General Daily Briefing: Thursday, 24 September 2026
Good morning. Here is your Thursday briefing for 24 September 2026: the day's essential Portugal stories for residents, immigrants and anyone keeping an eye on the country, from crowded classrooms to a ferry fare aimed at tourists, plus two new practical guides.
- Education: close to 460 state school classes have 30 or more pupils, and the minister says getting every child a place comes first.
- Health: mobile nursing units in the Médio Tejo have given 1,169 consultations since February, most of them in storm-hit Mação.
- Immigration: Portugal's labour secretary of state told Angolans in Luanda to come through the official route, with a contract waiting.
- Transport: Transtejo wants to raise the 2-euro single fare on the Cacilhas ferry for tourists, leaving monthly passes alone.
- Culture: an alliance of Amazon Indigenous peoples has won the Gulbenkian Foundation's one million euro Prize for Humanity.
- Defence: the executive agreement for Portugal's new munitions factory should be signed next week, Nuno Melo says.
Flying a Drone in Portugal in 2026
Portugal's drone rules come in two layers: the European rulebook that applies across the EU, and a Portuguese layer on top. The guide covers when you must register with ANAC, the open-category subcategories and the online pilot test, compulsory insurance above 900 grams, no-fly areas, aerial photography authorisation and the fines.
Lost and Found in Portugal in 2026
Found a wallet, a phone or a stray dog? The Civil Code says what a finder must do, what expenses they can claim back, when an unclaimed find becomes theirs after a year and how buried treasure is split, while the Criminal Code makes keeping someone else's property a crime.
Crowded Classrooms: 459 Classes at or Above 30 Pupils
The Education Minister, Fernando Alexandre, told parliament on Wednesday that of roughly 52,000 state school classes, 335 have 30 pupils and 124 have more. "Some have gone over the limit, but the rules allow that," he said in a debate on the start of the school year requested by the PCP. His priority, he argued, is that no child is left without a school; a better-suited class can be found afterwards. Enrolments are still arriving: 52 pupils were unplaced at the start of the week, 179 new enrolments came in on Monday and 149 requests on Tuesday. He blamed late enrolments and said a significant number involve foreign pupils joining mid-year. The Socialists said the regional planning meetings of the schools directorate used to prevent this; Alexandre confirmed he had ended them, arguing that parents can now choose the school they want. Families still waiting should deal directly with the school cluster where they applied.
Nursing Care on the Road in the Médio Tejo
The ULS Médio Tejo's mobile health units, funded by the Recovery and Resilience Plan, have given 1,169 nursing consultations since February, 702 of them in Mação, where the service was expanded after this year's storms. After starting in Alcanena, Tomar and Torres Novas, the units now also run routes in Abrantes (Fontes, Martinchel, Vale das Mós and São Facundo on Mondays and Fridays), Vila de Rei (ten localities on Tuesdays) and Mação (Vale de Cardigos and Amêndoa on Wednesdays), with Sardoal's route still being finalised. The nurses follow people with diabetes and high blood pressure, give vaccinations and injections, run screenings and can arrange a teleconsultation with a doctor. The ULS chair, Casimiro Ramos, stressed that the units do not replace the family doctor. Residents on the routes can check days and times with their health centre or town council.
Work in Portugal, Through the Front Door
On a visit to Luanda that runs until Friday, the Deputy Secretary of State for Labour, Adriano Moreira, said Portugal needs workers and is open to Angolans who come through the official channel. "On the Portuguese side they will have an employment contract waiting," he said after meeting Angola's Secretary of State for Social Action, Dina Mayimona. The route rests on protocols between the two governments, and Moreira tied it to social protection from day one, including health care and unemployment cover. A labour attaché is now in post in Luanda to smooth the visa side, and Portugal wants vocational training delivered in Angola before departure where possible. Separately, Wednesday's Diário da República published Decreto n.º 20/2026, approving a Portugal and Angola cooperation agreement on civil protection and firefighting. Angola is the second-largest nationality among Portugal's foreign residents after Brazil.
A Dearer Ferry Ticket for Tourists, Not Commuters
Transtejo Soflusa will ask for authorisation to raise the 2-euro occasional ticket between Cais do Sodré and Cacilhas by more than inflation, while keeping monthly passes at their current price. "More than 90 percent of the occasional tickets I sell on the crossing are tourist service," the chair, Rui Rei, told Lisbon's municipal assembly transport committee on Wednesday, adding that the state budget "does not have to finance tourism". The company depends on the state for 68 percent of its money and wants that down to 50. Rei gave no new fare or date. He also said daily cancellations are down more than 90 percent, links to Moita and Parque das Nações are being studied, and a fleet renewal plan favouring smaller electric boats goes to the government by the end of March. TTSL also clarified that cash is still accepted at the Terreiro do Paço ticket machines; only the staffed counters are card-only.
The Gulbenkian Prize Goes to the Amazon
The Lisbon-based Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation has awarded its 2026 Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity, worth one million euros, to the Alianza Ceibo, an alliance of the A'i Kofán, Siekopai, Siona and Waorani peoples that protects more than two million hectares of forest in Ecuador, Peru and Colombia. A jury chaired by Angela Merkel chose it from 304 nominations from 73 countries. The foundation credits the alliance with a court ruling that gave the Siekopai title to their ancestral land, another that annulled 52 illegal mining concessions, 1,164 rainwater filtration systems serving more than 6,500 people affected by oil contamination, and 200 solar systems for homes, schools and patrol posts. The foundation's president, António Feijó, called it "a powerful example of Indigenous leadership in the fight for climate justice". The prize has distributed six million euros since it began in 2020.
A Munitions Plant Agreement Due Next Week
The Defence Minister, Nuno Melo, said on Wednesday that the executive agreement for Portugal's planned munitions factory should be signed "in principle" next week. "We lost it," he said of the country's old munitions industry, citing Braço de Prata. The government has said it wants a stake of 35 to 51 percent in a plant costing about 45 million euros and creating more than 100 jobs; neither partners nor site were named. Melo gave no date for the revised Military Programming Law, which must be updated this year. At the same event, the 51st anniversary of the Military Judicial Police, its director-general, Rear Admiral Paulo Isabel, called for a "legal refoundation" to replace the force's 2009 organic law, a staff statute and a multi-year investment plan. Melo said those changes are being studied.
