Settling in Portugal
Your new life.Your bearings in Porto.
A school for your children. Care for your family. The practical information you need to prepare your move.
Porto, Portugal
Finding the right school
International and French-language programmes, in Porto.
Selection · 5 schools shown
Lycée français international de Porto
Porto — Aldoar, Foz do Douro e Nevogilde (rua Gil Eanes) · City
FrenchFrench curriculum
From pre-school to upper secondary
AEFE-accredited — partner school (établissement conventionné)
About this school
AEFE directory: Rua Gil Eanes 27, 4150-348 Porto; fifteen of fifteen levels accredited. The official website confirms pre-school, primary, lower secondary and upper secondary; the share of teaching in other languages could not be read (page largely dynamic).
CJD International School (Colégio Júlio Dinis)
Porto — rua do Porto Feliz (Campanhã) · City
EnglishBritish curriculum
From primary to upper secondary
About this school
Official website: Rua do Porto Feliz s/n, 4350-016 Porto; international section following the Cambridge programme from Primary 1 to Year 13 (IGCSE, AS and A Level), separate from the Portuguese national section of the same school (from nursery to secondary). No pre-school in the international section.
CLIP — Colégio Luso-Internacional do Porto (Oporto International School)
Porto — rua de Vila Nova (Lordelo do Ouro) · City
EnglishBritish curriculum
From pre-school to upper secondary
Council of International Schools and Cambridge logos under the heading “accredited by” (website)
About this school
Official website: Rua de Vila Nova 1071, 4100-506 Porto; curriculum based on the English National Curriculum, adapted; admissions from Pre-K to Form 12, IGCSE (Form 10) and A Level (Form 12) (Admissions page). A commercial directory wrongly places the school in Vila Nova de Gaia.
Deutsche Schule zu Porto (Escola Alemã do Porto)
Porto — rua Guerra Junqueiro (Boavista) · City
German · PortugueseGerman curriculum
From pre-school to upper secondary
German school abroad (according to the school)
About this school
Official website: Rua Guerra Junqueiro 162, 4150-386 Porto; kindergarten, primary school and Gymnasium up to the Abitur; bilingual German-Portuguese school. Recognition by the Federal Republic not detailed on the page consulted.
Oporto British School (OBS)
Porto — Foz do Douro (rua da Cerca) · City
EnglishBritish · IB
From pre-school to upper secondary
COBIS member
About this school
Official website: Rua da Cerca 338, 4150-201 Porto; early years, primary following the English National Curriculum, Key Stage 3, Cambridge IGCSE then the IB Diploma. COBIS member (COBIS search, Portugal filter).
Check available places and admission requirements directly with each school.
Where this list comes from
Schools in Porto and its outskirts (Vila Nova de Gaia, Matosinhos, Maia) offering a French, foreign or international curriculum. Sources: the AEFE directory, the COBIS member search, then each school's official website; other names were found in a commercial directory and confirmed on the school's website. The official Portuguese list of foreign-curriculum schools (DGEstE / DGE) could not be found online and the IB database was not consulted (anti-bot check). No foreign-curriculum school was confirmed in the outlying municipalities. Excluded: schools offering only the Portuguese national curriculum, including those that merely add English teaching following Cambridge; hybrid or online schools and their “hubs”; language centres, Saturday classes and universities.
Compiled from the registers cited; it does not claim to be complete.
- AEFE — Rechercher un établissement (établissements homologués, Portugal)
- COBIS — COBIS School Search (filtre Portugal)
- Lycée français international de Porto — site officiel
- Oporto British School (OBS) — site officiel
- CLIP — Colégio Luso-Internacional do Porto (Oporto International School) — site officiel
- Deutsche Schule zu Porto (Escola Alemã do Porto) — site officiel
- CJD International School (Colégio Júlio Dinis) — site officiel
List updated on Oct 15, 2026.
Your guide to healthcare
Understand your cover and prepare the first steps.
Mandatory health insurance
Depends on status
No private health insurance is imposed on all residents: access to the SNS is based on residence.
Access to the public system
Under conditions
Foreigners legally resident in Portugal access the SNS on the same terms as nationals and receive a single, permanent national user number (número de utente) in the Registo Nacional de Utentes (despacho 1668/2023).
