The Unemployment Benefit is a cash amount paid each month to those who are in a situation of involuntary unemployment and provided that they are registered at the Employment Centre or Employment Service of the Employment and Vocational Training Centres (hereinafter referred to as Employment Service).

The Unemployment Benefit is aimed to compensate for the loss of earnings.

If you do not meet the entitlement conditions to the Unemployment Benefit, you may be entitled to the Initial Unemployment Social Benefit or the Subsequent Unemployment Social Benefit.

The Unemployment Social Benefit is a cash amount paid each month to those who are in a situation of involuntary unemployment and provided that they are registered at the Employment Service.

The Unemployment Social Benefit is aimed to compensate for the loss of earnings.

This benefit is paid when:

• The entitlement conditions to the Unemployment Benefit (or the Initial Unemployment Social Benefit) are not met or you have already received all the Unemployment Benefits to which you were entitled (Subsequent Unemployment Social Benefit);

• The household monthly income per household member does not exceed €348,61 [80% of the Social Support Index (IAS – Indexante dos Apoios Sociais) value].

There are 3 possibilities:

1. If, during the vocational training course, you do not receive any training grant, there will be no change in the Unemployment Benefit granting period;

2. If you receive a training grant and the respective value is equal to or higher than the Unemployment Benefit amount, the benefit payment is completely suspended during the vocational training course, being resumed after the end of the course and for the period that was remaining at the beginning of the course;

3. If the training grant value is lower than the Unemployment Benefit amount, the benefit payment is partially suspended, i.e., during the vocational training course, you will receive the difference between the Unemployment Benefit amount and the training grant value.

The Unemployment Benefit granting period to which you would be entitled after the end of the training course is reduced according to the amounts of the partial unemployment benefits paid during the course.

There is entitlement to an increase in the Unemployment Benefit amount if, in the same household, both spouses or persons living in a de facto relationship are receiving the Unemployment Benefit and have dependent children or similar.

The increase is granted to each of the beneficiaries and if one of them stops receiving the Unemployment Benefit and starts receiving the Subsequent Unemployment Social Benefit or remains unemployed and is not receiving any benefits for that reason, the other beneficiary continues to be entitled to the increase.

You may apply for the Social Integration Income (Rendimento Social de Inserção) if you are in a situation of extreme poverty.

This support consists of:

• A cash benefit aimed to ensure the satisfaction of your minimum needs;

AND

• An integration programme which includes a contract (a set of actions established in accordance with the characteristics and conditions of the applicant’s household, aiming at a progressive social, work and community integration of the household members).

NEETs are young people who are not in employment, education or training. This indicator includes unemployed and inactive young people (i.e., not actively seeking employment).

The Institute for Employment and Professional Training (IEFP – Instituto de Emprego e Formação Profissional) is creating a network of partners with the objective of bringing into the education or vocational system at least 30 thousand young people who are not in employment, education or training.

This is a strategy to be developed under the Youth Guarantee (Garantia Jovem), and its main objective is to provide young people between the ages of 15 and 29, who are not studying or working, an opportunity to invest in their qualifications and be in contact with the labour market, within four months after registering on the programme’s website or with the respective partners.

There is the Parental Allowance, which has the following modalities:

• The Initial Parental Allowance;

• The Initial Parental Allowance granted exclusively to the mother;

• The Initial Parental Allowance granted exclusively to the father;

• The Initial Parental Allowance granted to one parent if the other is unable to take the initial parental leave.

If, between the end of the employment contract and the childbirth, a period of less than 6 months has elapsed without contributions payment, you may be entitled to the Initial Parental Allowance, provided that you have completed the qualifying period.

If you have not completed the qualifying period for the Initial Parental Allowance granting, you may be entitled to the Initial Parental Social Allowance, provided that you meet the means testing condition.

This allowance is a cash support granted to pregnant women for the time considered necessary by the doctor, when there is risk to the health of the mother or the child (high-risk pregnancy). The clinical risk leave days are not deducted from the Initial Parental Leave to which you will continue to be entitled.

Who is entitled to this allowance?

