General Daily Briefing: Friday, 23 October 2026
Getting a SIM Card and Mobile Plan in Portugal
How to get a Portuguese mobile number, prepaid or monthly, what it costs, how to keep your number when you switch, and the social internet tariff.
Good morning. Here is your Friday briefing for 23 October 2026: the day's essential Portugal stories for residents, immigrants and anyone keeping an eye on the country, below this week's featured guide.
- Inheritance: a succession reform approved on Thursday would let any heir ask a court to sell an inherited home left undivided for two years.
- Health: five measles cases in Lisboa e Vale do Tejo since 6 October bring Portugal's total this year to 15.
- Telecoms: the Competition Authority wants ANACOM to rethink renewing all of MEO, NOS and Vodafone's mobile spectrum, saying it holds Digi back.
- Schools: the Supreme Court of Justice has upheld the annulment of a Braga pupil's suspension over messages in a private WhatsApp group.
- New airport: the Government has told ANA that the state need not pay for land expropriations or further clean-up at Alcochete.
- Regions: Eurostat data show the Alentejo is the only Portuguese region whose economy is still smaller than in 2019.
Forced Sale of Undivided Inherited Homes
The Council of Ministers approved a decree-law on Thursday under a parliamentary authorisation (Lei n.º 49/2026) that would let any heir, a surviving spouse or an executor ask a court to sell a home left in an undivided estate for two years, with the family home protected. It also cuts the time to accept an inheritance from ten years to two. Nothing changes until the President promulgates it and it is published.
Measles Cases Rise in Lisboa e Vale do Tejo
DGS figures given to Lusa show five measles cases in the region since 6 October, three of them imported by travellers with no vaccination record, bringing Portugal's 2026 total to 15. Everyone who needed hospital care has been discharged. Adults born in or after 1970 need at least one MMR dose; if you have symptoms or were exposed, call SNS 24 on 808 24 24 24.
The Competition Authority on Mobile Spectrum
In an opinion to ANACOM, the Autoridade da Concorrência says renewing all the spectrum MEO, NOS and Vodafone hold would limit Digi's expansion and new entrants, and wants the 800, 2100 and 2600 MHz bands reconsidered and offered competitively. ANACOM has yet to decide. Nothing changes for customers for now, and we explain how to switch operator and keep your number.
Private WhatsApp Messages Cannot Ground a Suspension
The Supreme Court of Justice has confirmed the annulment of a 12-day suspension a Braga cooperative school gave a 16-year-old over messages in a closed WhatsApp group, holding that messages passed on without the author's consent are unlawful evidence in a disciplinary process. We set out what the Estatuto do Aluno says about hearings and appeals.
Who Pays for the New Airport Land
The ministers' reply to ANA's July report says the state's duty to provide land at the Alcochete firing range does not make it liable for expropriations, and that further demilitarisation and decontamination costs are for negotiation. Público reports ANA disagrees. Building restrictions already apply in seven municipalities around the site.
Alentejo Alone Below Its 2019 Output
Real GDP in the EU grew 5.6 percent from 2019 to 2024. Every Portuguese region beat that except the Alentejo, which was 0.7 percent smaller, while Madeira led with 15.7 percent. On GDP per head adjusted for prices, Grande Lisboa is the only Portuguese region above the EU average.
Also published since yesterday's briefing
- SNS to Reimburse 15 Percent of Obesity Medicines From February 2027, but Only for Patients Followed by Hospital Obesity Teams Read →
- CP Conductors and Ticket Office Staff Strike on 30 October, the Same Morning as the Lisbon Metro: the Union's Demands and How to Get a Refund Read →
- Private Patient Transport Firms Left Out of Fuel Aid Warn They Could Halt SNS Trips to Dialysis and Cancer Treatment Read →
- Hospital Doctors Paid the Overtime Incentive for Ward Emergency Cover Must Now Help in A&E When It Is Overwhelmed Read →
- Coca-Cola, Nestlé and Danone Agree to Change "100% Recycled" and "Recycle Me Again" Claims on Plastic Bottles Across the EU Read →
- Portugal Lowers the Legal Limit for Lead in Workers' Blood From 70 to 30 Micrograms, Falling to 15 in 2029, and Caps Diisocyanates for the First Time Read →
- Constitutional Court Voids the 2024 Law That Barred Returning Civil Servants From Rejoining Their Old Pension Fund Read →
- EU Flight Delay Rules Give Airlines 30 Days to Pay or Explain From October 2027, as a Claims Firm Ranks TAP Among the Fastest Payers and SATA the Slowest Read →
- Airbnb Bars Hosts From Making Guests Strip Beds, Wash Dishes or Take Out the Rubbish on Bookings From 20 November: What It Means in Portugal Read →
- Portugal Will Open a Consulate-General in Kathmandu for Its 56,000-Strong Nepali Community, but Visa Applications Still Go Through New Delhi for Now Read →
- Portugal Approves the ILO Construction Safety Convention 38 Years On: the Right to Leave Imminent Danger, Free Protective Gear and Drinking Water on Every Site Read →
- No Appeal Beyond the First Court for Drivers Who Lose Their Licence Under the Points System, the Constitutional Court Confirms for a Third Time Read →
- Portugal's Prosecutor-General Orders the First Police Force at a Death to Move the Body Itself, in a Directive Meant to End Delays in Removing the Dead Read →
