SIBA, SEF or AIMA? The 2026 Guide for Alojamento Local Hosts in Portugal

If you run an Alojamento Local in Portugal and host foreign guests, your practical filing duty in 2026 is still the Boletim de Alojamento through SIBA. The legal roots are older and still refer heavily to SEF, but Portugal extinguished SEF and transferred administrative migration competences to AIMA while also creating the UCFE within the Internal Security System. The result is the source of most host confusion: people still say “SEF reporting”, some software vendors now say “SIBA/AIMA”, yet the current operational portal is SIBA, the current public authority named on the portal is UCFE, and the current support email is siba@ssi.gov.pt.

For a host, the compliance rule is simple. If you provide temporary paid accommodation to foreign guests, including EU nationals, you must register for SIBA and communicate both arrival and departure within three working days. This duty applies whether the activity is regular or occasional, and it does not apply to ordinary long-term residential leases.

The fastest practical route, if you have just received your AL licence, is to: get your RNAL/AL registration number, register the property in SIBA, select your preferred submission method, collect the legally required guest data before or at check-in, and keep checking for the proof letter generated after sending the bulletin list. Non-compliance can lead to fines that start at €100–€500 for 1–10 missing bulletins or guest records and rise for larger omissions, although negligent late filing is treated more leniently.

A short host checklist is worth putting up on your wall:

1. Register your AL and note your RNAL number. SIBA now explicitly asks AL units to include RNAL at registration, and gov.pt says you must register the AL before starting activity.

2. Open a SIBA account before your first foreign guest arrives. SIBA registration is mandatory for paid temporary accommodation to foreign citizens.

3. Collect the guest’s identity details, nationality, residence country, and check-in/check-out dates. These are the core BA fields published by SIBA.

4. Submit arrival and departure within three working days each. The countdown runs by whole days, regardless of check-in time.

5. Save or verify the issued proof letter. SIBA says the generated “ofício” is your confirmation that the bulletin list was correctly received.

6. Treat tourist tax, INE reporting, and SIBA as separate obligations. They overlap operationally, but they are not the same filing.

The legal picture in 2026

The legal basis for SIBA still begins with Portugal’s Lei n.º 23/2007, the foreigners law. Article 15 says the accommodation bulletin exists to permit control of foreign citizens in Portuguese territory, and that for each foreign citizen, including nationals of other EU member states, a bulletin is to be filled in and personally signed. Article 16 then places the communication duty on hotel-type establishments and, crucially for AL hosts, on all who provide paid accommodation to foreign citizens, with communication due within three working days after arrival and again within three working days after departure.

That older legal language is why many hosts still talk about a “SEF bulletin”. The original system was designed around SEF, and older manuals, domain names, and industry articles still reflect that history. Even the English SIBA manual available online still uses the old siba.sef.pt domain and still mentions siba@sef.pt in parts of the text, which shows how persistent the legacy terminology remains.

The institutional landscape changed after Portugal restructured migration administration. Decree-Law 41/2023 created AIMA and made it the successor to SEF in administrative migration and asylum competences, while also creating the UCFE inside the Internal Security System. A 2024 Council of Ministers resolution likewise summarised that administrative and foreign-citizen matters moved to AIMA. At the same time, the updated SIBA rules and the live SIBA portal now direct hosts to register with UCFE and submit electronically through SIBA.

So, in plain English: SEF is the old name, AIMA is the new migration agency, but SIBA itself is still the practical host-facing system, run around UCFE/SSI for accommodation-bulletin submission. That conclusion is an inference from the current legal and operational sources together: the transition law moved competences away from SEF, but the current SIBA FAQ and contact page still tell hosts to file directly to UCFE through SIBA.

This institutional transition has not been frictionless. The Provedor de Justiça reported that it monitored the SEF-to-AIMA transition and explicitly warned about interoperability and continuity problems during and after the changeover. That matters to hosts because it helps explain why some official materials, portals, and software labels still feel inconsistent in 2026.

The user-prioritised sources broadly point in the same direction. The live SIBA/SSI portal says AL units must provide the RNAL number at registration. The legacy SEF domain still resolves to SIBA content. And the Portugal Resident explainer, while older and not directly fetchable here, is summarised in search results as a guide to AL reporting obligations to SEF and states that foreign citizens, including EU nationals, must complete a lodging bulletin in qualifying accommodation. That is consistent with the law and today’s SIBA FAQ.

One important practical consequence follows from Article 14 of the foreigners law. Foreign citizens entering Portugal from another EU state normally have to make a declaration of entry within three working days, but that duty does not apply where, immediately after entry, they stay in accommodation subject to the Article 16 bulletin duty. In other words, your SIBA filing helps satisfy part of the guest’s entry-reporting chain.

