Home News No need for early ID card renewal No need for early ID card renewal The Institute of Registries and Notaries has clarified that the Citizen Card is valid until the date printed on the document, contrary to what has been reported by some media outlets.
No need for early ID card renewal
Wednesday, 31 December 2025RSS
Context & Explainers
The citizen card (Cartão de Cidadão) is Portugal’s national identity card for Portuguese citizens; it holds your name, photo and key official numbers such as your tax number (NIF) and social-security number, and is used for banking, public services and voting. A decree published in the Diário da República today waives replacement fees for people in municipalities hit by storm Kristin who lost or misplaced their citizen card; non-citizen residents should use their residence permit card (Autorização de Residência or Cartão de Residência) and contact their local town hall or a Citizen Shop (Loja do Cidadão) for assistance.
The Institute of Registries and Notaries (Instituto dos Registos e do Notariado or IRN) is the government body that manages civil, land, and commercial registries in Portugal. It is currently processing a backlog of 516,000 nationality applications, resulting in average wait times of three years. These delays impact all applicants, including children and grandchildren of Portuguese citizens.
