Getting Permanent Residence in Portugal
The permanent residence permit, the five year clock, the A2 language rule, and how it differs from citizenship and the EU long-term resident permit.
The Portugal Brief
Diabetes Specialists Warn a Stale Health-Registry Record Could Strip Patients of Their Medicine Subsidies
Portugal's diabetes specialists warn that out-of-date records in the SNS national patient registry can quietly break the co-payment on medicines and monitoring devices — a clinical risk, not just a bureaucratic one, for a group of more than a million people. How to check your registration before it
Portugal Prepares to Shut the 'Front Shops' Used to House Migrants Illegally, as Lisbon and Porto Demand a Say in Licensing
The government is preparing measures to close the 'lojas de fachada' — shops that trade by day and become illegal migrant dormitories by night — with an autumn licensing overhaul, and Lisbon and Porto want a formal say in which businesses get licensed. What it means for anyone renting at the cheaper
A Plan to Put 683 Homes on a Derelict Lisbon Barracks Runs Into Its Neighbours
A long-derelict block of central Lisbon, the former Campolide barracks, is slated for 683 homes up to twelve storeys — with no affordable units and a waived environmental assessment. Residents have taken their objections, Público reports, to the prosecutors and Brussels.
Tourists Reclaimed €88.6 Million in Portuguese VAT Last Year, and Just Four Nationalities Drove Half the Receipts
Foreign visitors reclaimed €88.6 million in Portuguese VAT on their shopping last year, and four nationalities — Brazil, the US, Angola and China — drove more than half the receipts, most of it in Lisbon. Portugal is banking on higher-value tourists over higher volumes.
Portugal Ranks Eighth in the World for Expats in 2026, but a Smaller Survey Flatters the Rebound
The InterNations Expat Insider 2026 survey ranks Portugal eighth in the world, and fourth for personal finances — its best showing in years. But the field shrank to 31 countries from 53, and the score that flatters Portugal most measures the expat experience, not what locals can afford.
Markets, Business & Tech Briefing: PSI Slips as State Re-enters REN
📋 In This Edition
* Market Wrap: A Softer Monday as Retail and Grid Names Lead the Retreat
* The Big Story: The State Buys Its Way Back Into REN After 12 Years
* Pharol: Frankfurt Clears João Moreira Rato for the Chair
* Bonds and the Euro: Lisbon Holds Firm as Core Europe Sells