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Getting Divorced in Portugal

Researched and written with AI tools from official sources. How we make our guides

How divorce works in Portugal: the registry office route by agreement, the court route, what it costs, property, the family home, children, and residence.

The Portugal Brief 9 min read

Getting Divorced in Portugal

Last verified: October 2026.

Who this is for

  • You are married, live in Portugal, and want to end your marriage, with or without your spouse's agreement.
  • You married abroad, or you and your spouse have different nationalities.
  • Your residence permit is linked to your marriage and you want to know where you stand.

Not for you if: you only need to settle maintenance for your children. Read Child Support in Portugal instead.

In Portugal you can divorce without your spouse's agreement and without proving anyone was at fault. If you both agree on the divorce and on the main practical issues, you can divorce at a civil registry office (conservatória do registo civil). You do not need a lawyer. It costs €280, or €625 if you also divide and register your shared property at the same time. If you cannot agree, a court decides, and you need a lawyer. No official processing time is published. A registry divorce is faster when your paperwork is complete.

Which route fits you

There are three kinds of divorce:

  • Divorce by agreement at a registry office. You both want to divorce and agree on the essential issues. This is the simplest and fastest route.
  • Divorce by agreement in court. You both want to divorce, but you cannot agree on one or more of the issues. The court settles them.
  • Divorce without consent (divórcio sem consentimento). Only one of you wants the divorce. You apply to the court and must show a legal reason.

Before you decide, you can try state family mediation. A mediator helps you agree on the divorce, the children, maintenance, and the family home without a court. You apply through gov.pt.

Divorce by agreement at a registry office

You can use this route only if you agree on all of these:

  • what happens to the home you lived in (casa de morada de família)
  • whether one of you will pay the other maintenance, and how much
  • the list of your shared property and its value
  • how you will share parental responsibilities for any children under 18
  • what happens to your pets, if you have any

Where to apply. You can apply in person at a civil registry office, yourselves or through someone with a power of attorney. You can also apply online if you both hold a Portuguese citizen card (Cartão de Cidadão). That online option is only for Portuguese citizens and Brazilians with equal rights status. Other foreign residents apply in person.

Documents you need:

  • a written request to divorce, signed by both of you (you can write it at the registry office)
  • your agreement on parental responsibilities, or the court decision on them, if you have children under 18
  • your agreement on maintenance between you, if one of you will pay
  • your agreement on the family home
  • your agreement on your pets, if any
  • a list of your shared property with values, or, if you are dividing it now, your agreement on how
  • a certificate of your prenuptial agreement, if you made one that is not shown in your marriage record

Bring your identity documents. If you married abroad, the registry office may also ask for your marriage certificate. See the section on foreign documents below.

The steps:

  1. You hand in the request and agreements.
  2. The registrar (conservador) checks them and, if all is in order, books a divorce meeting (conferência) with both of you.
  3. If you have children under 18, the registrar first sends your parenting agreement to the public prosecutor (Ministério Público). If the prosecutor asks for changes, you can correct the agreement or make a new one.
  4. At the meeting, the registrar confirms the agreements and grants the divorce.

If you refuse the prosecutor's changes, the case goes to court. The registrar also sends it to court if any agreement does not protect one of you or your children. It is still a divorce by agreement, but a judge decides it.

What it costs and how long it takes

RouteCost
Registry office, without dividing property€280
Registry office, with division and registration of shared property€625
Court, by agreement or without consentCourt fees plus your lawyer's fees

The registry office can waive its fee if you prove you cannot afford it. For court cases, you can ask for legal aid. See Applying for Legal Aid in Portugal.

No official time is published. A registry divorce depends on whether your documents are complete and, if you have children, on the public prosecutor's reply. Each round of changes adds waiting time.

If your spouse will not agree, you apply to the family court. You must have a lawyer. You must give the reason for the divorce and prove it. The law accepts four reasons:

  • you have lived apart as a couple for more than one year in a row, even if you still share a house
  • your spouse's mental faculties have been seriously affected for more than a year, so you can no longer live together
  • your spouse has been absent, with no news from anyone, for at least one year
  • any other facts that show the marriage has broken down for good, whoever is to blame

The last reason must rest on real facts that show a final breakdown. A short quarrel or a temporary rift is not enough.

How the case runs:

  1. Your lawyer files the case, with the reason, your witnesses, and your evidence.
  2. The court calls you both to a reconciliation attempt. This step is compulsory.
  3. If you reconcile, the case ends.
  4. If you both now want to divorce, the case can become a divorce by agreement in court.
  5. If your spouse still does not want to divorce, they are asked to reply, and the case continues to a decision.

