Author
Accommodation of spontaneous asylum applicants
As mentioned in Freedom of Movement, asylum applicants are generally referred by frontline service providers to the social monitoring subgroup following admission to the regular procedure, or in case of appeals against negative decisions. At this point, the provision of housing is relayed by either local Social Security services in the remainder of the country or by SCML in the Lisbon municipality.
According to information provided by ISS, asylum applicants are mostly accommodated in private housing (rented flats/houses and rooms) without prejudice to accommodation provided by relatives in Portugal and placement in collective accommodation facilities such as hotels or non-dedicated reception centres, e.g., temporary accommodation facilities, shared flats, insertion communities, etc. While ISS manages reception facilities where applicants for and beneficiaries of international protection may be accommodated in certain circumstances, none of them has places specifically assigned to such persons. Within the Integration Support Teams managed by CPR and Associação VITAE under MoUs with ISS, accommodation of asylum applicants is provided in hotels, shared rooms or flats, depending on the individual needs of each case.
Applicants supported by SCML are accommodated either in private housing, or in hostels.[1] A very limited number of asylum applicants are sometimes referred to homeless shelters managed by the organisation on a temporary basis to address specific vulnerabilities.
The provision of special reception conditions for unaccompanied children during the asylum procedure is managed by ISS. For more information, see: Special reception needs of vulnerable groups.
As mentioned in Responsibility for Reception, from the end of 2023 the reception system during admissibility (including Dublin) and accelerated procedures on the territory had to adjust to the change in asylum authority and to capacity constraints. Following a contingency plan where AIMA provided accommodation directly through the youth hostel network until mid-2024, the Agency expanded its reception capacity in the second half of 2024 by signing MoUs and contract services with new reception entities in addition to CPR.
According to AIMA, applicants for international protection are mostly accommodated in reception centres, collective accommodation and rooms in shared appartements, managed by entities that have signed a MoU/contract service with the Agency. In 2025, the main host entities were CPR, Adolescere, JRS, Convento de Balsamão, and Amato Lusitano. The Agency also resorted to the youth hostel network.
AIMA states that facilities must comply with criteria set out in the contracts with host entities, including capacity, physical conditions such as room size, common areas and kitchen facilities, and the composition and adequacy of staff. According to AIMA, the selection of the location and type of facility is based on an individual assessment taking into account the applicant’s specific needs, family unit, and availability of places. No further information on its practical implementation has been provided.
AIMA did not provide information on the total capacity and occupancy of the asylum reception system in 2025 during admissibility (including Dublin) and accelerated procedures on the territory.
AIMA did not clarify the type of reception facilities provided by each organisation, nor did it give details on the number of asylum applicants each organisation received. It is not clear if and how many reception centres are specialised and specifically assigned to asylum applicants.
Adults and families with children who receive reception conditions provided by CPR are accommodated at CPR’s Refugee Reception Centres (CAR 1 and CAR 2) or very occasionally in private accommodation provided by CPR (apartments and rooms in the private market or hostels) during admissibility (including Dublin) and accelerated procedures on the territory. CPR’s Refugee Children Reception Centre (CACR) offers unaccompanied children appropriate housing and reception conditions regardless of the stage of the asylum procedure.
CAR 1 is an open reception centre located in Bobadela, Municipality of Loures, and operates in the framework of MoUs with the Ministry in charge of Migration and the Ministry of Labour, Solidarity and Social Security. The official capacity of CAR 1 stands at 60 places but, in practice, the centre can accommodate up to 70 persons. As a complement to CAR 1, CPR manages a private house (CVG) with a capacity for 25 persons.
CAR 2 is an open reception centre located in S. João da Talha, Municipality of Loures. It used to be specifically devoted to the reception of resettled refugees, but it has become part of CPR’s reception response for spontaneous asylum applicants in March 2024. CAR 2 has a maximum capacity of 90 places.
In 2025, CPR provided reception assistance to a total of 637 asylum applicants,[2] an average of 214 per month, of which 92% were accommodated at CAR 1/CAR 2/CVG, and 8% in alternative private accommodation (including rooms in private apartments and hostels). The average accommodation period with the assistance of CPR in 2025 was 146 days (roughly 4 and a half months), falling to 100 days in the final quarter of the year.
CPR ensures accommodation until ISS or SCML take over. As such, asylum applicants only leave its facilities when alternative accommodation is secured (see Responsibility for Reception).
