AIMA has made it compulsory for foreigners applying for residence permit in Portugal including golden visa applicants. The obligation to present criminal records certificates by foreign citizens who wish to obtain a residence permit is always maintained by authorities.
AIMA will not process residence permit applications without a valid criminal record certificate.
AIMA does not guarantee regarding national security and rigor in the verification of criminal records continues to be, as it has been until now, essential.
Criminal Record Certificate
Criminal Record Certificates from the country of origin and country of residence (if residing there for over one year), issued within the last 3 months, translated into Portuguese, and certified by the Portuguese Consular Representation or with an Apostille;
Key Points
- Criminal record certificate (CRC) is required if the person have lived for more than 1 year (before entering in Portugal)
- Criminal Records must not be issued, more than 90 days before the appointment.
- Criminal record certificate can be submitted by any person, of any nationality, over 16 years of age
- Authorized person above 18 can be appointed to collect CRC. The pdf format is available for download.
- Expired criminal record certificates must be updated by a fresh one through AIMA portal for waiting list applications through their legal representative.
Translation
CRC Documents issued in english, portuguese, french or spanish are not required to be translated. Legalization can be made through the Apostille (if applicable) or by utilizing the relevant Portuguese Consulate/service that serves the place of origin of the document.
Angola
AIMA has informed that the certificates of criminal records presented by Angolan citizens in its services do not require authentication by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MNE), as the verification of their authenticity is carried out by AIMA itself.
Cape Verde
Electronic criminal records issued by the Cape Verdean authorities do not require authentication. Likewise, the criminal record certificate issued by the Ukrainian Embassy in Portugal does not require any further validation.
Documents Issued by EU Authorities
If the document is issued in a Member State of the European Union, it is exempt from additional formalisation (Regulation (EU) 2016/1191 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 July 2016 on promoting the free movement of citizens by simplifying the requirements for presenting certain public documents in the European Union and amending Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012).
Translation of public documents issued by the authorities of a Member State of the European Union is not required, provided that they are accompanied by a multilingual standard form.
Translators
If you require translation locally in Portugal, documents can be translated by:
- Portuguese notary
- Registrar or registrar
- Lawyer or solicitor, who practices the profession in Portugal
- Chamber of Commerce or Industry, recognized under the terms of Decree-Law No. 244/92, of October 29
- Suitable translator, in which case he/she must be certified by one of the entities mentioned above
- Consulted Portuguese in the country where the document was issued or by the consulate of that country in Portugal
