LISBON, July 14 (Wire) — Immigrants who regularise their status through Portugal's migration agency will automatically receive a social security number starting at the end of July 2026, eliminating the need for a separate visit to a social security office.
A new real-time data link between the Agency for Integration, Migrations and Asylum (AIMA) and Social Security services will assign identification numbers on the spot, according to Luís Farrajota, president of the Social Security Institute of Informatics. In 2025, roughly 250,000 immigrants had to visit social security counters twice — once to request and once to collect the number.
The measure is part of a broader digital transformation programme launched in 2025. Separately, Social Security has also opened appointment booking via WhatsApp, offering in-person, telephone, or video-call slots since the start of July.