The move is expected to impact more than 93,000 people from Portuguese-speaking countries, the majority from Brazil.

There was no detail about how many people from Timor-Leste living in Portugal will be impacted.

AIMA informed that nationals that have expiring residence permits are being informed about the new measure and the opportunities of extending their residence permits by email, the statement said.

The Agency has also revealed that although permits for these nationals are not being extended, “they remain valid until June 30.”

“This decision falls within the legal framework of a decree-law that deals with exceptional and temporary measures concerning the COVID-19 pandemic. This law, introduced in March 2020 and updated since then, extends the validity of documents and visas related to long stays in Portugal until June 30, 2024, and sets out other conditions,” the statement said.

CPLP nationals that want to obtain a residence permit online, must have expressed interest in obtaining the document by December 2022, or have a CPLP residence consular visa issued after October 2022, the statement said.