What is your situation?
Show the information that applies to you.
Your cover · General rules
Mandatory health insurance
No private health insurance is imposed on all residents: access to the SNS is based on residence.
Read the details
No private health insurance is imposed on all residents: access to the SNS is based on residence. The requirement depends on the residence permit and the stage. At the visa application stage, including D7, D8, study or work residence visas, the application includes valid travel insurance covering medical expenses, urgent medical assistance and possible repatriation (Regulatory Decree 84/2007, Article 12, consolidated version); an applicant who proves that it is impossible to obtain it may be exempted. At the stage of the residence permit issued by AIMA, the general regime (Article 77 of Law 23/2007) and permits for study (Articles 91 and 92) require health insurance or proof of SNS cover. The residence permit for investment (ARI, “Golden Visa”) requires proof of health protection: SNS cover, or internationally recognised health insurance covering the entire duration of the stay applied for or automatically renewable. The AIMA pages on residence permits for remote work (D8), for employed activity and for self-employed activity do not mention insurance. Health protection is checked primarily by consulting SNS databases (Regulatory Decree 84/2007, Article 42-M); renewal of a temporary residence permit (Article 63) no longer includes an insurance requirement.
Access to public healthcare
Foreigners legally resident in Portugal access the SNS on the same terms as nationals and receive a single, permanent national user number (número de utente) in the Registo Nacional de Utentes (despacho 1668/2023).
Read the details
Foreigners legally resident in Portugal access the SNS on the same terms as nationals and receive a single, permanent national user number (número de utente) in the Registo Nacional de Utentes (despacho 1668/2023). For a third-country national, registration is “active”, and care is covered, when the person has a NIF and a residence permit issued by AIMA; otherwise, registration is “transitional” for the maximum period indicated, care is then invoiced, and registration becomes inactive if the situation is not regularised. For a citizen of the EU, EEA or Switzerland resident in Portugal, registration takes place at the health centre on presentation of the Portuguese social security number (NISS) if they work or receive a Portuguese pension, the validated S1 form if they remain insured in another State, or the residence registration certificate issued by the town hall (Câmara Municipal) if they are not working; they then pay only the taxas moderadoras. Whatever the administrative situation, urgent and life-saving care, communicable diseases, maternal and child health, care for resident minors and vaccination remain accessible.
- Resident
- A third-country national holding a residence permit and a NIF obtains active registration with the SNS and accesses care on the same terms as Portuguese nationals.
- Citizen of the European Union, EEA or Switzerland
- If they settle without working or receiving a pension, they apply for the residence registration certificate at the Câmara Municipal and present it at the health centre to obtain their número de utente. During a temporary stay (tourism, studies, short-term posting), the European Health Insurance Card (CESD in Portugal) or its provisional replacement certificate gives access to necessary care; only the taxas moderadoras remain payable.
- Employee
- An employee who is an EU citizen registers with the Segurança Social to obtain their NISS, then at the health centre with this proof. An employee from a third country falls, once they hold the residence permit for employed activity, under the ordinary SNS rules; the AIMA page on this permit does not mention insurance. Employee social security contributions are not a condition of access to the SNS; their rate has not been verified against an accessible official source.
- Self-employed
- Self-employed workers contribute to the Segurança Social at the rate indicated, on relevant income declared each quarter and equal to a fraction of their turnover; a separate rate applies to sole traders. These contributions fund social protection, not access to the SNS, which depends on residence. The AIMA page on the residence permit for self-employed activity does not mention insurance.
- Visa and residence permit for study
- The study visa application includes the travel insurance required for any visa. The residence permit for higher or secondary education requires health insurance or proof of SNS cover; Instituto Camões scholarship holders are exempt.
- Retiree from another EU State (S1 form)
- A retiree who remains covered by the scheme of another EU State, the EEA or Switzerland submits the S1 form to the Segurança Social district centre for their place of residence, which validates it and gives them a copy; on this basis, the health centre registers them in the Registo Nacional de Utentes. They then access care on the same terms as Portuguese insured persons.
- Retiree from a third country
- A retiree who is a third-country national generally settles with a D7 visa (see below); once they hold the residence permit, they fall under the ordinary SNS rules.
