Residency rule, Portugal

Portugal Permanent Residence — Longest Time Away

Summary

A permanent residence permit in Portugal can be cancelled if you stay outside Portugal for 24 months in a row without a good reason. The permit has no end date, but this absence limit still applies to it. It is not cancelled if you prove that you worked, ran a business or did cultural or social activity abroad, or if AIMA accepted your reason for the absence. A second limit applies at the same time: 30 months away in total within 3 years. The Government member responsible for migration decides, and can pass the decision to AIMA.

Limit
24 months outside Portugal in a row
Period
One unbroken absence, from the day you leave to the day you return
Sister limit
30 months away in total within 3 years
What can happen
The permanent residence permit may be cancelled
Law
Law 23/2007, article 85, paragraph 2, letter b
Run by
AIMA (Agência para a Integração, Migrações e Asilo)

Who it applies to

The rule

Article 85 of Law 23/2007, the law on foreigners, sets the absence limits for residence permits. Paragraph 2, letter b covers the permanent permit: it may be cancelled when the holder, without a good reason, is away from the country for 24 months in a row, or for 30 months in separate trips within a period of 3 years. This page is about the first limit, one long absence.

A permanent residence permit has no limit of validity (article 76). Only the card is renewed, every 5 years. You normally get the permit after holding a temporary permit for at least 5 years (article 80). Having no end date does not protect it from the absence rule.

The word in the law is may. Cancelling is a decision, taken by the member of the Government responsible for migration or, when that power is passed on, by the board of AIMA. The decision must give its reasons, the card is then taken back, and you can challenge the decision in the administrative courts. The authority looks at the whole situation before it decides.

Two paragraphs protect people with real reasons. Under paragraph 3, an absence longer than the limit must be justified by a request to AIMA, made before you leave Portugal or, in exceptional cases, after. Under paragraph 4 the permit is not cancelled when you prove that during your absence you worked, ran a business or carried out cultural or social activity.

Why it exists

Permanent residence is a strong status, close to that of a citizen in daily life. Portugal gives it to people who have made their life in the country. The 24-month limit lets the state end the permit of a person who has clearly left, and the exceptions keep it for people who are abroad for work or for reasons the authority accepts.

Counting the days

You count one absence at a time: the calendar months from the day you leave Portugal to the day you come back. Time in any other country, including other EU countries, is time away.

  1. Write down the date you left Portugal.
  2. Add 24 calendar months to that date. If you left on 1 March 2025, the limit is reached on 1 March 2027.
  3. Plan to be back in Portugal before that date, and keep proof of your return, such as a boarding pass or a stamp.
  4. If you cannot be back in time, send AIMA a request that explains the reason before you leave, with documents.
  5. Check the sister limit as well: add all your absences in the last 3 years and compare the total with 30 months.
How Countr counts it. Countr counts the days of your current absence from Portugal for Portugal Permanent Residence — Longest Time Away. It treats 24 months as 729 days and warns you 60 days before. Twenty-four calendar months are 730 or 731 days, so the card warns early, never late. The card watches your current absence only. If a past absence already went over the limit, the permit may already have been lost although the card shows nothing, so check your History. If the app cannot see where you were on a day, the count starts over, which makes the number smaller, never bigger. Countr cannot know whether you had a good reason or worked abroad.

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Examples

Back one month before the limit

Priya leaves Portugal on 1 March 2025 to care for her mother in India. Twenty-four months would be reached on 1 March 2027. She flies back to Lisbon on 2 February 2027, after 23 months away. She is under the limit of 24 months in a row. She should still check the sister limit, because 23 months away already takes most of the 30 months allowed in 3 years.

Over the limit with no reason given

Tom leaves on 15 June 2024 and moves to Australia. He does not write to AIMA and he does not work there. He returns on 20 August 2026. The limit of 24 months was reached on 15 June 2026, so he was 2 months over. His permit can be cancelled. If it is, he no longer has a right to live in Portugal under that permit and would have to apply again.

A short visit that resets one count but not the other

Lena is away from 1 March 2025 to 31 October 2026, which is 20 months. She spends one week in Portugal and leaves again on 8 November 2026. The count of months in a row starts again from zero on that day. But the sister rule adds her absences: on 7 September 2027 she has been away 30 months in total inside 3 years. The week in Portugal did not help her there.

Exceptions

Common misconceptions

“Permanent means I can never lose it.”
The permit has no end date, but article 85 lets the authority cancel it after 24 months in a row abroad, or 30 months in total within 3 years, without a good reason.
“One day in Portugal every two years keeps the permit safe.”
A return ends the count of months in a row. The sister limit of 30 months in total within 3 years still applies, and very short visits do not stop it.
“The permit ends by itself on the day I pass 24 months.”
A decision is needed. You are told the reasons and you can go to court. But from that day the authority has a legal ground to cancel.
“Living in Spain or France is not being away, because it is the EU.”
Article 85 counts absence from Portugal. Time in another EU country is time away for this permit.

Questions and answers

How long can I stay outside Portugal with permanent residence?

Up to 24 months in a row, and no more than 30 months in total within any 3 years. Past either limit the permit can be cancelled unless you had a good reason or worked abroad.

Does a short trip back to Portugal restart the 24 months?

Yes, for this limit. The 24 months are counted in a row, so a real return ends the absence. Your earlier months still count for the other limit, 30 months in total within 3 years.

What counts as a good reason for a long absence?

The law does not give a list. It names work, business, and cultural or social activity abroad as cases where the permit is not cancelled. For other reasons, such as illness or family care, you ask AIMA and the authority decides.

Do I need to tell AIMA before a long absence?

If you expect to pass the limit, yes. Article 85, paragraph 3 says the absence must be justified by a request to AIMA before you leave, or after leaving in exceptional cases.

Does a long absence affect my citizenship application?

It can. Citizenship needs 7 or 10 years of legal residence, a rule changed on 19 May 2026. If your permit is cancelled, your legal residence stops on that date.

Is the card renewal every 5 years a check on my absences?

The law says only that the card is renewed every 5 years, while the permit itself has no end date. A renewal is a moment when the authority sees your file, so keep proof of your time in Portugal and of any reason for long trips.

Sources

News about this rule

Other rules for Portugal

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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.