AIMA decisions from May still pending after 90 days, Russia won't issue a second birth certificate, Polish border a lottery
AIMA decisions from May are still pending after 90 days, and permanent residence cards take longer than renewals
In a chat about the digital nomad visa, someone asked whether anyone had been approved at the central AIMA (immigration service) office in Lisbon since July. Replies said that everyone who applied in May, July and September is still waiting, and for the May and July applicants the 90 days are already up. On Reddit, someone who had an appointment at the Santarém office on 4 May describes the same thing: the 90 working days have run out, their online account still says ‘Em análise’ (‘under review’), and phone calls get them nowhere. They are thinking of filing a complaint in the Livro Amarelo, the complaints book for public services.
“May, July, September — it's all stuck.”
digitalnomadportugal27.10.2026
“May and July — 90 days have already gone by :(”
digitalnomadportugal27.10.2026
Reddit users also claim that permanent residence is currently not being granted to non-EU citizens. But in a Russian-speaking chat, someone who has already applied explained what is needed: a valid residence permit, your last five IRS (income tax) returns and a certificate. The card takes longer to arrive than after an ordinary renewal, and fingerprints are taken again. By law, permanent residence is granted after five years of legal residence and with Portuguese at A2 level.
“Yes, you need it: the last five IRS returns and a certificate. But you wait longer for the card than with a normal renewal, and they take your biometrics again.”
left4portugal28.10.2026
Our guide How to book an AIMA appointment and renew a residence permit in Portugal explains how to book an appointment and renew a permit, and what people do when a decision drags on.
Russia won't issue its own birth certificate for a child already registered in Portugal, leaving no patronymic
A mother who gave birth in Portugal registered her baby online through the Portuguese procedure and then took the certificate to the Russian consulate for translation, apostille, citizenship and a passport. As a result, her son's Russian documents show only his first name and surname, with no patronymic. Now she is asking whether she could have done it the other way round: hand the hospital birth record to the consulate and get a Russian certificate with a patronymic and ‘Portugal’ as the place of birth.
People in the chat replied that Russia does not issue a second certificate: if another country has already registered the birth, the consulate will not issue its own, and it is obliged to check this. The hospital birth record is taken away when the birth is registered in Portugal. Portugal, on the other hand, issues its certificate even to those who already have a Russian one, they write, so in their view families who may go back to Russia are better off starting with the consulate.
“You can have two certificates, but not with the Russian one as the second: Russia doesn't issue a birth certificate if one has already been issued by any other country.”
beremennost_portugal29.10.2026
“Yes, they take away the medical birth record.”
beremennost_portugal29.10.2026
“The consulate has to check whether you already have a birth certificate from another country :(”
beremennost_portugal29.10.2026
By law, a child born in Portugal must be registered at a Portuguese civil registry office within 20 days, whatever the parents do at the consulate.
The mother is also worried about citizenship: the child was born in Portugal and the parents have held residence permits for the required time, so in her view it should make no difference which certificate was issued first. Our guide Pregnancy and childbirth in Portugal explains how births are registered and how to get a child's documents.
Primary school teaching may open to those without a master's: on Reddit some welcome it, others fear untrained teachers
The Ministry of Education has shown the unions a draft under which people with only a bachelor's degree in primary education (licenciatura em Educação Básica), without a master's or a teaching placement, would also be allowed to teach years one to four (Observador). The aim is to tackle the teacher shortage, which is felt most in schools around Lisbon. More details are in our article “Teaching in primary school to be allowed with just a bachelor's degree”.
The news drew more than a hundred comments on Reddit. Some point out that it applies specifically to graduates with a bachelor's in primary education and see no harm in it: they will finish their master's and placement while already working. Others recall that in the 1990s, when teachers were in short supply, people without full training were brought in too.