• Employed women (with an employment contract) who pay Social Security contributions, including domestic service workers. Note: In the event of suspension or termination of the employment contract, the allowance for clinical risk during pregnancy may be granted, provided that no more than 6 consecutive months have elapsed without contributions payment, between the date of suspension or termination of the employment contract and the date of the event;

• Self-employed women (issuing “green receipts”, or individual entrepreneurs) who pay Social Security contributions;

• Beneficiaries of the Voluntary Social Insurance Scheme who either work on vessels owned by foreign companies or are research fellows;

• Holders of Unemployment Benefits (Unemployment Benefit, Unemployment Social Benefit, Allowance for Activity Cessation of economically dependent self-employed persons, Allowance for Activity Cessation of entrepreneurs and members of statutory bodies of legal persons) whose payment is suspended during the time the person concerned is receiving the Allowance for Clinical Risk during Pregancy;

• Holders of the Relative Invalidity Pension, Old Age Pension or Survivor's Pension, who are working and paying Social Security contributions;

• Workers in pre-retirement, in a situation of reduced work provision;

• Homeworkers.

No. But you can apply for the Social Allowance for Clinical Risk During Pregnancy, which is a cash support granted to pregnant women for the time considered necessary by the doctor, when there is risk to the health of the mother or the child (high-risk pregnancy) and in case the mother does not meet the entitlement conditions to the Allowance for Clinical Risk during Pregnancy.

The clinical risk leave days are not deducted from the Initial Parental Leave to which you may still be entitled.

No. But you can apply for the Parental Social Allowance, which is a cash support available to parents who do not work or pay Social Security contributions and to those who work and pay contributions, but do not meet the entitlement conditions to the Parental Allowance.

The Initial Parental Social Allowance is granted for a period of up to 120 or 150 consecutive days, depending on the parents' choice.

There is the extraordinary support for the most vulnerable families who are beneficiaries of the Social Electricity Tariff (TSEE – Tarifa Social de Energia Elétrica), with reference to the month of March 2023. This extraordinary support is aimed to compensate for the cyclical price increase.

Families that are not beneficiaries of the Social Electricity Tariff may also be entitled to this support, provided that at least one of the household members is entitled to one of the legally established minimum social benefits or one of the children receives the 1^st or 2^nd income level of the Family Benefit.

This is a cash support of EUR 30/month per household and paid on a quarterly basis.

Considering that this support is paid by bank transfer, you have to register or update your IBAN on the Social Security Online Service.   

All children born as of 1 September 2021, who attend kindergartens, family kindergartens from the solidarity network and Social Security childminders, as well as kindergartens from the for-profit sector that integrate the Reserve Pool of kindergartens within the scope of the measure for access to free kindergartens.

To consult the offer available in the free kindergartens network and apply for the access to a free kindergarten, if necessary, please download the App “Happy Kindergarten", available on the IOS and Android operating systems.

Families can choose the kindergarten they want their children to attend, provided there is a vacancy in the solidarity network (Social Solidarity Private Institutions with a cooperation agreement).

If there is no vacancy in the solidarity network, families may choose a kindergarten from the for-profit sector, provided that it integrates the Reserve Pool of kindergartens within the scope of the measure for access to free kindergartens.

Private kindergartens may be covered by this measure. Ministerial Order no. 305/2022 of 22 December extends the application of the measure for access to free kindergartens to licensed kindergartens from the for-profit network.

In accordance with Ministerial Order no. 198/2022 of 27 July, the amounts paid in any capacity at the time of registration by parents or legal representatives must be returned.

Also, Ministerial Order no. 305/2022 of 22 December establishes that the amount paid for the purpose of reserving a place, in the form of a guarantee, which cannot exceed the amount of  EUR 25, must be returned when the service provision contract is concluded.

If there is no vacancy in the solidarity network, families may choose a kindergarten from the for-profit sector, provided that it integrates the Reserve Pool of kindergartens within the scope of the measure for access to free kindergartens.

Within the scope of the “Escola Digital” (Digital School) programme, the Ministry of Education services have sent instructions to schools on the access to computers and internet connection for students.

Students covered by the School Social Action A level, who attend secondary education and do not have a computer at home, are the first to receive the equipment.

Each student will receive a laptop, headphones with microphone, a backpack, a hotspot and a SIM card that guarantees connectivity from anywhere in the country (assuming a responsible use of mobile data).

Three types of computer have been defined for the following school levels:

The 1^st cycle of basic education;

The 2^nd and 3^rd cycles of basic education;

The secondary education level.

The identification of the equipment delivered is registered on a platform that centralises information on the computers allocated to each group of schools/non-grouped school.

