AIMA Dever de Abandono: 20–30 Days to Leave Portugal

If your final AIMA decision contains the words dever de abandono do território nacional, your case has moved beyond a proposed rejection.

Under the current Article 138 of Portugal’s Foreigners Law, the notification gives you between 20 and 30 days to leave. The exact period is the one written in your notice.

If I were checking one of these notices, I would establish four things before doing anything else:

• whether the document is actually a final decision;
• when the departure deadline starts;
• whether there is a separate deadline to challenge the decision;
• whether anything being filed will actually suspend the obligation to leave.

Those questions matter more than the generic wording “20–30 days.”

First Check Whether Article 138 Actually Applies to You

Article 138 sits inside Lei n.º 23/2007, Portugal’s Foreigners Law.

That law mainly regulates third-country nationals and stateless persons. Article 4 also excludes several groups from its ordinary application, without prejudice to situations where the law applies subsidiarily or another provision expressly refers back to it.

I would check this first if you are:

• an EU, EEA or other free-movement national;
• a recognised refugee;
• a beneficiary of subsidiary or temporary protection;
• a non-EU family member of a Portuguese citizen;
• a non-EU family member of an EU/EEA citizen covered by free-movement rules.

For example, a non-EU spouse using the EU-family residence-card framework may have rights under Lei n.º 37/2006 that cannot be analysed simply by treating the person as an ordinary Article 138 case.

See our Article 15 AIMA guide if your residence comes through a Portuguese or EU-family relationship.

The same caution applies if you have an international-protection or asylum case. A return question involving protection against removal is not something I would reduce to the standard Article 138 workflow.

Start with the legal basis printed on the decision.

Is This Actually a Dever de Abandono Notice?

Not every negative interaction with AIMA starts the departure clock.

Article 138 applies when you are formally notified of an administrative decision that:

• refuses an application to stay or reside in Portugal;
• cancels a visa; or
• cancels a residence permit.

A negative conversation with an AIMA employee is not enough by itself.

Neither is an Audiência Prévia, Proposed for Rejection, or proposta de decisão de indeferimento.

Those belong to the stage before the final decision.

If that is what you have, use the AIMA Audiência Prévia guide instead.

The normal sequence is:

proposed refusal → prior hearing → final decision → possible Dever de Abandono

This distinction matters because people can leave an AIMA appointment believing they have been “rejected” when the formal decision has not yet been issued.

If your portal wording is unclear, compare it with the AIMA process tracker and locate the actual notification.

I would not calculate a departure deadline from a conversation, screenshot or portal label when the formal notice says something different.

NAV Before 11 September 2026 Is a Different Regime

Portugal changed Article 138 on 11 September 2026.

AIMA keeps its former Notificação de Abandono Voluntário, or NAV, FAQ online specifically for situations governed by the rules in force up to 10 September 2026.

The differences are substantial.

	Former NAV	Current Dever de Abandono
Regime	Up to 10 September 2026	From 11 September 2026
Article 138 period	10–20 days	20–30 days
Main trigger	Could include illegal entry or stay itself	Notified refusal or cancellation
Extension authority now	Former procedure	PSP National Director, with possible delegation

Under the former wording, Article 138 expressly covered a foreign national who entered or remained illegally in Portugal.

The new Article 138 instead requires a prior administrative decision refusing a stay or residence request, cancelling a visa or cancelling a residence permit.

This is therefore not merely NAV with a new name.

If your notification was issued under the former regime, do not replace the instructions in that document with the current rules.

Likewise, if a document issued around the transition still uses older terminology, I would check the date, article cited and operative part of the decision rather than relying only on the heading.

Read the Notification Like a Case File

A useful first step is to extract the important information onto one page.

Look for these items:

Find this in the notification	Why it matters
Decision taken	Tells you whether this is a refusal, cancellation or another procedure
Legal article cited	Confirms which regime AIMA says applies
Departure period	Should be between 20 and 30 days under current Article 138
Starting date	Determines when your deadline actually expires
Competent authority	Matters for extension, proof of departure and later procedures
Challenge route	Tells you how the underlying decision can be contested
Challenge deadline	May be different from the departure deadline
Entry-ban wording	Helps distinguish a return alert from a separate restriction on entry

Keep the complete decision, not only the page that says you must leave.

