Immigration changes, our reactions + how this changes things for us

As of May 2026, Portugal immigration laws have changed.

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Two of the major changes that have affected us personally are:

1️⃣ - The path to citizenship/passport in Portugal moved from 5 years to 10 years for us. That’s when we can APPLY for, not necessarily receive, our passport.

2️⃣ - The clock starts from the date you get your Temporary Residency Card, rather than the date of your initial application. For us that is about 6 months difference. For others, it can be years due to the AIMA backlog over the past years.

There is no transition plan or grandfathering accommodation at this time for those who had already gotten visas, moved or started the process of moving.

🎙️Tune into this episode where we candidly talk about our reactions to the changes and what this means for us in our Portugal plan!

We hope you’ll listen in and subscribe (wherever you listen or watch) so you don’t miss out on our weekly episodes going forward! You can find us here on Substack, Apple and YouTube.

Cheers, y’all!

Meredith + Mark

Other Ways We Can Help You Travel or Move Abroad 💫💫💫

➡️If you have want to move abroad in the next 9-12 months and want to talk to Meredith about the She Thrives Abroad program, email her at [email protected]

➡️If you’d like help designing the perfect Portugal Trip Itinerary from the world famous Mark “The Brit” Burns, book a FREE consult call here

➡️If you need help with visas or tax information, check out our partners Joao Pinto + Rui Borges (who are the experts) here

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