VisaApplicants from São Tomé renewing residence in Portugal should check which police record is required
A current-rule guide distinguishing a Portuguese record check from a foreign certificate, with São Tomé’s overseas-use document and AIMA’s original-delivery instructions.
Official announcement date: not established (undated guidance)
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Edited and checked by the VisaWand editorial team
Identify the criminal-record request in your renewal file
Citizens of São Tomé and Príncipe renewing or replacing an existing Portuguese CPLP residence document should distinguish permission to consult a Portuguese criminal record from a request for a foreign certificate. The two documents answer different questions. This guide concerns that document task within an existing renewal file; it does not establish eligibility for a first residence application.
AIMA’s CPLP renewal FAQ lists a valid passport, the renewal request and authorisation to consult Portuguese records, and a certificate from the nationality country or a country where the applicant has lived for more than a year. It specifically requires origin-country records for cases converted from expressions of interest or based on short-stay Schengen visas where background records were not previously checked. Read the actual notification against that history before assuming that a document submitted for an earlier procedure settled the current request.
Portuguese record access does not replace a foreign certificate
Portugal’s Justice Ministry guidance, updated on 28 July 2026, says foreigners applying for or renewing residence do not need to obtain the Portuguese criminal-record and contumacy certificate at service counters. They may authorise AIMA to access the record instead. This avoids a separate counter visit for the Portuguese check. It does not say that the Portuguese authority can obtain a São Tomé certificate on the applicant’s behalf.
The Justice page explains that the Portuguese record covers Portuguese court convictions and certain foreign criminal decisions communicated under international agreements. It is therefore not the same document as an issuing authority’s certificate from another country. If AIMA has specifically requested the latter, uploading consent for the Portuguese check addresses only one part of the file. Keep the notification’s wording and the issuing country clearly identified when seeking help with a missing-document request.
Request São Tomé’s document intended for use abroad
São Tomé’s Directorate General of Registries and Notaries distinguishes a domestic-use criminal record from a special model for use abroad. For the special model it lists the appropriate request, a copy of the requester’s identity card, and a copy of the interested person’s identity card or birth certificate. This distinction matters when someone in São Tomé is preparing the request for a relative living in Portugal: identify whose record is needed rather than assuming the requester and certificate holder are interchangeable.
The directorate’s page lists 130 dobras and three days for that model, and says a criminal record is valid for three months. Those are the published service figures, not an independently confirmed current payment quote or delivery guarantee. It identifies the Praça do Povo civil-registration and identification service in São Tomé and regional services in Príncipe among receiving locations. Confirm the payment instructions and any representative-authorisation requirements with the issuing office before arranging collection.
Follow the original-delivery instruction for your nationality
AIMA’s general answers document distinguishes Brazil and Cabo Verde, whose requested original criminal certificates may be uploaded directly, from citizens of other countries, who are instructed to send the original to one of its listed postal boxes. São Tomé and Príncipe is not one of the two named online exceptions. Where that instruction applies to your missing-document notification, a scan alone should not be assumed sufficient.
The document lists Apartado 42004 at CTT Telheiras in Lisbon and Apartado 55002 at CTT Campo Alegre in Porto. Match the receiving route to your actual notification before posting the original, and retain a copy and delivery evidence. A passport-original request follows a different process: the document requires attendance with the original passport and notification at the specified appointment. It does not permit replacing that attendance with a scanned passport.
Coordinate document validity with the renewal payment and appointment
AIMA’s published CPLP renewal sequence directs notified holders to services.aima.gov.pt, the “Renovar AR CPLP” option, account revalidation and generation of a payment document, or DUC. It specifies payment within ten working days, followed after validation and payment confirmation by an emailed biometric appointment proposal. That payment window concerns the generated charge; it should not be confused with the three-month validity listed for São Tomé’s criminal certificate.
Use the assessed DUC for the residence charge rather than treating São Tomé’s certificate fee as the renewal price. This research did not establish a current all-inclusive renewal amount or resolve what authentication AIMA requires for a particular São Tomé certificate. Confirm those points before paying for extra certification or courier services. Public AIMA indexed instructions were available, but direct retrieval returned errors; no direct official clarification or individually verified reviewer involvement was obtained.
