autorização de residência autónoma

A residence permit that no longer depends on the family member who brought the person to Portugal through family reunification. As a general rule, the right to it arises two years after the first card is issued, or regardless of that period if there are minor children living in Portugal; for a spouse who has been married or in a union for more than five years, the first card is independent from the start. It can be granted earlier in exceptional cases, and the law expressly names among them an indictment by the public prosecutor for domestic violence, divorce, court-ordered separation and widowhood. Such a card is valid for two years and is renewed for three years at a time.