The complete SIBA guide for Alojamento Local hosts (2026)
Everything AL hosts in Portugal need to know about SIBA in 2026 — what it is, who submits, deadlines, fines, how to automate it, and the mistakes that get you fined.
If you run an Alojamento Local in Portugal and take a single foreign guest, you're legally required to file a Boletim de Alojamento in the SIBA system. Miss it and the fine per guest can reach €3,750.
This is the definitive guide: what SIBA is, who submits, the deadlines, the fines, the two ways to file, and the 8 mistakes that get AL hosts penalised. It's written for owners — not lawyers — and updated for 2026 after the AIMA transition.
What is SIBA?
SIBA = Sistema de Informação de Boletins de Alojamento. It's the government platform where every accommodation in Portugal — hotels, hostels, and Alojamento Local — reports the arrival of foreign guests to the immigration authority.
The report itself is called a Boletim de Alojamento (BA). One BA per guest, including children.
SIBA is not the same thing as:
- INE WebInq (monthly tourism statistics — different portal, different data)
- Tourist tax / Ecotaxa (municipal declaration — different body)
- Airbnb / Booking.com data sharing (private, no legal weight for SIBA)
If you've been telling Airbnb about your foreign guests and thinking that's enough — it isn't. See our comparison of SIBA vs INE WebInq.
Who runs SIBA in 2026?
Until October 2023, SIBA was run by SEF (Serviço de Estrangeiros e Fronteiras). SEF was dissolved and its accommodation-reporting duties transferred to AIMA (Agência para a Integração, Migrações e Asilo).
What changed in practice:
- The portal moved: use siba.ssi.gov.pt. The old siba.sef.pt address no longer works.
- The official support channel is now siba@ssi.gov.pt.
- Enforcement has visibly tightened since 2024 — fines that used to be quietly ignored are now issued.
What did not change:
- The Boletim itself
- The 3-working-day deadline
- Your existing SIBA credentials
Who has to submit?
Every accommodation that hosts a non-Portuguese guest, no matter how briefly. That includes:
- All AL types (moradia, apartamento, hostel, quartos)
- One-night stays
- Children (yes — one BA per child)
- EU citizens (yes — "foreign" means non-Portuguese, not non-EU)
- Guests staying for free
Portuguese citizens with a Portuguese ID (Cartão de Cidadão) do not go into SIBA. Portuguese residents holding a foreign passport still do.
The deadline
3 working days after the guest's check-in. Not 3 calendar days. Weekends and national holidays don't count.
Example: guest arrives Friday. You have until Wednesday.
The clock starts at check-in, not at booking. Cancel a booking before arrival and no BA is due.
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