Also keep evidence showing how and when it reached you:

• email headers;
• postal envelope;
• delivery confirmation;
• portal notification;
• acknowledgement of receipt.

If there is later a dispute about when a deadline started, the notification history can matter.

This is one of those cases where I would keep the original files untouched and work from copies. The notification date can matter just as much as the text of the refusal.

Your 20–30-Day Deadline Is the One in the Notice

Current Article 138 requires the notification to set a period between 20 and 30 days.

It does not mean everybody receives 30 days.

AIMA tells recipients to confirm both:

• the period fixed; and
• the date from which it begins to run.

I would not calculate the deadline from:

• the day you happened to notice the portal update;
• the date you first opened an attachment;
• somebody else’s AIMA case;
• the former NAV rules;
• an assumption that every period automatically means working days.

If the notification itself is unclear about the starting point, resolve that issue immediately rather than selecting the interpretation that gives you the longest deadline.

You can also leave before the period expires. The voluntary-departure period is a maximum period for compliance, not a requirement to remain until the final day.

What If AIMA’s Final Decision Looks Factually Wrong?

This is a different problem from asking for extra time to leave.

If AIMA says a requirement was not met, identify exactly which fact or document produced the refusal.

Then compare the final decision with your own file.

I would check whether:

• the document AIMA says was missing was actually submitted;
• AIMA considered your response to the Audiência Prévia;
• the decision relies on information that had already been corrected;
• a document was valid on the relevant date but expired while AIMA was processing the case;
• the decision refers to the wrong document, date or person;
• evidence acknowledged by AIMA is absent from the reasoning.

Build a simple evidence trail rather than sending AIMA your entire immigration history again.

For each disputed point, keep:

AIMA’s statement → your evidence → proof of when AIMA received that evidence

For example:

AIMA: employment evidence was not provided
Your evidence: employment contract and Segurança Social record
Filing proof: portal receipt or submission confirmation dated before the decision

This does not automatically cancel the final decision.

It does, however, make the actual disagreement much easier to identify when deciding whether an administrative or judicial challenge is appropriate.

Most importantly, I would not treat sending the missing document again as if it suspended the departure deadline. It does not do that by itself.

Can You Ask for More Time to Leave?

Yes.

But under the current Article 138, AIMA does not decide the extension.

The decision belongs to the National Director of the PSP, with power to delegate that competence.

The law identifies circumstances that may be considered, including:

• length of stay in Portugal;
• children attending school;
• other family members;
• social ties in Portugal.

The wording is not limited to one automatic checklist.

An extension still needs to be considered in the circumstances of the individual case.

What evidence can support an extension request?

Use evidence that proves the reason you are relying on.

Circumstance	Evidence that may help
Long residence in Portugal	Leases, dated residence records and other continuous evidence
Children attending school	Current enrolment or attendance documents
Family in Portugal	Relationship documents and evidence of family members’ residence
Established work	Employment contract, payslips or other employment records
Social ties	Tax, Social Security or other documented connections
Particular personal circumstances	Documents explaining why more time is necessary

These are practical examples, not an official closed checklist.

I would keep the request focused. Twenty relevant pages are usually more useful than a large bundle where the reason for asking for more time is difficult to identify.

Where do you submit the extension request?

Use the procedure in your notification first.

AIMA’s current FAQ does not publish one universal online form or PSP email address that it says every Article 138 extension request must use.

Instead, AIMA tells recipients to check the notification for the competent authority and applicable procedure.

That makes older internet instructions particularly risky.

For example, an old article may tell you to send documents to an AIMA NAV email address even though the current law places the extension decision with the PSP.

If your notification does not make the route clear, you can use the PSP’s official directory to identify the competent PSP service.

The PSP Direção Nacional currently lists:

Address: Largo da Penha de França, n.º 1, 1199-010 Lisboa
Telephone: +351 218 111 000
Email: contacto@psp.pt

Those are official PSP contact details.

I would use them to identify the correct submission route, not assume that an email to the general inbox automatically counts as a valid Article 138 extension application.

What Protections Apply While the Departure Period Is Running?

The EU Return Directive contains safeguards for the period granted for voluntary departure.

During that period, Member States must take several principles into account as far as possible.

