Organisations helping migrants in Portugal: CPR, JRS, Red Cross and CLAIM centres

Information checked on 2 November 2026.

In an emergency in Portugal, dial 112. For an asylum claim, the Portuguese Refugee Council (CPR) provides free legal support at every stage of the procedure. For jobs, housing, interpreting or psychological support, JRS Portugal supports migrants and refugees. The Portuguese Red Cross (Cruz Vermelha Portuguesa) helps with shelter, food, health care and family tracing. For everyday procedures, the public network of CLAIM centres, run under the responsibility of the AIMA agency, informs and guides people across the country.

This guide presents the organisations helping migrants in Portugal: what each does, for whom, where, and the link to reach it. It points you in the right direction; it does not give legal advice. Compatri has no link with any of them. For the steps of a stay on a long-stay visa, also read arrival procedures in Europe with a long-stay visa, country by country.

Organisations helping migrants in Portugal at a glance

Opening hours and addresses change often: they are not listed here. Follow the link before you go.

Before a first visit, gather your passport (or any ID), letters from the authorities, proof of address and work if you have them, and a written list of your questions. Say straight away if you have a deadline: an appointment, an appeal deadline, a summons. If you do not speak Portuguese, ask for an interpreter: JRS Portugal and the CNAIM offer one.

Asylum claims: CPR

CPR (Conselho Português para os Refugiados) is the reference organisation for asylum in Portugal. According to its website, the law recognises its role in providing direct and free legal support at every stage of the asylum procedure. Its legal service advises asylum seekers and refugees, from reception to integration into Portuguese society.

CPR also runs refugee reception centres (CAR I and CAR II) and a home for refugee children (CACR). In 2025, it recorded 36,304 legal, social and integration consultations and gave legal support to 1,139 people. Reach it through its contact page.

JRS Portugal (Jesuit Refugee Service) also works with asylum seekers: legal help, temporary reception, and an asylum guidance programme (PROA) launched in September 2026. It also follows people held in administrative detention.

Papers, residence and procedures: CLAIM and CNAIM centres

AIMA (Agência para a Integração, Migrações e Asilo) is the public agency in charge of migration. It is not an association, but you will deal with it for your residence permit.

CLAIM, local help desks

CLAIM (Centros Locais de Apoio à Integração de Migrantes) are welcome, information and support offices for migrants across the country, under AIMA's responsibility. Many are run by partners: municipalities, associations, universities. They give information on:

• regularising your migration status;
• housing, work, health and education;
• nationality, family reunification, social security;
• voluntary return and starting a business.

JRS Portugal, for example, runs CLAIM Porto and CLAIM Santa Clara.

CNAIM, several services under one roof

CNAIM (Centros Nacionais de Apoio à Integração de Migrantes) bring together in one place several public services (labour, social security, health, education, civil registry) and specialised support desks: reception and triage, social affairs, legal support, job placement and higher education. They offer telephone interpreting in around fifty languages. The gov.pt portal warns that its page may be out of date and points to the AIMA website for current information; in September 2026, a Pessoas 2030 programme notice refers to CNAIM mediation in the « lojas AIMA ». So check on the AIMA website which office will see you.

Emergencies, shelter and health: the Portuguese Red Cross

Cruz Vermelha Portuguesa says it guarantees migrants and refugees shelter, food and health care, and support to rebuild their lives: psychosocial support, help reconnecting with family, social and professional integration. In a project funded by the European AMIF fund (FAMI), it trained about 600 professionals working with migrants, refugees and asylum seekers (mental health, psychosocial support, intercultural skills).

If you have lost track of a relative during the journey, its Restabelecimento de Laços Familiares service works with the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement to reunite families.

Jobs, housing and mental health: JRS Portugal

JRS Portugal covers almost every settling-in need:

• employment support and a training academy, which trained 320 migrants in 2025;
• housing support;
• social support;
• mental health, with consultations and volunteer doctors;
• interpreting in 35 languages;
• temporary reception centres.

To ask for help, use its « Precisa de apoio? » page or its contact page.

The Cáritas network

Cáritas Portuguesa brings together 20 diocesan Cáritas, from the Azores to Viseu, including Lisbon, Porto, Braga, Coimbra, Setúbal, Faro (Algarve) and Funchal. In January 2025, it co-signed with 36 other organisations an open letter to the government calling for an emergency structure for vulnerable migrants, better legal aid and fewer language barriers. What each diocesan Cáritas offers varies: ask the one in your diocese.

Who to contact, by need

Beware of scams

A serious organisation never promises a residence permit. Be wary of anyone who asks for money for an AIMA appointment, promises to « speed up » a file, or claims to be a lawyer without proving registration with the Ordem dos Advogados. In Portugal, a lawyer is registered with the bar: ask for their number and check. The organisations in this guide sell no result.

Keep a copy of every document you hand over, never give away your passport, and sign nothing you do not understand, especially an employment or rental contract.

Compatri: fellow nationals in Portugal

An organisation sorts out a file; a community surrounds you. On Compatri, the Portugal page gathers cities and meetups, such as Lisbon and Porto. Diaspora pages lead to your community: Cape Verdeans in Portugal, Angolans in Portugal, Bissau-Guineans in Portugal. Those who arrived before you know which CLAIM answers quickly and how an appointment goes. You can join your community before you leave, read how mutual aid between fellow nationals works and browse all communities. The directory of diaspora associations mainly lists associations in Belgium for now.

To compare, see organisations helping migrants in Europe and the Americas and in Spain.

Sources

• CPR: home
• CPR: legal support
• JRS Portugal: home
• JRS Portugal: asking for help
• Cruz Vermelha Portuguesa: migrants and refugees
• Cruz Vermelha Portuguesa: social action
• Cruz Vermelha Portuguesa: training professionals (AMIF project)
• Cáritas Portuguesa: where we are
• Cáritas Portuguesa: open letter of January 2025
• gov.pt: local CLAIM centres
• gov.pt: national CNAIM centres
• Pessoas 2030: CNAIM, mediation in the lojas AIMA