European citizenship, but still stuck chasing permanent residency in Portugal.

I’ve been living in Portugal for over 5 years. Just before hitting the 2-year mark, I became a German citizen. I was relieved—finally, no more dealing with the same red tape as non-EU citizens. Or so I thought.

When I tried to get my EU residence certificate at the City Hall, they refused because I already had a temporary residence card (from my non-EU days) and told me to contact SEF. That was over 3 years and more than 300 phone calls ago.

Now, my residence is about to expire. I’m still trying to reach SEF (or AIMA now), and I could face problems at work because of this. All while being a European citizen, with full rights to live and work here.

Only in Portugal. 🙃