These include:

• maintaining family unity with family members present in the country;
• providing emergency healthcare and essential treatment of illness;
• allowing minors access to basic education, subject to the length of their stay;
• taking account of the special needs of vulnerable people.

These safeguards do not convert the departure period into a new residence permit.

They also do not automatically extend the Article 138 deadline.

The distinction I would keep in mind is that receiving a duty to leave does not mean every aspect of ordinary life stops on the day the notice arrives, but neither does it create a fresh immigration status.

What if a serious health condition makes departure difficult?

Document it.

A serious medical problem may be relevant to an extension request or to later safeguards concerning enforcement of removal.

EU return law separately recognises physical or mental condition as a circumstance that can justify postponement of removal.

That is not the same thing as saying illness automatically suspends an Article 138 notice.

If your ability to travel is medically affected, I would want current medical documentation explaining the practical limitation rather than a generic diagnosis with no explanation of how it affects travel.

Do You Have to Leave Portugal or All of Schengen?

For an ordinary Article 138 case, leaving Portugal for another Schengen state is not enough.

AIMA says the departure must cover Portugal and the other Schengen Area countries.

The destination must be:

• your country of nationality; or
• another third country where you are guaranteed admission.

So:

Portugal → Spain

does not ordinarily satisfy the duty.

But:

Portugal → Spain → Brazil

can, provided you actually continue through the Schengen external border and are admitted to the destination.

What If Your Flight Leaves Schengen Through Madrid, Paris or Another Country?

You do not necessarily need your final long-haul flight to depart directly from Portugal.

Suppose your ticket is:

Lisbon → Madrid → São Paulo

The Lisbon-to-Madrid segment remains inside Schengen.

Your relevant Schengen exit takes place when you leave through the external border in Madrid.

EU SIS rules specifically cover this situation.

If a person subject to a return alert leaves through the external border of another Member State, that state communicates the identification, location and time of the check and confirmation of departure to the state that issued the alert.

Portugal can therefore receive confirmation of your Schengen exit from another Member State.

This is one of the practical details I would check before assuming you need a direct Portugal-to-non-Schengen flight.

Still keep your own evidence.

I would not rely exclusively on an electronic border record being transmitted correctly.

What Proof Should You Keep After Leaving?

AIMA specifically tells recipients to preserve:

• travel documents;
• boarding passes;
• where applicable, evidence of entry into the destination country.

For a connecting itinerary, keep the complete journey rather than only the first boarding pass.

For example, for:

Lisbon → Madrid → São Paulo

keep evidence for both legs.

A Lisbon-to-Madrid boarding pass by itself only shows that you moved inside Schengen.

The Madrid-to-São Paulo segment is the part that demonstrates the onward external departure.

I would keep the boarding passes and destination-entry evidence even after the case appears resolved. They are simple documents to preserve and can be useful if the departure later needs to be demonstrated.

Follow any additional reporting instructions in your own notification.

What Actually Happens to the SIS Alert?

The SIS part of the procedure is easier to understand if you look at it as a sequence.

Event	What should happen in SIS
Article 138 return decision issued	Return alert is entered with the voluntary-departure deadline
Departure deadline extended	New period is recorded in the alert
Enforcement formally suspended or postponed	Suspension/postponement is recorded
Person exits through a Schengen external border	Exit can be communicated to Portugal
Portugal receives confirmation of compliant return	Return alert should be deleted
Underlying decision is withdrawn or annulled	Return alert should be deleted
Person independently proves compliant departure	Alert can be deleted on that basis

Portuguese Article 138 refers to the return indication being registered for one year.

That does not mean an alert must remain visible for a full year after you have complied.

EU Regulation 2018/1860 requires deletion when the issuing state receives confirmation of return or when the person demonstrates that they left in compliance with the decision.

It also requires deletion if the underlying return decision is withdrawn or annulled.

Why written proof of an extension or suspension matters

The SIS regulation requires an extension of the voluntary-departure period to be recorded.

It also requires any suspension or postponement of enforcement to be recorded without delay.

For me, this is the important practical distinction:

“I submitted an application asking for more time.”

is not the same as:

“The competent authority granted an extension.”

The second changes the legal position and should be reflected in the return alert.

The same distinction applies to a court case.

Filing litigation and obtaining an actual suspension are not interchangeable.