In order to have access to vouchers for the free delivery of school textbooks, the students’ parents/guardians must register on the “MEGA” platform or the App “Edu Rede Escolar”. The registration is free of charge.

The vouchers are available in the personal area of each guardian, on the “MEGA” platform.

If you are accessing to the platform for the first time as a parent/guardian, you must confirm your taxpayer number and have your access credentials to the Tax Administration Portal with you so that your registration may be validated.

Each parent/guardian has access to the following information on the platform:

• the school data of the respective child(children);

• the vouchers corresponding to the school textbooks;

• and the list of participating bookshops where you can pick up the school textbooks.

The vouchers may be printed or submitted in digital format.

If you do not have access to the internet, you may request the vouchers in paper format at the school where your child is enrolled. If your child’s name is not yet in the school records, you should start by confirming with the school whether the classes have already been formed.

The aim of the School Social Action (ASE – Ação Social Escolar) is to contribute to the school expenses of students who belong to households with low socio-economic resources. Therefore, this is a public measure to combat social exclusion and early school leaving.

The School Social Action levels – A, B and C – are determined according to the Family Benefit income levels and the support is intended for food, purchasing school materials, financing study visits and school transport.

The School Social Action is aimed at students from the pre-school, basic and secondary education levels who belong to households without the economic capacity to bear the costs in different areas related to education, such as food or teaching materials.

Therefore, a student is entitled to benefit from the School Social Action provided that:

• His/her residence is in Portugal;
• He/she is attending compulsory education at a public educational establishment;
• He/she belongs to a family whose overall income is equal to or lower than the value established for the 3^rd income level considered for the Family Benefit granting.

There may be other school supports, which may even have higher values, depending on the municipality of residence of the person concerned. These additional supports can make all the difference to the family budget and it is the Municipal Council that decides on their granting.

The parents/guardians must submit the application at the School Group/School where the student is enrolled, within the time limit established for this purpose.

Free meals at schools are a type of support integrated into the School Social Action support, as provided for in Decree-Law no. 55/2009.

Parents and guardians of children with special educational needs can benefit from specialised support at each stage of learning. These inclusive education measures begin in early childhood and continue until the student completes higher education.

Decree-Law no. 54/2018 establishes the legal framework for inclusive education. The objective is to ensure that teaching processes are adapted to the individual characteristics and conditions of each student. “Even in cases where greater difficulties in participating in the curriculum are identified”, it is up to the school to find diversified strategies to overcome them.

There is a measure that is part of the National Programme for the Promotion of Oral Health (PNSO – Programa Nacional de Promoção da Saúde Oral), which provides for children from the age of 4 to be referred for oral hygiene consultations in health centres or receive up to two dentist-cheques. Other children, aged under 6, have access to a dentist-cheque when oral health problems are detected. The objective is to improve the oral health of the Portuguese, through the reduction of oral diseases in the younger population, with the creation of conditions for access to dental consultations.

Children and young people aged between 7 and 18, who attend private schools, are now covered by the dentist-cheque measure, similarly to the students attending public schools and Social Solidarity Private Institutions.

Dentist-cheques give access to dental consultations with a doctor included in the national list of the National Programme for the Promotion of Oral Health and can be used anywhere in the country.

To have a family doctor, you must make your registration at the health centre of your residence area, by simply submitting your identification document and proof of your residence at the nearest health unit. The process is simple and free of charge.

To find out which is the nearest health centre to your residence, please consult the NHS webpage.

After being registered, you will have to choose a family doctor from the list of doctors practicing in that health unit. If his/her patient list is filled, you will be referred to another doctor from the same health unit.

If you still do not have a family doctor assigned to you, you should contact your health centre and inform about your condition and ask for a doctor to be assigned, so that your health and that of your baby may be safely and effectively monitored.

Referrals for specialty consultations are carried out by the assigned family doctor. In this sense, you should schedule a consultation with your family doctor to share your concerns and symptoms with him/her so that he/she may assess a possible referral to the most appropriate specialty.

Social assistance is a personalised service available to all people who are in a situation of social vulnerability or monetary need and it is aimed to support them in solving their problems. This service normally includes:

• Information and guidance – which allows you to identify the resources and services that may be used to overcome the situation that is worrying you.

• A social integration plan – with concrete actions that you and your family will have access to, in order to improve the situation and overcome or alleviate the problems that you are facing and which is translated into a joint effort between you/your family and the services. These actions could be, for example, finding a kindergarten for your children, vocational training, etc.

