain or France is time outside Portugal for this rule.

Do the years on my permit count for citizenship while I am abroad?

The Nationality Law counts the time you reside legally with a valid title and gives no limit of days abroad. The risk is the permit. If it is cancelled because of your absence, the count of legal residence stops on that date.

What happens to my citizenship years if my permit is cancelled?

The years before the cancellation are not erased. The law adds separate periods of legal residence, but all of them must fall inside 9 years if you need 7 years, or inside 12 years if you need 10 years.

Which countries get the 7-year period?

Nationals of countries where Portuguese is an official language, such as Brazil, Angola, Mozambique and Cape Verde, and citizens of EU member states. Nationals of all other countries need 10 years.

Can I ask for permission to be away longer?

Yes. You apply to AIMA to justify the absence, before you leave Portugal or, in exceptional cases, after. Keep documents that prove the reason.

Sources

News about this rule

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This page explains the rule and how the days are counted. It is not legal or tax advice. The authority decides each case on its own facts.