Is a SIS Return Alert the Same as an Entry Ban?

No.

A return alert and an alert for refusal of entry and stay are different SIS records.

That distinction is important.

The existence of an Article 138 return alert should therefore not automatically be translated as:

“You are banned from Schengen for one year.”

The one-year period in Article 138 concerns the return indication.

Check separately whether your decision contains wording concerning:

• interdição de entrada;
• prohibition of entry;
• refusal of entry and stay.

Those are different consequences.

If someone told me simply that “SIS means you’re banned,” this is the first distinction I would check against the actual decision.

What If You Have a Valid Residence Permit in Another Schengen Country?

This is an important exception to the simple “leave all Schengen” explanation.

Article 144(3) of the Portuguese Foreigners Law extends the territorial effect across the relevant EU and Schengen countries where the person is not otherwise entitled to remain there.

EU SIS rules also require consultation where Portugal issues a return decision concerning somebody who holds a valid residence permit or long-stay visa from another Member State.

Suppose Portugal refuses your Portuguese residence application, but you still hold a valid residence permit issued by France.

Portugal and France cannot simply ignore each other’s decisions.

The SIS Regulation contains procedures requiring the Member States to consult each other.

If the other state decides to maintain the residence permit, that can affect whether the Portuguese return alert is entered or maintained.

For this situation, I would not surrender or abandon a valid permit from another Member State merely because the general AIMA FAQ says an ordinary Article 138 recipient must leave Schengen.

The Portuguese decision and the other valid status need to be checked together.

What If Your Legal Situation Changes After the Notice?

A return decision is not necessarily frozen forever in the factual situation that existed on the day it was issued.

EU return law allows a Member State to grant a person an autonomous residence permit or another authorisation giving a right to stay for compassionate, humanitarian or other reasons.

Where such a right to stay is actually granted, the existing return decision must be withdrawn or suspended for the duration of that authorisation.

The important word is granted.

Submitting:

• another residence application;
• another appointment request;
• another document;
• an email asking AIMA to reconsider;

does not by itself mean that you have been granted a new right to stay.

This is another place where I would separate “something is pending” from “my legal status has actually changed.”

There needs to be an actual legal change in your position.

Can You Challenge the AIMA Decision?

AIMA says the notification should identify the available challenge methods and the relevant deadlines.

Depending on the case, these can include:

• an administrative complaint;
• a hierarchical appeal;
• judicial proceedings.

But filing a challenge does not necessarily suspend the effects of the decision.

That distinction deserves particular attention because you can have two clocks running at the same time:

Clock 1: deadline to leave
Clock 2: deadline to challenge the decision

A longer deadline for the legal challenge does not automatically extend the shorter departure deadline.

If I had to reduce this part to one question, it would be:

Does my particular challenge have suspensive effect, or has an authority or court separately suspended enforcement?

If a suspension is actually granted, EU SIS rules require that suspension or postponement to be recorded in the return alert.

What If the Departure Deadline Is Close but the Court Case Is Not Ready?

Do not assume the main court case alone solves the timing problem.

EU return law requires access to an effective remedy and gives the competent authority or court power to temporarily suspend enforcement.

Portuguese immigration litigation can therefore involve a difference between:

• challenging whether AIMA’s decision was lawful; and
• obtaining protection against the consequences of that decision while the main case is being decided.

If remaining in Portugal depends on stopping the decision from taking effect, I would specifically establish whether a suspensive measure is required.

A filing receipt alone does not answer that question.

Can You Continue Working While Challenging the Decision?

Do not treat proof that you filed a challenge as a residence document.

The answer depends on:

• the legal status you had before the refusal;
• what the final decision terminated;
• whether the decision has been suspended;
• whether another legal basis still gives you a right to work.

The AIMA Dever de Abandono FAQ does not promise that merely filing an administrative or judicial challenge automatically preserves employment rights.

If continuing to work matters to your case, I would want to identify the legal basis that currently authorises the work.

“An appeal is pending” is not automatically that legal basis.

Can You Travel and Return While Challenging?

The same caution applies to international travel.

A pending complaint or court case does not itself create:

• a visa;
• a valid residence card;
• a re-entry authorisation.

Before leaving Portugal, determine which document or legal right would permit you to return.

This is especially important if the residence document connected to the refused application has already expired or been cancelled.

