Portugal Family Reunification 2026: How to Bring Your Family

Bringing your spouse, children or parents to Portugal through family reunification has become increasingly difficult, not only because of changes in immigration law but also because of problems obtaining appointments with AIMA. Although the agency officially provides ways to request appointments, many residents say they cannot get a response through the available channels, leading some families to turn to lawyers and court action to move their applications forward.

If you are legally living in Portugal and want to bring your family, here is how the process works, who can apply, which documents you need, how to request an AIMA appointment and what you can do if the agency does not respond.

Who can apply for family reunification in Portugal?

Family reunification, known in Portuguese as Reagrupamento Familiar, allows foreign residents with a valid Portuguese residence permit to bring eligible family members to live with them.

The procedure is covered by Articles 98, 99 and 100 of Law No. 23/2007, Portugal’s Foreigners Law.

The family members who may qualify include:

• Husband or wife: A legally recognised spouse.
• Children under 18: Biological or legally adopted children.
• Adult dependent children: Unmarried children who are financially dependent and studying, under the conditions established by law.
• Dependent parents: Parents of the resident or their spouse, where the required dependency is demonstrated.
• Minor siblings: In certain cases where the resident has legal responsibility for them.

A legally recognised de facto partner (união de facto) may also qualify under the applicable conditions.

Not every relative is eligible. For example, brothers and sisters who are adults, cousins and other extended family members do not automatically qualify.

How long must you have lived in Portugal before bringing your family?

An important change was introduced by Law No. 61/2025, published on 22 October 2025.

Under the new general rule, a foreign resident must normally have held a valid Portuguese residence permit for at least two years before requesting family reunification.

However, there are important exceptions.

The two-year waiting period does not apply to:

• Dependent minor children.
• Dependent family members who are legally incapable.
• A spouse or equivalent partner who is also the parent or adoptive parent of a dependent minor or legally incapable person.
• Family members of certain residence-permit holders under Articles 90, 90-A and 121-A.

There is also a special rule allowing a shorter period of 15 months for a spouse or equivalent partner who lived together with the resident for at least 18 months immediately before the resident entered Portugal.

In exceptional, properly justified situations, the waiting period can also be reduced or waived by a government decision.

Therefore, not everybody has to wait two years. Families should check the specific exception that applies to them before deciding whether they are eligible.

How to apply if your family is living outside Portugal

If your spouse, children or other eligible relatives are living in another country, the normal procedure begins with the family member who already has legal residence in Portugal.

The steps are:

Step 1: Check your eligibility.

Make sure your residence permit meets the applicable requirements and that your family relationship falls under Articles 99 or 100.

Step 2: Request an appointment with AIMA.

According to AIMA’s official instructions, the application must be submitted in person after obtaining an appointment.

Step 3: Attend the AIMA appointment.

The resident in Portugal submits the family reunification application and supporting documents.

Step 4: Wait for AIMA’s decision.

If the application is approved, AIMA issues the relevant authorisation for family reunification.

Step 5: Your family applies for a residence visa.

The family member outside Portugal must apply for the appropriate residence visa through the Portuguese consulate responsible for their country of residence.

After obtaining the visa, the family member can travel to Portugal and complete the applicable residence formalities.

This is the normal route for bringing family members from abroad. They should not travel to Portugal on a tourist visa assuming that they can automatically change their immigration status through family reunification.

Can you apply if your family is already in Portugal?

Yes, but the rules are now more restrictive.

Under the amended Article 103(2), family members already in Portugal can apply under the in-country procedure in the categories covered by Article 98(3), provided they entered Portugal legally and remain in the country when the application is submitted.

These include:

• Dependent minor children.
• Dependent family members who are legally incapable.
• A spouse who is also the parent or adoptive parent of a dependent minor or legally incapable person.
• Family members of holders of the specified residence permits under Articles 90, 90-A and 121-A.

Important: Law No. 61/2025 introduced a temporary 180-day arrangement allowing certain other family members who had entered Portugal legally to apply from inside the country. That transition period has now ended.

This means that applicants should not assume that an adult spouse who entered Portugal as a visitor can still apply through the same in-country route available before the legal changes.