Who must submit and what information you need

The current SIBA FAQ is unusually clear. Registration is mandatory for entities that provide temporary accommodation to foreign citizens for payment, whether the activity is regular or occasional. It defines temporary accommodation as stays with identified arrival and departure dates, and says the rule does not apply to long-term residential leases. The same FAQ expressly says that someone renting rooms, fractions of a house, or the whole property as an apartment or villa must communicate foreign guests to UCFE through SIBA and should register under “Alojamento Local/apartamento” in the unit registration.

For a newly licensed AL host, the timing question is straightforward: register before your first foreign guest check-in. The SIBA front page warns that AL units must include their RNAL number in SIBA registration, while gov.pt confirms that the AL itself must first be registered through the municipal/public-services process.

The legally relevant deadline is also straightforward: three working days after arrival, and three working days after departure. SIBA’s FAQ adds an operational detail that matters in real life: it counts in whole days, from the date of lodging or departure, irrespective of the hour at which the record was made.

The guest data you should treat as the minimum legal intake are as follows. The first group is explicitly listed by SIBA as required; the second group is marked optional in the current technical documentation.

This table consolidates the current host-facing FAQ and the technical field specifications published by SIBA. Where the FAQ and technical format notes differ slightly, the safest approach is to collect enough data to file both the arrival and the later departure without re-contacting the guest.

If you host a family or group, the law softens only the signature rule: one spouse or one member of the group may satisfy the personal-signature obligation for the group. It does not remove the underlying reporting duty for the foreign guests staying in the property.

Penalties are not theoretical. Article 203 of Lei n.º 23/2007 says missing electronic registration or missing bulletins is an administrative offence punishable by fines of €100–€500 for 1–10 omitted bulletins/guests, €200–€900 for 11–50, and €400–€2,000 for more than 51; negligent delay reduces the fine range.

How to register and submit in practice

The official workflow begins in the reserved area of the SIBA portal. The English user manual says you enter the reserved area, choose Enrollment/Inscrição, complete the registration form, choose your sending method, and submit. It stresses that the contact email must be correct, because that is where the activation key and proof emails will be sent. SIBA then sends an email confirming registration and says the activation key will be sent within 48 hours.

The three current practical submission routes are described in SIBA’s technical help:

• Webservices for software-to-SIBA communication without human intervention.

• File upload for software-generated files uploaded in the reserved area.

• Manual portal entry through Entrega de Boletins → Registo de Boletins pelo Portal.

The updated legal text is slightly more formal in wording, but points the same way: registered holders are given electronic communication routes including software-produced files and online form submission.

If you are a small host with one or two properties, manual portal entry is usually the simplest start. The manual says you create a new submission list, open the list while it is “In editing”, add the bulletin details, save each bulletin, and then send the list. After successful submission, SIBA generates an official proof letter, which can later be consulted again in Consulta de Ofícios Emitidos.

If you use a PMS or channel manager, the most efficient professional route is usually webservice. SIBA publishes a development WSDL for testing webservice submissions, and its technical FAQ says the system was built to allow front-office applications to communicate automatically. Commercial tools such as Talkguest and AvaiBook reflect this setup: Talkguest instructs existing users to ask SIBA to switch their method to WEB SERVICE, while AvaiBook advertises automatic guest-registration reporting to SIBA/AIMA as part of its online check-in workflow.

What about iCal?

Here the answer is analytical rather than official: iCal is not itself an official SIBA filing method. SIBA’s official methods are portal, upload, and webservice, while the iCalendar standard is designed to exchange calendar and scheduling information such as events and free/busy data. Because SIBA requires identity fields such as date of birth, document number, issuing country, and residence country, an iCal sync can at best help move booking dates into your workflow; it cannot by itself satisfy the legal bulletin requirement. A PMS can still use iCal as a booking source, then send the guest a check-in form and finally file to SIBA by webservice or leave you to file manually. That last workflow point is an inference from the official methods and field lists.

Common errors and how to avoid them

The most common beginner mistake is postponing registration until the first guest has already arrived. Do not do that. The portal requires AL units to record the RNAL, and the activation flow may take up to 48 hours. If you have just obtained an AL licence, treat SIBA registration as a day-one task, not a task for later in the week.

A second common problem is confusion caused by old labels. Some documents still say SEF, some software pages now say SIBA/AIMA, and current support uses SSI/UCFE. When in doubt, follow the live SIBA FAQ and contacts page, not old screenshots. Today’s support email for assistance, activation-key replacement, method changes, or deactivation requests is siba@ssi.gov.pt.

