Immigration Law Update: Major Changes for CPLP Citizens

21 February 2025

On Friday, 14 February 2025, Law No. 9/2025 came into effect, introducing amendments to Law No. 23/2007 of 4 July, which governs the legal framework for the entry, stay, exit, and removal of foreign nationals from Portugal.

For context, Law No. 9/2025 introduced amendments to seven articles, aiming to facilitate and simplify the entry and stay of citizens from the Member States of the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries (CPLP) in Portugal.

The CPLP (Community of Portuguese Language Countries – Comunidade dos Países de Língua Portuguesa) is an international organisation comprising countries where Portuguese is an official language. Its primary objectives are to promote cooperation in political, economic, and cultural areas among its member states while fostering the Portuguese language and cultural exchange.

Among the amendments, Article 75, paragraph 2 is particularly noteworthy. It states:

When the applicant is covered by the CPLP Agreement and holds a short-stay visa or has legal entry into the national territory, they may apply for a temporary residence permit.

In practical terms, this means that citizens who enter Portugal legally can apply for a temporary residence permit without the need for a visa. They simply need to enter the country as tourists, as is the case for citizens of CPLP member states. Tourist stays are limited to a maximum period of 90 days.

Citizens from countries that are not members of the CPLP can still apply for a temporary residence permit; however, they must first obtain the appropriate visa.

Temporary stay visas are intended for individuals planning to stay in Portugal for more than 90 days but less than one year. Various types of temporary stay visas are available to accommodate different purposes, such as medical treatment, family reunification, employment, study, and seasonal work. These visas are formally classified as E1 Visa, E2 Visa, and so forth.

The member states of the CPLP include: