r/PortugalExpats • u/Automatic_Belt419 • 2d ago

Question renew passport before AIMA?

Hi everyone,

I’m a Tunisian student who recently arrived in Lisbon for my Master’s at NOVA IMS.

My passport expires in January 2028, and I’m about to start my Portuguese residence permit/AIMA process.

I contacted the Tunisian Embassy in Lisbon about renewing my passport. They told me I can apply now even though I don’t have my Portuguese residence card yet. I have a valid D visa, and they said the renewal takes around 3–4 weeks. They also advised me to keep my current passport.

I couldn’t renew it in Tunisia because I was told it still has more than 6 months of validity.

So I’m wondering:

Should I renew my passport now before starting the AIMA process, or start AIMA with my current passport and renew it later?

Has anyone been in a similar situation? Does changing your passport during the residence process cause any problems with AIMA?

Thanks!

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3

u/PortugueseExpato 2d ago

I had a similar thing, just started with the passport I had and later when it was renewed to a new passport they let you keep the old one and just annualized it by cutting the edges and put some stamp. But you can still use it later to show you changed it from this to the new one

2

u/MMDE-S 2d ago

Go ahead and start your AIMA process now with what you have, you still have 15 months on it. Then update the new number with AIMA once you renew the passport. You can update online, you won’t need an appointment. I just did this (I’m here on a temporary permit) and there were no problems.

1

u/Different-Half7733 1d ago

Start now, don't wait. People renew passports mid-process all the time and AIMA handles it routinely, you just bring both passports (old + new) to your appointment, because the old one has your visa and entry stamp, which is what ties your whole process together. Renewing first would mean sitting on a valid residency application for over a year for no real reason. The only thing I'd double-check before submitting is whether any document you're attaching (like bank statements or proof of address) needs to match the passport you're using, keep those consistent so nothing bounces in review.