AIMA
AIMA and SEF guest reporting in Portugal made easy
SEF is gone. AIMA runs Portugal's guest reporting system now, through the SIBA portal at siba.ssi.gov.pt (the old siba.sef.pt address still redirects there, we checked on August 17, 2026). If you rent out a room, an apartment, or a whole villa in Portugal, under Alojamento Local, a rural tourism license, or a hotel registration, you have to report every non-Portuguese guest within 3 working days of arrival, and again within 3 working days of departure. That includes guests from France, Germany, Spain, and the rest of the EU, not only guests from outside Europe. Miss the deadline and the fine starts at €100 per missing boletim and climbs from there.
This guide covers the current registration steps, what a boletim de alojamento actually asks for, the fine structure under Portuguese law, and where Portugal Portfolio fits in if you would rather someone else handle the filing every time a guest checks in.
SEF closed in 2023, AIMA and SIBA took over
Portugal dissolved the Serviço de Estrangeiros e Fronteiras, SEF, on October 29, 2023. AIMA, the Agência para a Integração, Migrações e Asilo, took over the administrative side the next day, including residence permits and the guest reporting system. Border checks moved to the PSP and GNR. Criminal investigation into immigration offenses moved to the Polícia Judiciária.
The guest reporting portal kept its job even as the address changed. SIBA, the Sistema de Informação de Boletins de Alojamento, still runs the same boletim de alojamento process that existed under SEF. We checked the address directly on August 17, 2026: siba.sef.pt returns a 301 redirect straight to siba.ssi.gov.pt, and the server identifies itself as AIMA infrastructure. Bookmark the new address. The old one still works today, but nothing says it stays that way.
Who has to report, and which guests count
The obligation applies to anyone who takes payment for accommodation and hosts a foreign guest, full stop. It does not matter if you own one apartment in Cascais or manage forty units across the Algarve. If money changes hands for a bed, the boletim obligation applies to you.
Alojamento Local
Apartments, villas and rooms registered under the AL regime, the largest group of filers on SIBA today.
Hotels and tourist apartments
Classified tourist enterprises report through the same system, usually with higher guest volume per property.
Rural tourism
Turismo rural and turismo de habitação properties carry the identical 3 day reporting duty.
Campsites and marinas
Any paid overnight stay for a foreign guest counts, including camping and recreational moorings with accommodation.
"Foreign" means what it sounds like under the SIBA rules: anyone who does not hold Portuguese nationality. AIMA's own FAQ defines it as guests who "não têm nacionalidade portuguesa," and stops there. That includes a German family renting for a week in Lisbon, a French couple in Porto, and a Spanish guest crossing the border for a weekend in the Algarve. EU citizenship does not exempt a guest from the boletim. Only Portuguese nationals, dual nationals included, are left off the list.
How to register your Alojamento Local on SIBA
Registration happens once, before your first guest checks in. Here is the process as it runs today.
Confirm your RNAL number is active. The Registo Nacional de Alojamento Local number needs to exist before you register on SIBA. AIMA checks every new SIBA enrollment against it.
Go to siba.ssi.gov.pt and open Área Reservada. This is the restricted access section where establishments register and later submit boletins.
Submit your registration. You will need your NIF, the establishment's details, and the RNAL number tied to the property.
Wait for AIMA to issue your access credentials. Guides from the past two years describe activation typically arriving within 1 to 3 working days by email, though it's worth confirming the current timing at first login rather than assuming.
Choose how you'll submit boletins. Type each one directly into the portal, upload a file in the required format, or connect a webservice integration if your property management software supports it.
File your first boletim. The next time a foreign guest checks in, report within 3 working days of arrival, then a second boletim within 3 working days of their departure.
The portal's exact screens change occasionally as AIMA updates the interface. If a menu label above doesn't match what you see, look under Área Reservada or Ajuda for the current wording. The underlying order, RNAL number first, then credentials, then boletins, has held steady since the AIMA transition.
