Who is registered
Foreign citizens, whatever their nationality and EU citizens included, fill in and sign a boletim de alojamento in person (Law 23/2007, article 15). The bulletin lets the authorities know which foreign citizens are in the country.
The deadline and the channel
The hotel communicates each bulletin within three working days (Law 23/2007, article 16, and Portaria 415/2008). It does so electronically through SIBA, the accommodation bulletin system, where the establishment registers first as a user.
SIBA is now run by Portugal's Internal Security System, at siba.ssi.gov.pt.
What Vesia does
- The guest fills in the online check-in from their phone, with the fields SIBA asks for: the country that issued the document, read from the document itself.
- Vesia prepares the bulletin for foreign guests only, with countries in the ICAO codes, the document number in letters and digits, and the establishment identified by its tax number (NIPC).
- When the check-in is complete, the bulletin goes into a queue that sends it with the hotel's own credentials. This sending is built and starts with the first hotel in Portugal, which makes the first live submission.
- Vesia keeps the fields of the identity document and leaves the image of the document out.
Frequently asked questions
Who fills in the boletim de alojamento? Every foreign guest, EU citizens included. Portuguese guests are outside this obligation.
What is the deadline to send the bulletin? Three working days, electronically, through SIBA.
Which credentials are used to send it? The hotel's own. Vesia's sending is built and starts with the first hotel in Portugal.