Personally, this is one area where I would not test the answer at an airport. I would resolve the re-entry basis before travelling.

What Happens If You Miss the Article 138 Deadline?

If the deadline passes and there is no decision suspending or altering the notification, AIMA says:

• your stay remains irregular;
• associated records may remain active;
• a coercive-removal procedure may be opened;
• other measures under the law may apply.

The PSP is now responsible for determining coercive removal based on illegal entry or stay where the legal requirements are met.

But the legal stages should remain separate.

An Article 138 Dever de Abandono is not itself a decision of coercive removal.

If the file progresses to a formal removal decision, different rules apply.

Article 144 provides for an entry and stay prohibition associated with a decision of removal, potentially for a period of up to five years depending on the circumstances.

That is why I would avoid both extremes:

“The Article 138 notice already means a five-year Schengen ban.”

and:

“Nothing changes if I simply ignore the deadline.”

Neither describes the legal sequence correctly.

Article 138 and Article 160 Are Different Stages

This is another common source of confusion.

Procedure	Period	Meaning
Article 138 Dever de Abandono	20–30 days	Initial duty following the refusal or cancellation covered by Article 138
Article 160 after removal/expulsion decision	10–20 days	Later departure period after a separate removal or expulsion decision

I would not use an Article 160 deadline to calculate an Article 138 notice.

Likewise, the fact that Article 160 can grant another period later does not mean you are entitled to ignore the first deadline.

What If You Are Irregular but Never Received a Final Refusal?

This is one of the most important consequences of the September 2026 change.

The former Article 138 expressly covered people who entered or remained illegally in Portugal.

The current wording does not.

It now starts from a notified decision:

• refusing a stay or residence application;
• cancelling a visa; or
• cancelling a residence permit.

So if your visa expired and you believe you are irregular, but you have never received one of those decisions, I would not assign yourself an Article 138 deadline.

That does not mean irregular stay is harmless.

Article 145 separately allows the PSP to determine coercive removal based on illegal entry or stay where the legal requirements are met.

It means your case is not necessarily the same procedural route as somebody who has just received an Article 138 notice following a final AIMA refusal.

Article 138 Departure Is Not the Same as Assisted Voluntary Return

You can comply with Article 138 by organising your own departure.

Separately, Portugal has programmes that can assist somebody who wants help returning.

AIMA currently lists options including information, counselling, help obtaining travel documents, travel organisation and, in some cases, reintegration support.

ARVoRe - International Organization for Migration

Email: arvore-portugal@iom.int
Website: portugal.iom.int

European Union Reintegration Programme

Email: eurp.pt@yahoo.com
Telephone / WhatsApp: +351 937 889 113

UNEF / PSP Central Return and Readmission Unit

Address: Rua Martens Ferrão, 11, 1050-159 Lisboa
Email: retornovoluntario.unef@psp.pt

Assisted return is not simply a free version of buying your own airline ticket.

Article 139 creates a specific legal return-support framework.

Article 144(4) separately provides that somebody who leaves under Article 139(1) can be prevented from entering and remaining in Portugal for a period of up to three years.

That should not be confused with independently complying with an Article 138 notice.

If I were considering assisted return, I would check that distinction before enrolling rather than after accepting the programme.

If You Have No Valid Passport or Cannot Arrange the Journey

Do not wait until the last few days.

AIMA specifically identifies assistance with obtaining travel documents as one of the areas in which voluntary-return programmes may help.

That makes assisted-return support potentially relevant where the practical problem is not deciding whether to leave, but actually being unable to organise a lawful journey.

At the same time, a passport problem does not automatically extend the Article 138 deadline.

If you need more time, deal with the extension question separately and before the deadline expires.

The Distinctions I Would Keep Straight

An Audiência Prévia is not a final refusal.

A final refusal is not automatically a coercive-removal decision.

A return alert in SIS is not automatically an entry ban.

Filing a challenge is not automatically the same as suspending the decision.

Requesting a deadline extension is not the same as having one granted.

Leaving Portugal is not necessarily the same as leaving Schengen.

An Article 138 departure is not the same legal route as assisted return under Article 139.

And a pending new residence application is not the same as having been granted a new right to stay.

Those are the distinctions I would check before deciding what to do next.