General Daily Briefing: Tuesday, 10 November 2026
Free Portuguese Courses for Foreigners in Portugal (PLA)
Who can join the free state Portuguese course, where it runs, how to enrol, the levels, and what the A2 certificate counts for after the 2026 law.
Good morning. Here is your Tuesday briefing for 10 November 2026: the day's essential Portugal stories for residents, immigrants and anyone keeping an eye on the country, below this week's featured guide.
- Portimão hospital: the health minister will remove the chair of the ULS do Algarve and has sent inspectors into the whole Portimão A&E after deaths of patients who waited hours to be seen.
- Courts: each judge at the southern administrative appeal court carries 315 pending cases, more than 15 times the load at the Lisbon Court of Appeal.
- A8 motorway: an arbitration tribunal has ordered the State to pay the A8 operator about 55 million euros over tolls brought in on the former toll-free SCUT motorways.
- Housing: PSD and CDS budget amendments would give parish councils first refusal on property sales and let the larger ones borrow to build homes.
- Online shopping: EU ministers agreed that from July 2028 non-EU platforms such as Shein and Temu must collect the VAT and show all VAT and duty at checkout.
- Housing camps: Lisbon's camp has left the Rossio and plans a protest at the Web Summit, while Porto's camp meets the council today over a Christmas ice rink.
Also today: IPMA's orange warnings for heavy rain in Lisbon, Setúbal, Santarém, Évora, Portalegre and Castelo Branco run until 09:00, with yellow warnings after that. On Wednesday from 12:00 to 21:00, Lisbon, Setúbal, Santarém, Leiria, Beja and Faro are on orange for south-westerly gusts of 100 to 120 km/h, with waves of 5 to 6 metres on the coast from Lisbon to the Algarve. Madeira is on orange for rain and wind from 21:00 tonight. The Government has advised people to travel only if they need to; check IPMA and ANEPC before setting out.
A New Board for the Algarve
Ana Paula Martins will dismiss the ULS do Algarve board chair, saying he was warned about Portimão's A&E and failed to act, and has ordered IGAS to inspect the whole service. Público reports he allegedly received more than 70 warning emails from the A&E director. The health regulator and prosecutors have also opened inquiries.
Appeals Against the State Pile Up
The appeal courts that hear residents' cases against the State (tax disputes, council decisions) ended June with 14,630 pending cases, CSTAF data show. At TCA Sul in Lisbon, each judge carries 315 cases, against 20 at the Lisbon Court of Appeal, and its backlog has nearly doubled since 2020.
A Bill for the A8
The State has been ordered by an arbitration tribunal to pay about 55 million euros to Autoestradas do Atlântico, which runs the A8 from Lisbon to Leiria, over traffic lost after tolls were introduced on the former toll-free SCUT motorways, Jornal de Negócios reports. The government may use the ruling to negotiate extending the concession, due to end in 2028, by two to three years.
Parishes and Housing
The governing parties have tabled budget amendments giving parish councils a right of first refusal on property sold in their area for housing, ranking behind the municipality. Parishes whose budgets average at least 1 million euros a year could also take medium-term loans for housing, student residences and nursery places. Committee votes run 18 to 23 November.
Checkout Prices From Outside the EU
EU finance ministers agreed on Monday that non-EU online platforms will be treated as the seller for VAT on every item they ship into the EU, and should show all VAT and customs duty in the checkout price. The rules apply from 1 July 2028; until then the 3 euro duty and 2 euro handling fee stay as they are.
The Rossio Camp Moves On
Lisbon's housing camp left the Rossio on Monday night, after more than three weeks there, and will protest near the Web Summit on Wednesday and join marches on 14 and 21 November. In Porto, the camp keeps its tents on Praça D. João I and meets the city council today over the ice rink the council wants there.
Also published since yesterday's briefing
- REN Hires Iberdrola's Tâmega Dams for 5 Million Euros to Restart Portugal's Grid if Another Blackout Strikes Read →
- House Prices in Portugal Have Outpaced Incomes by 60.8 Percent Since 2015, Nine Times the EU Figure, Eurostat Data Show Read →
- Pestana Will Run the Pousadas de Portugal Until December 2028 After the Government Rereads the Concession, Pushing Back This Year's Tender Read →
- Electric Car Drivers Plugged In About 1.04 Million Times on Portugal's Mobi.E Network in October, a Third More Than a Year Earlier Read →
- Some 2,400 People Await a Continued Care Place as the Health Regulator Calculates a 369-Day Wait for a Long-Stay Bed in Greater Lisbon Read →
- Depression Charles Sets Orange Warnings for Eight Mainland Districts and Madeira, With Gusts of Up to 120 km/h Forecast for Wednesday Read →
- Diesel Up 35 Percent, Copper Wire Up 30: Portugal's Cost of Building a New Home Accelerates to 7.4 Percent Read →
- Portugal's Goods Deficit Deepens by 3 Billion Euros This Year as Fuel Prices Inflate Both Exports and Imports in September Read →
- Peniche's Jurassic Cliffs and the Monchique Hills Join the IUGS List of the World's Key Geological Heritage Sites Read →
- Pharmacies Run Out of Flu Vaccines for People Outside the Free Groups After Getting a Sixth of Last Year's Private Stock Read →
- IPMA Raises Lisbon and Setúbal to Orange for Overnight Rain and Warns of 6-Metre Waves on Wednesday From Lisbon to the Algarve Read →
- Brussels Ranks Portugal Second in the EU for Rising Net Emissions in 2025, and Points to Its Forests and Land Rather Than Its Power Plants Read →