“Most people haven't even read the news. It's about graduates with a bachelor's in primary education. Since there aren't enough teachers, I don't see a problem with them starting work straight after the bachelor's and finishing the master's or professional training while already teaching.”
r/portugal27.10.2026
“This isn't new, it already happened in the 90s: my mum was asked to teach English when there weren't enough teachers. And, I have to say, they even offered to keep her on for good.”
r/portugal27.10.2026
Opponents fear that without teacher training and a placement, children will get lessons in name only. Many also write that qualifications are not the problem: people stay away from teaching because of low pay, large classes, paperwork and postings far from home.
“This is terrible. They won't have done any teaching modules or any placement. Putting people in front of a class just so nobody can say the children have no teacher is not a solution.”
r/portugal27.10.2026
“Low pay, large classes, bureaucracy, insecure jobs, loss of respect, a tense atmosphere and frequent burnout. Being a teacher is one of the noblest professions, but you can only do it if you really love it.”
r/portugal27.10.2026
Poland lets people with Portuguese temporary protection through at random: a mother got in, her daughter was turned back
In chats for Ukrainians in Portugal, someone asked whether anything had changed at the Polish border for people returning from Ukraine with Portuguese temporary protection, and whether it would be better to travel via Hungary or Moldova. A woman replied that nothing has changed: she crossed in early September without any questions, but two weeks later her daughter, with the same documents, was sent back to Ukraine. The border guards did not accept temporary protection as a valid document and said she could leave once she had spent 90 days in Ukraine.
“I travelled in early September with temporary protection and they let me through without problems, but two weeks after me my daughter, with the same documents, was not let through and was sent back to Ukraine. They said: you can leave once you've spent 90 days in Ukraine; they didn't count the temporary protection as a document. The Polish border is a lottery, it depends on your luck.”
ukrporto28.10.2026
Another woman went to Ukraine through Poland without trouble and plans to come back the same way, with a valid certificate and a Warsaw–Lisbon ticket. She was told that as long as her protection has not expired, her chances of crossing smoothly are much higher, but there is no guarantee. Portugal has extended temporary protection until 4 March 2027; our guide Temporary protection in Portugal explains how it is extended and what to travel with.
“If your temporary protection hasn't expired yet (like yours), the chances of getting through without problems are much higher, but not 100%.”
kit_pt28.10.2026
Nordiventa hires remote workers on recibos verdes and fires them a week later without explanation, a Reddit user warns
On Reddit, one person has posted warnings about a firm called NORDIVENTA in several job communities at once. It is registered in Estonia as NORDIVENTA OÜ, but its adverts present it as a company from Coimbra, and it posts large numbers of remote customer support vacancies paid on recibos verdes, the receipts issued by the self-employed.
According to the author, people are hired, loaded with work for a week — answering angry customers of the firm's online shop, which has many complaints on Portal da Queixa, or processing data — and then dismissed for no reason at all. The author advises against accepting its offers or giving it your personal details.
“They hire people, make them work intensively for a week, and right after that fire them without any reason or explanation.”
r/EmpregoPT28.10.2026
Portal da Queixa is a private review site, not the official complaints book. Our guide How to spot fraud in Portugal explains how to spot a scam and what to do if you have already been scammed.
Without a utente number you can still get a prescription, but the pharmacy sells the medicine without the discount
In a Lisbon chat, someone asked how prescriptions are issued to people who do not yet have a número de utente, the patient number in the national health system. Some replied that they aren't: you need the number first. Others corrected them: prescriptions without a number do exist — they used to be printed on a form, with that field simply left blank.
“Just with that left blank; they printed it on a form.”
chatlisboa28.10.2026
A pharmacy will sell medicine on such a prescription, but at full price: the state only contributes when the patient's number is on the prescription. A pharmacy where you are known may sell it to you anyway. Our guides Medicines and pharmacies in Portugal and Family doctor in Portugal explain how much the state contributes and how to get a utente number and a family doctor.
“That's right, you can buy it without the number, just without the discount.”
chatlisboa28.10.2026
“A pharmacy where you're known might sell it to you anyway.”
chatlisboa28.10.2026
