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COVID-19 Emergency Extensions: Ensuring Foreigners Remained Legally Documented
Decree-Law 10-A/2020 guaranteed that all visas and residence permits expiring from February 2020 would remain legally valid, preventing irregular status during the pandemic.
On 26 March 2020, Portugal published Decree-Law no. 10-A/2020 in the Diário da República, establishing a series of emergency measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Among these were provisions guaranteeing that all visas, residence permits and immigration documents expiring from February 2020 onward would remain legally valid until at least 30 June 2020.
This measure ensured that foreign nationals—many of whom found themselves unable to secure appointments due to lockdowns—would not fall into irregular status. Crucially, the decree also stipulated that individuals with pending residence applications would be considered legally resident for the purpose of accessing essential services including healthcare, taxation and labour rights.
For expatriates from the US, UK, Brazil, Canada, Israel and beyond, this emergency protection offered stability in a moment of global uncertainty. It prevented legal jeopardy, allowed continuity of employment and ensured that critical rights were preserved.
The measure demonstrated Portugal’s commitment to safeguarding immigrants during crises and set an administrative precedent for later automatic renewal programmes.
Official source: Diário da República, Decree-Law no. 10-A/2020, 26 March 2020 (https://dre.pt)