To legally provide holiday accommodation in Portugal, all rental properties must be registered and licensed under the Alojamento Local (AL) system. As property owners and licence holders, we are required to comply with the conditions of our AL licences.
One of these legal obligations is to record the arrival and departure dates, together with identification details, of all guests who are not Portuguese nationals and who are staying in paid accommodation.
For reference, the Alojamento Local licence numbers for our properties are:
- Villa Quina – 2895/AL
- Villa Susana – 32020/AL
You will be asked to complete an online guest registration form before your arrival. This information is required by Portuguese law and must be submitted before access to the property can be granted. Unfortunately, we will not provide directions and property access information, and we are unable to permit check-in until all required guest details have been provided.
The information collected is used solely to meet our legal reporting obligations to the Agência para a Integração, Migrações e Asilo (AIMA).
We do not retain copies of the completed registration forms, as Portuguese law does not permit us to do so. To ensure your information is handled securely, you will receive a unique link to our secure client portal, where you can complete the details for each member of your travelling party and submit their required registration details online prior to arrival.
For additional reassurance, all licensed Alojamento Local properties in Portugal are recorded on the Registo Nacional de Estabelecimentos de Alojamento Local (RNAL), maintained by Turismo de Portugal. You can verify the registration details of Villa Quina (2895/AL) and Villa Susana (32020/AL), together with any other licensed AL property, by searching the official RNAL register.
RNAL – Registo Nacional de Estabelecimentos de Alojamento Local
With thanks to the Angloinfo Portugal website for helping to explain these requirements in plain English, further details of the guest registration obligations, together with links to the relevant Portuguese legislation and answers to frequently asked questions, are provided below.
“Since 2015 Portugal has more strictly enforced a long-standing law requiring anyone providing paid holiday accommodation to record the entry, exit, and identification details of all non-Portuguese nationals who use that accommodation. This law has been brought into force in Portugal and most other EU countries at some point since the gradual implementation of the 1990 Schengen Agreement that aims to stop human trafficking and other illegal practices. In this case, it is specifically Article 45 of the Schengen Agreement and the recent Alojamento Local law in Portugal that has brought this rule into sharper focus.
The governing body that monitors the movement of foreigners is (since 2023) now AIMA (Agência para a Integração, Migrações e Asilo) (formerly SEF)
Who must submit identity documents?
Each non-Portuguese person, regardless of age (and including children) shall present identity documents.
What counts as a valid identity document?
- Passport/identity card or equivalent government-issued photo ID
- Documents issued under the relevant agreements between the States Parties to the North Atlantic Treaty
- Laissez-passer issued by the authorities of the State of nationality or the State that represents them
- Flight crew license or certificate
- Seafarer’s identity document, when on duty
- Maritime registration certificate, while on duty
- Residence permit, extension of stay or the identity card given to diplomats and their administrative/ domestic staff or officials of international organisations based in Portugal and members of their families
- Birth certificate or (where guests are from a country that allows a child to be entered on the passport of their parents) an entry on the parent’s passport for the child, or an entry on the passport of whomever has parental authority over the child
- Other documents issued by domestic or foreign authorities when, for acceptable reasons, (theft, robbery, etc.) one cannot present a passport or other document
- In all other cases (total absence of documents) should be contacted local police and/or the respective consular authorities
What happens if someone refuses to provide ID?
A person renting accommodation or member of a group doing so who refuses to confirm identify should not be accepted. Not collecting the required information can lead to the establishment being subject to the imposition of heavy penalties (imprisonment and fines).
What about those who own private homes and commercially provide rental of rooms to foreigners?
Any rental of bedrooms, large portions of a house, an entire house, a villa, a tent, caravan, boat or any other form of accommodation to a foreigner requires registration of that guest. This is mandatory.
Can a lodging establishment hold the identity documents for any reason?
No. Only the police and judicial authorities have the power to withhold or retain these documents and only for the period of time necessary for their processing.”