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The white neoclassical facade of the Palácio de São Bento in Lisbon, seat of the Assembleia da República, with the Portuguese flag flying above its pediment

Portugal's Intelligence Watchdog Reports the Services Are Weighing AI Tools, and Asks Parliament Again to Settle Metadata

Two meetings, two inspections and 36 pages. The oversight council says the services performed within the law, and repeats a warning it has been making for years about the legal vacuum around metadata.

The Portugal Brief 21 Sep 2026

Lisbon's Praça do Comércio at dusk, the lit equestrian statue of King José I in the foreground and the yellow arcaded buildings and Castelo de São Jorge beyond

From Wednesday It Is an Offence to Cover Your Face in a Portuguese Public Space, and the Town Hall Collects the Fine

Lei n.º 58/2026 takes effect on 23 September. The fine runs to 3,000 euros, forcing someone else to cover their face is a crime carrying up to two years, and the exceptions are wider than the headline suggests.

The Portugal Brief 21 Sep 2026

An STCP low-floor bus in service on the streets of Porto

Using Portugal's Trains, Metros and Buses With Reduced Mobility in 2026: A Practical Guide to the CP SIM Service, the 24-Hour Notice Rule and the 50 Percent Circula.PT Discount

What European law entitles you to on a Portuguese train or coach, how much notice CP and the long-distance carriers may require, what the assistance dog decree says, and how a 60 percent incapacity certificate turns into a 50 percent discount on a monthly pass.

The Portugal Brief 21 Sep 2026

The platform at Gare do Oriente in Lisbon at night, with a CP train beneath the station's steel canopy

Too Few Complaints Sent Portugal's Ombudsman Into the Metro, and 25 Recommendations Came Back Out

The Provedoria de Justiça opened its inquiry into transport accessibility in Lisbon and Porto precisely because so few people were complaining. At Oriente it counted five of fourteen platform lifts out of service, and in Lisbon a fifth of the bus fleet is not accessible.

The Portugal Brief 21 Sep 2026

The Procuradoria-Geral da República at Palácio Palmela in Lisbon, the body that issues apostilles in Portugal today

Portugal's Notaries Are Set to Start Issuing Apostilles, and the Data Watchdog Named Five Conditions Before the Platform Can Open

A draft ordinance would finally switch on a power written into the Notarial Statute in 2004, letting notaries issue apostilles through a platform run by the Ordem dos Notários. The CNPD cleared it on 8 September with five changes, from retention periods to blocking AI crawlers.

The Portugal Brief 21 Sep 2026

The public counters and waiting area inside the central civil registry office in Lisbon

The Convenção Antenupcial in Portugal in 2026: A Practical Guide to the Prenuptial Deed, the Waiver of Forced-Heir Rights That Only Works Under Separação de Bens, and the Five Years in the Family Home It Leaves Behind

Portuguese law reserves a fixed share of your estate for your spouse and children, and no will can override it. Since 2018 there has been one narrow way out, it lives in the prenuptial deed, and it only works if your property regime is separation.

The Portugal Brief 20 Sep 2026

The Arco da Rua Augusta on Lisbon's Praça do Comércio, seen against a clear blue sky

Portugal Pledges 203 Million Units of Account to the African Development Bank, a Sum the Government Says Will Almost Certainly Never Be Called

A Council of Ministers resolution signs Portugal up to 20,333 shares of callable capital, holding its 0.231 percent stake as the bank's authorised capital rises by 58 percent to protect its triple-A rating. No cash is expected to move.

The Portugal Brief 20 Sep 2026

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