How much you’ll pay

You pay standard user fees (taxas moderadoras) for state healthcare services in Portugal.

This means that you’ll pay a fixed amount depending on the service. Your GP in Portugal will be able to tell you what you’ll pay for any treatment.

How much you pay will depend on what you’re being treated for and how you’ve accessed the healthcare system. The Portuguese ministry of health publishes details on user fees (in Portuguese).

Examples of what you’ll pay are:

• 5 euros for a GP appointment
• 15 euros to go to A&E

You’ll need to pay something towards the cost of any prescribed medicine.

You may be exempt from paying fees for some services, prescriptions and treatments, for example if you’re:

• pregnant
• a child under 12
• unemployed

Find out more about paying user fees on the SNS website (in Portuguese) or speak to your GP in Portugal.

Dental care is not usually covered by the Portuguese national health service.

How to register

Before registering for healthcare you need to register as a resident.

If you’re employed, you’ll also need your social security number (NISS). Get this from your employer, or request it from the tax office if you’re self-employed.

To register for healthcare, go to your local health centre (centro de saúde). You’ll need your:

• residence certificate
• passport
• tax identification number (NIF) from your local tax office (finanças)
• social security number (NISS) if you’re employed or self-employed

Once you’ve registered you’ll get a health number (número de utente de saúde). Show this when you visit a doctor in the state healthcare system.

If your UK employer has sent you to Portugal temporarily (‘posted workers’)

A posted worker is someone who is employed or self-employed in the UK, but temporarily sent to another European Economic Area (EEA) country.

Currently, posted workers can use an EHIC or an S1 form to access Portuguese healthcare.

HMRC has a helpline for National Insurance enquiries from non-UK residents. This can answer questions about posted worker status and explain which documents you will need to get healthcare while posted.

There will be no changes to healthcare access for posted workers in Portugal before the end of 2020.

You can continue to use your EHIC or S1 during this time.

There’s different guidance if you have an S1 as a posted worker.

You may be entitled to state healthcare paid for by the UK if you live in Portugal and receive either:

• a UK State Pension
• some other ‘exportable benefits’

Not all UK benefits that can be claimed while abroad entitle you to UK-funded healthcare. Read more about claiming benefits if you move abroad or contact Jobcentre Plus to ask about a benefit.

You may also be entitled to an S1 form if you’re a posted worker or a frontier worker (someone who works in one state and lives in another). You must contact HMRC National Insurance enquiries to find out if you’re eligible.

Once you have an S1 form, you must register it on the Portuguese social security system. This means you and your dependants will be entitled to state healthcare in Portugal on the same basis as a Portuguese citizen.

UK-funded healthcare: using an S1 form in Portugal

How to get an S1 form

Register your S1 form at any social security office (segurança social).

You also need to register your S1 form at your local health centre (centro de saúde).

You’ll need your:

• S1 form
• passport
• residence certificate

You may also need your tax identification number (NIF). You can get this from your local tax office. Once you’ve registered at a health centre, you’ll be issued with a health number (número de utente de saúde). This shows that you’re entitled to state healthcare on the same basis as a Portuguese citizen.

How to use an S1 form in Portugal

If you’re living in Portugal before the end of 2020, your rights to access healthcare will stay the same from 1 January 2021 if you’re either:

• receiving a UK State Pension
• receiving some other ‘exportable benefits’
• a frontier worker (someone who works in one state and lives in another)

This means that you’ll get:

• continued access to healthcare in Portugal using your UK-issued S1 form
• a UK-issued EHIC for travel
• planned treatments in other EU countries via the S2 route
• access to the NHS in England, Scotland and Wales when you’re visiting the UK

UK-funded healthcare using an S1 from 1 January 2021

EHIC if you have a registered S1

You need to get a new UK-issued EHIC that’s valid for travel from 1 January 2021.

If you have a UK State Pension, you must request an application form by phone from NHS Overseas Healthcare Services.

NHS Overseas Healthcare Services
Telephone: +44 (0)191 218 1999
Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm
Saturday, 9am to 3pm

Moving back to the UK

If you return to the UK you’ll be able to use the NHS like any other UK resident.

Studying in Portugal

If you’re in Portugal on 31 December 2020 because you study there, and your course continues beyond 2020, you need to apply for a new UK-issued EHIC.

Your EHIC entitles you to medically necessary healthcare until the end of your study period in Portugal.

From 1 January 2021, your EHIC will only be valid in Portugal. Make sure you have travel insurance to cover the duration of your course.