• A cash support – when necessary and in order to promote the actions included in the plan.

To obtain social assistance, you must go to the local services of your residence area and request the scheduling of an appointment for social assistance.

The National Programme for the Promotion of Healthy Eating (PNPAS – Programa Nacional para a Promoção da Alimentação Saudável) is aimed to improve the nutritional status of the population, encouraging the physical and economic availability of foods that constitute a healthy eating pattern and creating conditions for the population to value, appreciate and consume healthy foods, integrating them into their daily routines.

The application for social housing can be submitted at any time and is completely free of charge.

Everything is handled online on a platform developed by the Housing and Urban Rehabilitation Institute (IHRU – Instituto de Habitação e Reabilitação Urbana), the public entity responsible for social housing in Portugal.

Childcare, education and teaching facilities are entities with competence in the field of childhood and youth, which must, within the scope of their duties, intervene with children and young people, in cooperation with other partner entities, whenever, due to the circumstances of the case, their isolated intervention is not adequate for the effective protection of the child or young person.

Such intervention must be carried out in a consensual manner with the persons responsible for the child (parents, as a general rule); therefore, it is important to address the issue with them, directly or through another professional from the educational facility where you work.

Then, the Social Assistance and Supporting Service of the Municipal Council of the child’s residence area can be contacted, in order that the situation can be assessed and all the necessary support and resources be provided, namely in terms of access to basic care.

You must communicate the case to the Commission for the Protection of Children and Young People (CPCJ – Comissão de Proteção de Crianças e Jovens) only when it is assessed that there is a situation of danger to the child and that the intervention carried out by the aforementioned entities is not sufficient to remove it.

Domestic violence is a public crime, which means that criminal proceedings are not dependent on the lodging of a formal or informal complaint by the victim, being only sufficient the report or knowledge of the crime for the Public Prosecutor's Office to promote the proceedings.

In any case, when the facts that determined the child's situation of danger constitute a crime, the childhood, education and teaching establishment (as an entity with competence in matters of childhood and youth) must immediately communicate them to the Public Prosecutor's Office or to the police authorities.

Therefore, you should contact the Public Security Police (PSP – Polícia de Segurança Pública) or the Republican National Guard (GNR – Guarda Nacional Republicana).

You must also report the situation to the Commission for the Protection of Children and Young People (CPCJ) of the child's residence area. This communication may be anonymous via the website of the National Commission for the Promotion of Rights and the Protection of Children and Young People (CNPDPCJ - Comissão Nacional de Promoção dos Direitos e Proteção das Crianças e Jovens).

Intervention in situations of domestic violence requires special attention to the protection and safety of the victims; therefore, it is advisable to consult the Manual for Basic and Secondary Education when there are children and young people in a domestic violence situation.

Whenever it is verified that a child or young person is in danger, this must be communicated to the Commission for the Protection of Children and Young People (CPCJ) of his/her residence area, or, if that address is unknown, of the area where the child or young person is on that occasion.

You can also complete the Form for Communication of a Person in Danger.

The CPCJ intervention takes place when the parents, the legal representative or the de facto guardian endanger the safety, health, training, education or development of the child or young person, or when this danger results from the action or omission of a third party or of the child or young person, and the parent/legal representative/de facto guardian does not adequately oppose to it, in order to bring the child or young person out of this situation.

A child or young person is considered to be in danger when he/she is in one of the following situations, namely:

• he/she is abandoned or lives on his/her own;

• suffers from physical or psychological abuse or is a victim of sexual abuse;

• does not receive the care or affection appropriate to his/her age and personal situation;

• is in the care of third parties for a period of time during which a strong bond has been established with them and, simultaneously, the parents did not exercise their parental duties;
• is forced to carry out an activity or work that is excessive or inappropriate for his/her age, dignity and personal situation or that is detrimental to his/her training or development;
• is subject, directly or indirectly, to behaviours that seriously affect his/her safety or emotional balance;
• assumes behaviours or engages in activities or consumptions that seriously affect his/her health, safety, training, education or development and the parents, legal representative(s) or de facto guardian(s) do(does) not adequately oppose, in order to bring the child or young person out of this situation.

