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Get Healthcare
ACSS is responsible for managing and coordinating the participation of Portugal in the framework of international agreements related to the provision of healthcare services and for following-up financial flows within that remit.
ACSS provides the following information to citizens of other European Union member states and third countries with which Portugal has bilateral agreements related to access to healthcare in Portugal.
Access to the NHS by foreign citizens
Citizens of Member States of the European Union
The Community Regulations for the Coordination of Social Security Systems n.º 883/2004 and n.º 987/2009 establish a situation of equality with nationals, when moving within the European Union (EU), regarding social security rights and illness.
Temporary Stay
In case of need for healthcare in a situation of temporary stay in Portugal (vacation, movement of students, secondments, or situations in period of stay other than final residence), for a European citizen to access to providers of healthcare from the National Health Service it is essential the presentation of the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) whose validity must cover the date of provision of the respective healthcare.
If you are not a EHIC holder at the time of provision of health care, you must quickly request for a EHIC Temporary Replacement Certificate to the Member State of residence, which should cover the period of healthcare and hand it over to the unit providing the care before returning home.
Provision of scheduled healthcare treatments to European citizens
Planned care may be provided in Portugal, but it requires the presentation of S2 Portable Document, duly filled in accordance with the procedures established by the competent Member State (Member State of residence).
For further information, please contact the EESSI directory (Electronic Exchange of Social Security System) that can be found in: http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=1028&langId=en.
Residence of a European citizen in Portugal
In the situation of residence in Portugal in the case of pensioners and their relatives, or families of workers, they should present the S1 document, which attests their right to healthcare.
The S1 document must be requested to the competent institution of the home Member State and presented at the Center for Social Security of your district in Portugal. Contacts are available on the social security website: http://www4.seg-social.pt/contactos4
After establishing the entitlement to healthcare by presenting the S1 document in the Center for Social Security, the unit of primary care of the area of residence will issue a number of user of the National Health Service. With this number, you will be able to obtain primary care and hospital care, urgent or scheduled, in healthcare units of the National Health Service.
Citizens of Third Countries – under Bilateral Agreements
There are bilateral agreements between Portugal and third countries, subject to reciprocity, that allow equal treatment of nationals in a situation of stay or residence in Portugal, covering social security and illness.
The countries with bilateral agreements, which include the protection in sickness, are as follows: Andorra, Brazil, Cape Verde, Quebec, Morocco and Tunisia. These bilateral agreements cover workers, pensioners and their families.
Temporary Stay
In case of need for healthcare in a temporary stay in Portugal it is necessary the presentation of the entitlement document, whose validity must cover the date of the provision of healthcare. The entitlement document must be requested in the country of residence.
The presentation of the entitlement document will make possible the provision of the necessary healthcare, and the respective invoicing is presented to the country of residence for payment. This document will only be accepted in public units of the National Health Service.
In case the mentioned document is not presented at the time of provision of healthcare in a National Health Service unit, the patient will have to pay the cost the healthcare provided.
Please be aware that bilateral agreements do not include reimbursement, meaning that reimbursement is subject to the laws and procedures established in the country of residence.