Because divorce no longer depends on fault, you cannot claim compensation for the end of the marriage itself. You can bring a separate civil claim for harm your spouse caused you.

Dividing your property

Divorce ends your property regime and you divide what you share (partilha). What you share depends on the regime you married under.

  • No prenuptial agreement. You married under community of acquired property (comunhão de adquiridos). What each of you owned before the marriage stays yours. What you acquired during it is shared, with some exceptions such as inheritances and gifts.
  • General community (comunhão geral). Almost everything is shared, including what you owned before.
  • Separation of property (separação de bens). Each of you keeps what is in your own name.

In a divorce, neither spouse can receive more than they would have received under community of acquired property. This applies even if you married under general community. You also lose any benefits you received, or were due to receive, because of the marriage.

A spouse who paid much more than their fair share towards the household during the marriage can ask to be compensated in the division.

You can divide property at the same time as a registry divorce, or later. Only registry offices with the Balcão Divórcio com Partilha service handle the division. In a court divorce, the court handles it. For prenuptial agreements, see Signing a Prenuptial Agreement in Portugal.

The family home

The court can let the family home to either spouse, at that spouse's request. This applies even if the home belongs only to the other spouse. The court looks at each spouse's needs and the children's interests. In practice it considers money, age, health, distance to work, and whether you have somewhere else to live.

The arrangement follows the rules for residential leases. The court can set the terms. It can change them later if circumstances change.

Maintenance between ex-spouses

The starting point is that each of you supports yourself after the divorce. Either of you can still be awarded maintenance, whatever kind of divorce you had. It can be refused where that would be clearly unfair.

The court looks at each case, including:

  • how long the marriage lasted
  • what each of you contributed to the household
  • your ages and health
  • your qualifications and chances of work
  • time you will spend raising your children
  • your incomes, and any new marriage or partnership

The spouse who receives maintenance has no right to keep the standard of living of the marriage. Maintenance for children always comes first.

Children

You decide together where your children live, contact with the other parent, and child maintenance. A court or the public prosecutor must approve your agreement. If you cannot agree, the court decides in the children's interests. It aims to keep both parents close to the children. See Child Support in Portugal.

After the divorce, you can keep your married surname only if your former spouse agrees or a court allows it.

Cross-border divorces

If you and your spouse have different nationalities, or live in different EU countries, EU rules decide which courts can hear the divorce. You can usually file where you both live, or where you last lived together if one of you still lives there. You can file alone where you live if you have lived there for at least one year before filing. That drops to six months if you are a national of that country.

Portugal is one of 17 EU countries that use common rules on which country's law applies. You and your spouse can agree to use the law of the country where you live, where you last lived together, where one of you is a national, or where you file.

A divorce granted in another EU country is recognised in Portugal with no extra court procedure. These EU rules do not apply to Denmark.

A divorce granted outside the EU, for example in the UK, the United States, or Brazil, has no effect in Portugal until a Portuguese appeal court (Tribunal da Relação) reviews and confirms it. You need a lawyer for this.

Residence permits after divorce

If your permit came through family reunification. Divorce does not automatically cancel your permit. Family members can get a permit in their own right after two years, while the family tie lasts. A spouse of more than five years can get one straight away. After a divorce, this own permit can come earlier. Speak to AIMA, the immigration agency, before your next renewal. See Applying for Family Reunification in Portugal.

If you are a non-EU spouse of an EU citizen. EU law lets you keep your right of residence after divorce if any of these applies:

  • the marriage lasted at least three years before the divorce started, including one year in Portugal
  • you have custody of your EU spouse's children
  • difficult circumstances justify it, such as domestic violence during the marriage
  • a court has given you access to a child, which must take place in Portugal

Until you have permanent residence, you must still work, be self-employed, or have enough money and health cover.

Ending an unmarried partnership

If you live in a de facto union (união de facto), there is no divorce. The union ends when one partner dies, when one partner marries, or when either partner chooses to end it. You only need a court to declare it over if you want to claim a right that depends on the end of the union. Arrangements for children follow the same parental responsibilities rules as for married parents.

Foreign documents

If your marriage was registered abroad, or you rely on a foreign court decision, the registry office may need the document with an apostille or consular legalisation and a certified translation. EU rules exempt some public documents from an apostille. See Getting an Apostille or Consular Legalisation in Portugal and Getting a Certified Translation in Portugal.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Rules change often; check the official source before you act, and speak to a lawyer about your own case.

Sources

This guide is written from official sources and, where relevant, organisations' own websites.

Last verified October 2026. Rules and fees change; check the official source before acting.

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