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Autonomous residence after family reunification

PortugalFamily

Explore the five recorded questions, answers and sources for this pathway.

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Which family relationships qualify?

Family members who hold a residence permit granted through family reunification. A spouse married or in a de facto union with the resident for more than five years receives an autonomous residence permit from the first grant.

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Who may sponsor or bring the family member, and what immigration/citizenship status must that person hold?

The sponsor is the holder of a residence permit valid for at least two years (15 months for a spouse or equivalent who cohabited with the holder for at least 18 months before entry), or a recognised refugee.

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What is important for proving marriage, partnership, parentage, custody, dependency or another qualifying relationship?

The family ties must still exist at the time of the autonomous permit. The application must include documents proving the family ties or the de facto union; for a de facto union AIMA considers factors such as a common child, prior cohabitation, registration of the union or any other reliable evidence.

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What important financial, accommodation, insurance or maintenance responsibilities apply?

The sponsor must have accommodation (owned or rented) considered normal for a comparable family in the region and meeting safety and health standards, and sufficient means to support all family members without recourse to social support. These conditions do not apply to refugees.

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How does the application work at a high level, what rights does the family member receive, how long does the status last, and how can it become independent or longer-term where officially stated?

Two years after the first reunification permit (or regardless of that period whenever the sponsor has minor children resident in Portugal), family members are entitled to an autonomous permit of the same duration as the sponsor's. In exceptional cases (judicial separation, divorce, widowhood, death of an ascendant or descendant, domestic-violence charge by the Public Prosecutor, reaching adulthood) an autonomous permit can be granted earlier, valid for two years and renewable for three-year periods. Renewal of the reunification permit depends on meeting the integration measures, including Portuguese language and constitutional values.

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These are the answers currently recorded in the catalogue. A missing or partial answer is not an eligibility decision.

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