A third error is assuming that “no confirmation means it probably worked”. SIBA says the practical way to confirm successful receipt is the generated ofício comprovativo in Consulta de Ofícios Emitidos. If you do not see it after submission, check there before assuming the filing was accepted.

A fourth error is relying on outdated “paper fallback” guidance. The Tourism de Portugal technical AL guide still mentions the possibility of paper BA routing through GNR/PSP, because it summarises the underlying legal framework. But the current SIBA FAQ says communication is always electronic through SIBA, and only if there is internet, hardware, or front-office software failure should the accommodation unit notify UCFE and then file electronically as soon as possible. For day-to-day host operations in 2026, you should treat electronic SIBA filing as the rule.

SIBA, tourist tax, INE and privacy

SIBA is only one of several compliance tracks an AL host may face. Tourist tax is normally a municipal obligation, not part of the SIBA filing itself. INE/IPHH is a statistical reporting stream, also separate. Turismo de Portugal’s AL guide says INE can require AL operators to provide monthly statistical information, including guest numbers and overnight stays, and names the IPHH as an example. INE’s current Webinq form instructions say establishments in scope must answer monthly by the 10th, even when there was no guest movement that month.

The interaction point is operational rather than legal identity. The same booking may generate a SIBA duty, a tourist-tax calculation, and an INE/IPHH statistic, but they are not filed in one place. INE’s own instructions underline that tourist tax is separate by saying room-revenue values should be reported without VAT and without the municipal tourist tax. Some Portuguese PMS vendors now market exactly this separation: for example, AvaiBook advertises both automatic SIBA/AIMA reporting and a separate tourist-tax calculator/reporting workflow.

On privacy, the official SIBA GDPR notice is unusually specific. It says UCFE is the controller for BA personal data, the legal basis is compliance with a legal obligation, the purpose is control of foreign citizens in national territory, and the accommodation unit transmits the data securely to UCFE through SIBA. It also says the accommodation unit does not keep the personal data inserted into SIBA, that the data are retained for one year from the day after the guest’s departure is communicated, and that the guest can exercise GDPR rights through the UCFE data-protection contact.

For hosts, the practical GDPR lesson is simple: collect only what you need for legal and operational purposes, use a secure check-in form or secure PMS, avoid storing unnecessary passport copies or ad hoc WhatsApp photos indefinitely, and restrict staff access to guest data. The CNPD’s guide for SMEs is a useful general companion to the SIBA-specific privacy notice because it is aimed at helping small businesses comply with GDPR in day-to-day practice.

Host checklist and sample guest form

If you have just received your AL licence and are not yet signed up for SIBA, this is the practical order that will keep you compliant:

1. Finish AL registration and note your RNAL number.

2. Create your SIBA registration immediately, using the property’s correct contact email.

3. Choose your filing route: manual portal first, or webservice if your PMS/channel manager supports it.

4. Collect required guest data before arrival or at check-in.

5. File arrival within three working days.

6. Check that the proof letter exists in SIBA.

7. File departure within three working days after check-out.

8. Handle tourist tax and INE/IPHH separately if they apply in your municipality or INE sample.

A clean guest-information template, based directly on SIBA’s published fields, can look like this:

textCopyGuest full name:
Nationality:
Date of birth:
Place of birth:
Document type:
Document number:
Issuing country:
Country of residence:
Place of residence:
Check-in date:
Expected check-out date:
Signature:

textCopyGuest full name:
Nationality:
Date of birth:
Place of birth:
Document type:
Document number:
Issuing country:
Country of residence:
Place of residence:
Check-in date:
Expected check-out date:
Signature:

textCopyGuest full name:
Nationality:
Date of birth:
Place of birth:
Document type:
Document number:
Issuing country:
Country of residence:
Place of residence:
Check-in date:
Expected check-out date:
Signature:

That template is deliberately minimal and tracks SIBA’s required and optional field list. For automation, the best version is usually an online pre-check-in form that feeds your PMS and, where available, your SIBA webservice workflow.

Conclusion

The bottom line for 2026 is this: if you are an AL host in Portugal, do not wait for the terminology to become perfect. The official system is still SIBA, the duty still exists, the deadlines are still three working days for both entry and exit, and the safest host mindset is to treat “SEF reporting”, “SIBA filing”, and “SIBA/AIMA automation” as different labels orbiting the same compliance job. Follow the current SIBA portal and UCFE contacts, register early, collect the right data once, and verify every submission.