RelyOn Relocation® News

According to the national water regulator, drinking water on the mainland reached a safety level of 98.84 percent in 2025 — the eleventh consecutive year at around 99 percent.

Of 278 municipalities, 225 scored above 99 percent, and 42 reached a full 100 percent.

For residents, this means something simple: tap water can be used for drinking without relying on bottled water.

The few deviations recorded are usually administrative or linked to small local treatment systems, and they do not pose a health risk.

The one practical note is to avoid drinking from public street fountains, as these sit outside the main network and are disinfected less regularly.

According to figures from the immigration authority and the national statistics institute, about 1.6 million foreign nationals were living in Portugal at the end of 2025 — roughly one in seven residents.

The number grew by only 38,000 over the year, a clear slowdown compared with previous years, mainly reflecting the closure of the simplified “expression of interest” legalisation route.

Brazilians remain the largest group at around 31%, and citizens of Portuguese-speaking countries together account for almost half of all foreign residents, with most living in Greater Lisbon, Setúbal, Porto and Faro.

In practice, this means residency now runs through formal visa and permit procedures only, so documents and timelines need to be prepared well in advance.

If you are planning a move or renewing your status, we can help you choose the right route and prepare ahead of the deadlines.

According to the property portal Imovirtual, the average number of rental listings rose over the past year from about 34,000 to 39,000, while the average asking price fell from €1,465 to €1,371 per month.

Supply increased in Lisbon and Porto, with the sharpest growth in Coimbra, Faro and Viana do Castelo, while Leiria and Guarda saw fewer listings.

Asking prices eased slightly in most cities — around 8% in Lisbon, to €1,485 — stayed broadly flat in Porto, and rose in Faro.

The portal itself notes that a decrease of this scale does not make housing meaningfully more affordable for most families.

In practice, this means a little more choice and breathing room when searching, though it is still wise to prepare your budget and rental documents in advance, particularly in Lisbon.

Portugal’s immigration authority has temporarily suspended the service used to submit complaints and formal enquiries. While it is down, applicants have fewer ways to report delays in their residence or renewal processes. Workload at the authority remains high, so responses to enquiries already submitted may also take longer than usual. No date has been announced for the service returning to normal.

If you were planning to submit an enquiry, keep your case documents and submission receipts together and watch the authority’s official channels for updates — we will confirm here once the service is running again.

Portugal’s revised nationality law (Lei Orgânica n.º 1/2026) took effect on 19 May 2026, extending the required period of legal residence to seven years for nationals of European Union and Portuguese-speaking countries, and ten years for everyone else — including most D7 visa holders.

One point worth knowing: applications filed before 19 May are still decided under the previous rules, as the law itself provides for that transition.

Several parts of the new framework, including the test on language, culture and democratic values, depend on implementing regulations that had not yet been issued as of late August.

Immigrant associations and lawyers continue to push for a wider transitional regime, and a petition on the subject is before Parliament.

In practice, the sensible approach is to plan around the law as it stands: keep your legal residence unbroken, know the date from which your qualifying period is counted, and prepare your Portuguese language evidence in advance.

Portugal’s President has signed the so-called “return law”, after the Constitutional Court unanimously found the contested provisions to be in line with the Constitution.

The law governs the departure and removal of foreign nationals who remain in the country without a valid basis for residence, as well as the handling of international protection claims.

It speeds up administrative procedures: the duty to leave now rests with the individual, and in most cases a court appeal no longer suspends a removal decision.

For residents who hold valid permits and renew them on time, day-to-day processes stay the same, but the cost of delays or gaps in status is now considerably higher.

The practical takeaway: track your renewal dates early, keep proof of every application you submit, and when changing status or legal basis, plan the transition without a gap.