# Portugal Permanent Residence — Total Time Away

Residency rule, Portugal. Page: https://usecountr.com/trackers/residency-pt-pr-total/

## Summary

A permanent residence permit in Portugal can be cancelled if your absences add up to 30 months within a period of 3 years, without a good reason. The trips do not need to be long: many shorter absences count together. In practice you need to be in Portugal for at least 6 months of every 3 years. The permit is not cancelled if you prove that you worked or ran a business abroad, or if AIMA accepted your reason. A sister limit covers one single absence of 24 months in a row.

- Limit: 30 months outside Portugal in total
- Period: Any period of 3 years
- Sister limit: 24 months away in a row
- 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

- Holders of a Portuguese permanent residence permit who live mostly abroad and visit Portugal for short periods.
- People who work in rotations, on ships, on projects or in seasonal jobs outside Portugal.
- People who split each year between Portugal and their home country.
- People who returned to Portugal briefly to stop one long absence and want to know if that was enough.

## The rule

Article 85, paragraph 2, letter b of Law 23/2007 gives two absence limits for a permanent residence permit. The permit may be cancelled when the holder, without a good reason, is away from the country for 24 months in a row or, within a period of 3 years, for 30 months in separate trips. This page is about the second limit, the total.

The law does not fix the start of the 3 years. It is not the calendar year and it is not tied to the date on your card. Any 3 years can be looked at. The law also does not say how part months are added up. A careful way is to count days: 30 calendar months are between 911 and 915 days, depending on the months.

Passing the limit does not end the permit by itself. The law says the permit may be cancelled. The member of the Government responsible for migration decides, or the board of AIMA when the power is passed on. You are told the reasons, the card is taken back, and you can challenge the decision in the administrative courts. The authority looks at the whole situation.

The same protections apply as for the 24-month limit. An absence beyond the limit must be justified by a request to AIMA before you leave or, in exceptional cases, after (paragraph 3). The permit is not cancelled when you prove that you worked, ran a business or carried out cultural or social activity while abroad (paragraph 4).

Why it exists: The limit of 24 months in a row would be easy to avoid with a short visit every two years. The total limit closes that gap. It asks that a permanent resident really spends part of their life in Portugal, at least 6 months in every 3 years, unless work or another accepted reason keeps them abroad.

## Counting the days

You add up all the time you spent outside Portugal inside a period of 3 years. Every absence counts, long or short, in any country.

1. List every trip out of Portugal in the last 3 years, with the day you left and the day you returned.
2. Count the days of each trip and add them together.
3. Compare the total with 30 months. To be careful, treat 910 days as the line.
4. Repeat the check for the 3 years that end on the last day of any trip you are planning.
5. If the total will pass the limit, ask AIMA to accept the absence before you leave and keep proof of your reason or of your work abroad.

How Countr counts it: Countr adds up your days outside Portugal in the last 36 months for Portugal Permanent Residence — Total Time Away. It treats 30 months as 910 days, one day under the shortest 30 calendar months, so the card warns early, never late. It warns you 60 days before the limit. The card counts the 3 years that end today only. Only days the app can see count as days away. If your photos or location history have big gaps, your real time away can be more than the app shows. Countr cannot know whether you had a good reason or worked abroad.

## Examples

### Ten months abroad every year

Kofi works on cruise ships. In 2024, 2025 and 2026 he is away from Portugal for 10 months each year and at home in Faro for 2 months. No single absence is longer than 10 months, so the limit of 24 months in a row is never reached. But on 31 December 2026 his absences in 3 years add up to 30 months. He is at the total limit. Because he worked abroad, he can rely on paragraph 4 if he proves that work.

### Nine months abroad every year

Sofia spends 9 months of each year with her family in Canada and 3 months in Lisbon. Over 3 years that is 27 months away, or 822 days if each year has 274 days abroad. She stays under 30 months. She keeps her boarding passes to show the 9 months in Portugal across the 3 years.

### An old absence leaves the period

Raj was away for 20 months, from 1 January 2024 to 31 August 2025. He then lived in Porto and wants to take a 12-month job abroad from 1 March 2027. On 28 February 2028, the 3 years that end that day start on 1 March 2025. They hold 6 months of the old absence and 12 months of the new one, 18 months in total. He stays under the limit, because the first 14 months of the old absence are outside the period.

## Exceptions

- The permit is not cancelled when you prove that you worked, ran a business or did cultural or social activity abroad during the absences.
- An absence beyond the limit can be justified by a request to AIMA, before you leave or, in exceptional cases, after.
- The limit applies only to absence without a good reason. The law does not list the reasons, so each case is judged on its facts.
- The EU long-term resident status follows other rules: it is lost after 12 months in a row outside the European Union or 6 years in a row outside Portugal (article 131).
- A temporary residence permit has its own limits: 6 months in a row, or 8 months in total while the permit is valid.

## Common misconceptions

- "If I come back before 24 months, nothing can happen." That clears only the limit for one absence in a row. The second limit adds all your absences in 3 years, and 30 months in total is enough for the permit to be cancelled.
- "The 3 years are calendar years." The law says only a period of 3 years. It does not fix a start date, so any 3 years can be looked at.
- "Short trips do not count." The law adds separate absences together. A weekend away is a small part of the total, but it is part of it.
- "Working abroad counts against me like any other absence." It is the opposite. If you prove that you worked or ran a business abroad during the absence, the permit is not cancelled on this ground.

## Questions and answers

### How much time must I spend in Portugal to keep permanent residence?

The law does not set days of presence. It sets absence limits: no more than 30 months away in total within 3 years, and no more than 24 months away in a row. That leaves at least 6 months in Portugal in every 3 years.

### How do I count 30 months if my trips are in days?

The law does not explain this. A careful way is to add the days of all trips. Thirty calendar months are 911 to 915 days, so staying under 910 days in any 3 years keeps you under the limit.

### Does time in other EU countries count as absence?

Yes. Article 85 counts time away from Portugal. A stay in Spain, Germany or any other country is an absence for this permit.

### What happens if I pass 30 months?

The permit can be cancelled, but this needs a decision. You are told the reasons and can challenge it in court. If you worked abroad or had a reason AIMA accepts, the permit is not cancelled.

### Do the days I leave and return count as days away?

The law does not say. It speaks only of months of absence. If you are close to the limit, count the travel days as days away so that you are not caught by a stricter reading.

### Does this limit matter for citizenship?

Yes, in an indirect way. Citizenship needs 7 or 10 years of legal residence since 19 May 2026. If the permit is cancelled, legal residence stops on that date.

## Sources

- [Law 23/2007, article 85 - cancelling a residence permit (Procuradoria-Geral Distrital de Lisboa)](https://www.pgdlisboa.pt/leis/lei_mostra_articulado.php?artigo_id=920A0085&nid=920&tabela=leis)
- [Law 23/2007, article 131 - loss of EU long-term resident status (Procuradoria-Geral Distrital de Lisboa)](https://www.pgdlisboa.pt/leis/lei_mostra_articulado.php?artigo_id=920A0130&nid=920&tabela=leis)
- [AIMA - Agência para a Integração, Migrações e Asilo](https://aima.gov.pt/)

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Countr is an app for iPhone that counts your days in every country for visa, tax and residency rules, from the photos on your phone and your location. It explains rules and counts days. It does not give legal or tax advice. https://apps.apple.com/app/country-days-tracker-countr/id6810720800