AIMA also provides a digital application service for a specific category involving children over five and under 15 years old. This is not a general online application service for every family reunification case.

How can you get an AIMA appointment for family reunification?

This is currently one of the biggest problems for foreign residents.

In previous years, people commonly contacted the AIMA call centre to request family reunification appointments. They provided basic information, explained their situation and, when an appointment was available, received a date to visit an AIMA office with their documents.

However, applicants can no longer assume that this old telephone-based process will work for their family reunification request.

What does AIMA officially say?

According to the agency’s published Frequently Asked Questions, applicants should:

1. Visit the official AIMA Contact Form.
2. Select the appropriate appointment category if available.
3. If there is no suitable option, send an email to geral@aima.gov.pt.
4. Include their full name, date of birth, nationality, contact email and reason for requesting an appointment.
5. Use Pedido de Agendamento as the email subject.

AIMA also asks applicants to send the request only once rather than repeatedly sending identical messages.

The important problem is that these are instructions for requesting an appointment. They do not guarantee that AIMA will reply or provide an appointment.

AIMA’s FAQ is also marked as being under review and does not provide a clear, dedicated appointment-booking route for every family reunification situation.

Why are many families now turning to lawyers to get AIMA appointments?

This is where the practical situation becomes particularly difficult.

Many foreign residents report that they have tried contacting AIMA through the available channels but have not received a useful response. Some cannot find an appropriate family reunification option in the contact form, while others say their emails remain unanswered.

As a result, some applicants are turning to Portuguese immigration lawyers.

There is a reason this route can produce results: a lawyer can do more than simply request an appointment.

After examining the applicant’s circumstances, a lawyer may:

• Prepare a formal legal request to AIMA.
• Present evidence of previous attempts to obtain an appointment.
• Identify whether AIMA has failed to perform a legal duty.
• Start an administrative court case where the legal conditions are met.
• Request an order requiring AIMA to move the application forward or perform the necessary administrative action.

In some cases, the legal action seeks an appointment for document submission and biometric collection. In others, it seeks a decision on an application that has already been registered.

This helps explain why applicants may see people obtaining appointments after involving lawyers, while others continue waiting for answers through ordinary contact channels.

However, there is an important distinction: AIMA has not officially announced that lawyers are the only people allowed to obtain family reunification appointments. There is also no official public data establishing that every appointment currently being issued is obtained through court action.

The lawyer route is therefore a practical response to administrative difficulties reported by applicants, not an official replacement for AIMA’s application procedure.

Can a lawyer take AIMA to court?

Yes. Portuguese law allows legal action against unlawful decisions or failures to act by AIMA.

However, the type of court action matters.

Law No. 61/2025 introduced Article 87-B into the Foreigners Law. It establishes that legal actions concerning AIMA decisions or omissions generally follow the administrative court procedure, with the possibility of requesting urgent protective measures.

An exceptional procedure called intimação para proteção de direitos, liberdades e garantias may also be available when the strict legal conditions are met.

This is not automatic. The applicant must demonstrate why urgent court intervention is necessary and why other legal protection would not be sufficient.

The Constitutional Court’s Judgment No. 785/2025 also addressed these restrictions, reinforcing that urgent proceedings should not be used automatically for every AIMA delay.

Therefore, a lawyer must examine the case before deciding which legal procedure is appropriate.

A court case does not guarantee an appointment or a successful family reunification decision. It can, however, provide a legal way to challenge administrative inaction when the circumstances justify it.

What documents do you need?

Prepare your documents before requesting an appointment so that you are ready when AIMA responds.

Depending on your family situation, the main documents include:

• Valid Portuguese residence permit of the family sponsor.
• Valid passport of the family member.
• Marriage certificate or birth certificate proving the family relationship.
• Properly authenticated and, where required, translated foreign documents.
• Proof of accommodation in Portugal.
• Evidence of sufficient financial resources.
• Declaration concerning the residential address.
• Proof of legal entry into Portugal, when applying through the in-country procedure.
• Additional documents proving dependency, guardianship or studies, where applicable.

For children, additional documents may be required concerning parental responsibility, custody or permission to travel.

Always check AIMA’s specific document list for your application category because the requirements are not identical for spouses, children and dependent parents.