CACR is an open specialised reception centre for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children located in Lisbon that has operated since 2012 in the framework of MoUs with the Municipality of Lisbon and the Ministry of Labour, Solidarity and Social Security. It has an official capacity of 12 places.[3]
In 2024 CPR signed a new MoU with the Ministry of Labour, Solidarity and Social Security which restructured the way in which cases are referred to CACR. CACR is now a specialised residential unit for emergency situations within the scope of national ISS responses. In total, 21 children were accommodated in 2025, representing 14 new admissions.
According to JRS, in 2025 the organisation accommodated 268 asylum applicants across its reception centres in Vila Nova de Gaia and Vendas Novas during admissibility (including Dublin) and accelerated procedures on the territory. The average accommodation period with the assistance of JRS was 100 days. Both centres closed in December 2025 due to the current funding model (see Responsibility for reception).
Apart from spontaneous applicants, during 2025, CPR accommodated 12 refugees resettled under the National Resettlement Programme (nationals of Iraq, Iran, Syria, Eritrea and Sudan), 12 Afghan asylum applicants under the humanitarian admission programme, and 2 asylum applicants under the humanitarian boat rescues in the Mediterranean.
Access to adequate housing is identified as a major issue within the national context by asylum applicants, refugees and NGOs.[4] Factors such as high prices, and contractual demands including high deposits, need of guarantors and proof of income hinder the capacity of asylum applicants and refugees to access the market directly, and that of frontline service providers to increase reception capacity. Consequently, asylum applicants and refugees often have to resort to overcrowded or sub-standard housing options when accessing the private housing market.[5] According to Aldeias de Crianças SOS, housing instability affects young asylum applicants during the transition to autonomy, leading them to prioritise employment over education.
The 2023 edition of the Statistical Report of OM also highlighted that reception entities are under pressure to respond to the accommodation of all spontaneous asylum applicants due to factors such as the increase number of applications, lack of human and financial resources, and lack of places for reception.[6] There is no available statistical report for 2025.
Emergency reception
Decree-Law 26/2021 of 31 March 2021[7] created a National Pool of Urgent and Temporary Accommodation and a National Plan of Urgent and Temporary Accommodation. Recognising the lack of solutions in this regard, the National Plan aims to create structured responses to people in need of emergency or transitional accommodation.[8]
According to the Decree-Law, the National Plan covers persons under the mandate of the entities that form the restricted line-up of the SOG (SEF and ACM – replaced by AIMA – and ISS).[9] Referrals of applicants for/beneficiaries of international protection to accommodation within this context should be made by ISS and AIMA.[10] Such referrals must be communicated to the SOG.[11] Additionally, entities responsible for the reception of applicants and beneficiaries of international protection may access support to promote urgent and temporary accommodation solutions for the National Pool.[12]
By the end of 2025, the implementation and impact of this legislation in cases involving applicants for international protection was unclear.
[1] In 2025, SCML contracted three hostels for this purpose: two with capacity for 27 and 52 people respectively, intended for households and women, and one with capacity for 70 people, exclusively for single men.
[2] Including applicants for international protection whose applications were made before 2025.
[3] The original capacity was 13, but it was reduced to 12 in the context of the new MoU with the Ministry of Labour, Solidarity and Social Security signed in 2024.
[4] In addition to CPR, this has been identified as a structural obstacle to autonomy by JRS, SCML, Aldeias de Crianças SOS, Crescer, and Associação VITAE in their contributions to the 2025 AIDA Report.
[5] It should be noted that while these issues are not only specific to applicants and beneficiaries of international protection, factors such as the absence of support networks increase their impact in asylum seeking and refugee families.
[6] Migration Observatory, Requerentes e Beneficiários de Proteção Internacional – Relatório Estatístico do Asilo 2023, July 2023, available here, 153.
[7] Available here. The functioning of the National Pool of Urgent and Temporary Accommodation is governed by Ministerial Order 120/2021, 8 June, available here.
[8] Article 11 Ministerial Order 120/2021, 8 June defines the maximum periods of emergency/transition accommodation – 15 days or 6 months, respectively, that may be renewed for an equal period. A specific regime applies to victims of domestic violence.
[9] Article 5(1)(b)(iii) Decree-Law 26/2021 of 31 March.
[10] Article 12(1) and (2) Ministerial Order 120/2021, 8 June.
[11] Article 12(3) Ministerial Order 120/2021, 8 June.
[12] Article 12 Decree-Law 26/2021 of 31 March; article 26(c) Decree-Law 37/2018 of 4 June; article 7(c) Ministerial Order 120/2021, 8 June.