Renewal of residence permits can be done online

&amp;NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-text-align-center has-medium-font-size"><strong>THIS ARTICLE CONCERNS EUROPEAN RESIDENTS ONLY <&sol;strong><&sol;p>&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;<p>As you know&amp;comma; being a resident of France, Belgium or even Switzerland&amp;comma; does not allow you to live in Portugal for tax purposes&amp;period; Portugal has always required European nationals to apply for a 5-year residence certificate&amp;comma; on this subject we invite you to consult our <a class&equals;"rank-math-link" href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;vivreauportugalconsulting&period;com&sol;comment-sinscrire-au-sef-au-portugal&sol;">dedicated article<&sol;a>&amp;period;<&sol;p>&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;<p>In view of the health situation&amp;comma; the Service des étrangers et des frontières &amp;lpar;SEF&amp;rpar; has just announced that applications for residence permits can now be submitted online&amp;period;<&sol;p>&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;<h2 class&equals;"wp-block-heading">Applying for a residence permit in Portugal to be done online <&sol;h2>&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;<p>The implementation of a simplified procedure for applying for and renewing residence permits will reduce waiting times&amp;comma; at present, no fewer than 250,000 foreign nationals have applied to the SEF&amp;period; <&sol;p>&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;<p>This measure has been put in place to facilitate the process in view of the current health emergency&amp;comma; but also to make it easier to resolve delicate cases&amp;comma; but also to increase efficiency in the management of requests&amp;period; <&sol;p>&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;<p>According to a press release published today, when applying to renew a residence permit in Portugal, applicants will not even need to visit the SEF offices; they can simply apply for a residence permit directly on the SEF website. <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;sef&period;pt&sol;pt&sol;pages&sol;homepage&period;aspx" class&equals;"rank-math-link">SEF portal<&sol;a>Secondly, the SEF will carry out checks to confirm the application for a residence permit&amp;period; <&sol;p>&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;<p>In the case of applications for visa-exempt residence permits &amp;lpar;for European nationals&amp;rpar;&amp;comma; applicants will also not need to present any new proof of life other than that requested&amp;period; <&sol;p>&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;<p> With this new measure&amp;comma; a substantial time saving is expected&amp;comma; the procedure, which previously lasted 40 minutes, should now take 15 minutes&amp;period; It has also been announced that the SEF will waive the payment of fees, which are currently 15&amp;nbsp&amp;semi;euros&amp;period; <&sol;p>&amp;NewLine;