What a boletim de alojamento needs
Every boletim asks for the same fields, whether you're filing for a solo traveler or a family of five. Each person gets a separate entry, children included.
| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| Full name | Exactly as it appears on the ID document presented at check-in |
| Date and place of birth | As shown on the passport or national ID |
| Nationality | Country of citizenship, not country of departure |
| Document type and number | Passport or national ID card, plus issue and expiry dates |
| Country of residence | Where the guest normally lives, which can differ from nationality |
| Arrival and departure dates | Filed as two separate boletins, each inside its own 3 working day window |
Fines for missing or late boletins
The fine sits in Article 203 of Lei n.º 23/2007, the same law that created the boletim obligation. The base range runs from €100 to €2,000, and it scales with how many boletins you missed, not simply whether you missed one. Sources that track the tiers put it at roughly €100 to €500 for up to 10 missing boletins, €200 to €900 for 11 to 50, and €400 to €2,000 for more than 50. If the failure was negligent rather than intentional, the law cuts that range to a quarter.
Some providers publish steeper figures for companies, up to €10,000. We could not confirm that number against the text of Article 203 itself, which does not separate individuals from legal entities in the wording we reviewed. Treat any figure above €2,000 per boletim with caution, and confirm directly with AIMA or a Portuguese lawyer before assuming it applies to your case.
Beyond the fine itself, repeated failures give AIMA grounds to flag the Alojamento Local registration, a slower and more expensive problem than a single missed boletim.
Where this sits in your 2026 compliance list
Guest reporting is one obligation among several this year. From May 20, 2026, EU Regulation 2024/1028 also requires booking platforms such as Airbnb and Booking.com to verify your RNAL number before a listing stays live, and to report activity data to Portugal's Single Digital Entry Point. That's a platform-side check, separate from the boletim you file with AIMA, and it does not stand in for the SIBA reporting duty. If your registration status or municipality has shifted this year, our guide to which areas still allow new Alojamento Local registrations in 2026 covers the current freezes in Lisbon and Porto.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to report EU guests?
Yes. AIMA's rule is nationality, not EU membership. Anyone without Portuguese nationality gets a boletim, including guests from France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and every other EU country.
What is the deadline for filing a boletim de alojamento?
3 working days from the guest's arrival, and a separate boletim within 3 working days of departure. Weekends and Portuguese public holidays don't count toward the 3 days.
What if I use Airbnb or Booking.com to manage my listing?
The platform doesn't file the boletim for you. Airbnb and Booking.com aren't connected to SIBA and don't submit guest reports on a host's behalf. You, or whoever manages the property, still have to report every foreign guest directly through the portal.
Do I have to report Portuguese guests?
No. The obligation only covers guests without Portuguese nationality. Keeping a record of Portuguese guests in your own guest book is good practice, but SIBA doesn't require it.
What documents do I need at check-in to file the boletim correctly?
A valid passport or national ID card for every guest, children included. You need the document number, its issue and expiry dates, nationality, date of birth, and the guest's country of residence, which is sometimes different from their nationality.
Can someone else file boletins for me?
Yes. A property manager, a co-host, or specialized Alojamento Local software can submit on your behalf once they have access to your SIBA credentials or a webservice connection tied to your RNAL number. Legal responsibility for filing stays with the registered operator even when someone else does the data entry.
How Portugal Portfolio handles this for managed owners
Portugal Portfolio has filed boletins for owners along the Cascais and Lisbon coast since 2005, back when the obligation still ran through the old SEF portal. Every guest who checks into a property we manage gets reported inside the 3 day window, logged, and kept on file, so an owner never has to remember a deadline or explain a missed filing during an inspection.
If AIMA already sent you a notice, or you're not sure your RNAL number and SIBA registration are actually linked, tell us the address and we'll check it before it turns into a fine.
Talk to someone who files this every week
Send us the property address and your current RNAL status. We'll tell you exactly where the SIBA registration stands before it becomes a fine.
Fale connosco Read the AL registration guide+351 214 867 767 · info@portugalportfolio.com · WhatsApp +351 918 602 009
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