- D7 visa (retirees, passive income)
- The visa application includes the travel insurance required for any visa. At the residence permit stage, the AIMA page on the general regime requires health insurance or proof of SNS cover; no AIMA page specific to the D7 was found. Thereafter, registration with the SNS on the basis of residence.
- Digital nomad visa (D8)
- The visa application includes the travel insurance required for any visa; the article of the regulatory decree specific to this visa adds no insurance requirement, and the AIMA page on the corresponding residence permit does not mention one. Thereafter, registration with the SNS on the basis of residence.
- Golden Visa (ARI)
- The application for a residence permit for investment must prove health protection: a certificate of SNS cover, or internationally recognised health insurance covering the entire duration of the stay applied for or automatically renewable.
Your first steps
- Obtain a tax identification number (NIF).
- Third-country national: obtain the residence permit from AIMA. EU citizen: obtain the registration certificate from the Câmara Municipal and, as applicable, the NISS from the Segurança Social or validation of the S1 form by its district centre.
- Go to the health centre for your place of residence with these documents to be registered in the Registo Nacional de Utentes and receive the número de utente.
- Ask the primary care unit to assign you a family doctor; this is not automatic.
Official sources
- Décret réglementaire 84/2007, version consolidée — article 12 (documents à joindre à une demande de visa) — Diário da República (Portugal)
- Décret réglementaire 84/2007, version consolidée — article 12, dispense — Diário da República (Portugal)
- Décret réglementaire 84/2007, version consolidée — article 42-M (preuve de la protection maladie) — Diário da República (Portugal)
- AIMA — Autorização de Residência para Investimento (art. 90.º-A) — Agência para a Integração, Migrações e Asilo (Portugal)
- AIMA — Autorização de Residência (Regime e Requisitos Gerais, art. 77.º n.º 1) — Agência para a Integração, Migrações e Asilo (Portugal)
- AIMA — Autorização de Residência para estudantes do ensino superior (art. 91.º) — Agência para a Integração, Migrações e Asilo (Portugal)
- AIMA — Autorização de Residência para estudantes (art. 92.º) — Agência para a Integração, Migrações e Asilo (Portugal)
- AIMA — Autorização de Residência para atividade profissional prestada de forma remota (D8) : documents demandés — Agência para a Integração, Migrações e Asilo (Portugal)
- SNS 24 — Acesso a cuidados por cidadãos estrangeiros (mis à jour le 3 juillet 2026) : formulaire S1 — Ministério da Saúde — SNS 24 (Portugal)
- SNS 24 — Acesso a cuidados por cidadãos estrangeiros : citoyens de l'Union inactifs — Ministério da Saúde — SNS 24 (Portugal)
- SNS 24 — Acesso a cuidados por cidadãos estrangeiros : coûts — Ministério da Saúde — SNS 24 (Portugal)
- SNS 24 — Taxas moderadoras (mis à jour le 22 septembre 2026) : exonération pour insuffisance économique — Ministério da Saúde — SNS 24 (Portugal)
- ACSS — Perguntas frequentes sur les taxas moderadoras (mise à jour février 2025) — Administração Central do Sistema de Saúde (Portugal)
- ERS — Alerta de supervisão n.º 6/2025 (18 décembre 2025) : taxas moderadoras — Entidade Reguladora da Saúde (Portugal)
- ERS — Alerta de supervisão n.º 6/2025 : dispense en cas d'orientation par le SNS — Entidade Reguladora da Saúde (Portugal)
- ERS — Accès des citoyens étrangers aux soins (présentation technique, 27 septembre 2023) — Entidade Reguladora da Saúde (Portugal)
- ERS — Alerta de supervisão n.º 6/2020 (mis à jour le 10 novembre 2020) : accès des étrangers au SNS — Entidade Reguladora da Saúde (Portugal)
- Segurança Social — Fiche d'information sur la modification du régime des travailleurs indépendants (décret-loi 2/2018) — Segurança Social / Direção-Geral da Segurança Social (Portugal)
- CLEISS — Votre couverture maladie lorsque vous partez en vacances au Portugal — Centre des liaisons européennes et internationales de sécurité sociale (France)
Information updated on Oct 15, 2026.
Please note