If you are experiencing an abuse situation, you should immediately seek help through the following contacts:

• Police/ambulance – national emergency line 112
• Social emergency line – 144;
• Any post of the Public Security Police (PSP – Polícia de Segurança Pública) or the Republican National Guard (GNR – Guarda Nacional Republicana);
• Information Service for Victims of Domestic Violence of the Commission for Citizenship and Gender Equality (CIG) - SMS 3060 or 800 202 148 (this line is free – 24 hours a day);
• Victim support line of the Portuguese Association for Victim Support (APAV) 116 006;
• Commission for the Protection of Children and Young People of your residence area, which can be consulted here.

Any worker who becomes unemployed can apply for the Unemployment Benefit. To do this, you must register with the Employment Service of your residence area.

To register with the Employment Service, the foreign citizen must have his/her situation regularised in Portugal, being required to submit one of the following documents:

• Valid residence permit or the respective renewal application receipt; or

• Another authorisation that allows him/her to have an employment contract; or

• A valid temporary protection title, if he/she is a refugee or stateless person.

The Local Support Centres for the Integration of Migrants (CLAIM - Centros Locais de Apoio à Integração de Migrantes) are reception, information and support offices/spaces whose mission is to support the whole process of reception and integration of migrants, coordinating with the various local structures, and promoting interculturality at a local level.

These offices/spaces provide support and general information in various areas, such as regularisation, nationality, family reunification, housing, voluntary return, work, health, education, among other everyday issues.

The CLAIM Network has also specialised Local Support Centres for the Integration of Migrants (CLAIM), which intervene in different areas, in order to complement and solidify their integration process.

You should contact the Migrant Support Line, which is available to provide a quick answer to the most frequently asked questions from migrant people, providing all the information available  on the “Migrations” area, by telephone or forwarding the calls to the competent services whenever the topic falls within the competence of another entity.

Migrant Support Line - 808 257 257 / 218 106 191:

Advice on situations that require an effective response to Portuguese non-residents and their referral to solutions that allow answering questions in the areas of access to work, housing, health, education, among other areas;

• Support the return to Portugal of emigrants who request it, liaising directly with the Emigrant Return Support Office (GARE - Gabinete de Apoio ao Regresso Emigrante);

• Coordination with the Migrant Entrepreneur Support Office (GAEM - Gabinete de Apoio ao Empreendedor Migrante), supporting entrepreneurship on the part of emigrants.

If you need immediate intervention with a person who is homeless, you should contact the National Social Emergency Line – 144, whose objective is to help all people in a social emergency situation.

In order to enrol your child/children in a school, firstly you must gather all the necessary documents. If you have difficulty in obtaining these documents, you should explain the situation to the school services. The enrolment application should preferably be submitted via the internet using the computer application available on the Schools Portal - www.portaldasescolas.pt.

If it is not possible to comply with the aforementioned provisions, the enrolment request may be submitted in person at the competent services of the education and teaching establishment concerned, and these services must register the enrolment in the previously mentioned computer application.

Access to healthcare should not be restricted by barriers of a purely administrative/bureaucratic nature.

In accordance with the Basic Health Law (LBS - Lei de Bases da Saúde) and article 4 of Decree-Law no. 52/2022 of 4 August, all Portuguese citizens as well as all citizens with permanent residence or in a situation of temporary stay or residence in Portugal, who are nationals of EU Member States or treated as such, nationals of third countries or stateless persons, applicants for international protection and migrants, with or without their legal status regularised in accordance with the applicable legal scheme, are beneficiaries of the National Health Service (SNS - Serviço Nacional de Saúde).

Immigrants who do not hold a stay or residence permit or are in an irregular situation, according to the immigration legislation in force, are entitled to have access to the Portuguese National Health Service, provided that they submit a document issued by the Parish Council of their residence area certifying that they have been residing in Portugal for more than 90 days.

The Child Guarantee Local Centres (NLGPI) are working groups especially aimed at the problems and needs of children, young people and their families in situations of social vulnerability and, in addition to the respective listed areas, they can always include people who do not belong to the Social Action Local Councils (CLAS – Conselhos Locais de Ação Social) and that may be of added value in these thematic areas.

The composition of these working groups may vary, depending on the size of each territory; however, they must seek to cover all the areas provided for in the Council Recommendation establishing a European Child Guarantee, Pillars of the Child Guarantee Action, and include the Coordinator of Local Contracts for Social Development (CLDS – Contratos Locais de Desenvolvimento Social) in territories where this programme is aimed at child poverty.