Claiming Unemployment Benefit in Portugal
Who qualifies for unemployment benefit in Portugal, how much you get, for how long, how to apply within 90 days, and what you must do while claiming.
Last verified: September 2026.
Who this is for
- You were an employee in Portugal and lost your job through no choice of your own.
- You are an EU or non-EU resident with a valid right to live and work here.
- Your job ends soon and you want to plan your claim.
Not for you if: you resigned without just cause or never paid Portuguese social security. Read "Claiming the Social Integration Income (RSI) in Portugal" instead.
Updated September 2026. Parliament rejected the government's labour reform on 19 June 2026, so the current benefit rules still apply.
Unemployment benefit (subsídio de desemprego) is a monthly payment from Segurança Social (social security) for employees who lose their job involuntarily. You usually qualify if you paid contributions for at least 360 days in the last 24 months. You get 65% of your average past pay, between €537.13 and €1,342.83 a month in 2026. It lasts from five months to about 26 months, depending on your age and work history. Applying is free. You must apply within 90 days, and payment starts from the day you apply.
Who qualifies
You can claim if all of these apply to you:
- You were an employee (trabalhador por conta de outrem) paying Portuguese social security.
- You have at least 360 days of recorded pay in the 24 months before your job ended.
- You lost your job involuntarily.
- You live in Portugal and, if you are not an EU citizen, you have a valid right to work here.
- You are able and available to work, and you register at your job centre (centro de emprego).
What counts as involuntary
These endings usually qualify:
- Dismissal by your employer, including collective dismissal and elimination of your post.
- The end of a fixed-term contract that your employer did not renew.
- Dismissal by your employer during your probation period.
- Resigning with just cause, for example because your employer did not pay your wages. You must show proof, such as a court case.
- A mutual agreement to leave, but only in limited cases. The company must be restructuring or in economic difficulty, and it must stay within legal quotas. For companies with up to 250 staff, the quota is three workers or 25% of staff in three years. Your employer must state the reason in the agreement.
Resigning without just cause does not qualify. Ask your employer to confirm the reason in writing before you sign any exit agreement.
If you worked in another country
If you are an EU citizen who worked in another EU or EEA country or Switzerland, that time can count towards the 360 days. Ask the other country's social security office for a U1 form (Documento Portátil U1) and bring it with your claim. Time worked in countries outside these rules, such as the United States, does not count.
How much you get
Your benefit is 65% of your reference pay (remuneração de referência). Segurança Social works this out from your recorded pay in the first 12 of the 14 months before you became unemployed. It includes holiday pay and Christmas pay, so the monthly figure is higher than your basic salary.
Limits apply in 2026:
- Minimum: €537.13 a month (the social support index, IAS). If you earned at least the minimum wage of €920, the minimum rises to €617.70.
- Maximum: €1,342.83 a month.
- Net pay limit: your benefit can never be more than 75% of your reference pay after social security and tax deductions. For many middle earners, this limit decides the amount, not the 65% figure.
If you and your spouse or partner are both unemployed with dependent children, or you bring up children alone, your benefit rises by 10%.
Examples
- You earned €920 a month, 14 times a year. Your reference pay is €1,073.33 a month. 65% of that is about €698 a month.
- You earned €3,000 a month, 14 times a year. 65% of your reference pay would be €2,275. The maximum applies, so you get €1,342.83.
Benefit is paid 12 times a year. There is no extra holiday or Christmas payment. The amount stays the same for the whole claim.
Unemployment benefit is not subject to income tax (IRS), and you do not declare it on your tax return. The time you claim counts towards your state pension record.
How long it lasts
The length depends on your age when your job ended and how many months of recorded pay you have since you last claimed unemployment benefit.
| Your age | Up to 15 months of pay | 16 to 24 months | More than 24 months |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 30 | 150 days | 210 days | 330 days, plus 30 days for every 5 years of pay |
| 30 to 39 | 180 days | 330 days | 420 days, plus 30 days for every 5 years of pay |
| 40 to 49 | 210 days | 360 days | 540 days, plus 45 days for every 5 years of pay |
| 50 or over | 270 days | 480 days | 540 days, plus 60 days for every 5 years of pay |
The extra days count your years of recorded pay in the last 20 years. For example, if you are 52 and have 22 years of pay, you get 540 days plus 4 x 60 days. That is 780 days, or about 26 months.
How to apply
Apply as soon as your job ends. Benefit is paid from the day you apply, not the day you lost your job, so every day of delay costs you money.
What you need
- Your residence permit, citizen card, or EU registration certificate, and your passport if needed.
- Your NIF (tax number) and NISS (social security number).
- The unemployment declaration from your employer (Declaração de Situação de Desemprego, form RP5044). Your employer fills it in and can send it to Segurança Social online.
- The IBAN of a bank account in your name.
- A U1 form, if you are counting work in another EU country.
- Proof of just cause, if you resigned for that reason.
If your employer refuses to give you the RP5044, ACT (the labour inspectorate) can issue it.
Steps
- Get your employer's declaration. Ask for the RP5044 in writing on your last day if you have not received it.
- Set up online access. Activate your Chave Móvel Digital or your Segurança Social password if you do not already have one.
- Register as a jobseeker and submit your claim. Do both on the IEFP portal (iefponline.iefp.pt), at your local job centre, or on the Segurança Social portal under Trabalho, then Desemprego, then Subsídio de Desemprego.
- Watch for a decision. Segurança Social checks your record and pays into the IBAN you gave. Plan for at least a month before the first payment arrives, and keep some savings for that gap.
The 90-day deadline
You must apply within 90 days, counted from the day after your contract ended. If you apply later, you can still claim, but the days of delay come off your total benefit. The 90 days are paused in some cases, such as sickness of more than 30 days or parental leave.
What you must do while you claim
Your benefit depends on these duties. If you break them, the job centre can cancel your registration and stop your benefit.
- Look for work actively and keep proof of your applications.
- Answer every call (convocatória) from the job centre, including interviews, training, and job offers.
- Accept a suitable job offer. The job centre looks at your skills, past pay, and travel distance.
- Follow your personal employment plan (plano pessoal de emprego).
- Tell the job centre within five working days if you change address, travel, fall ill, or start any work.
Each year you can ask to be excused from job-search duties for up to 30 days in a row. Ask the job centre in advance.
If you want to look for work in another EU country, you can keep your benefit there for up to three months. Ask the job centre for a U2 form before you leave.
If you do not declare work while you claim, you must pay the benefit back, you can be fined, and you can lose the right to benefit for two years.
If you take a part-time job
You may keep part of your benefit. This applies if you take a part-time job, or start self-employed work, that pays less than your benefit. It is called partial unemployment benefit (subsídio de desemprego parcial). You get your benefit plus 35%, minus your new earnings. You cannot work for the employer you lost your job with. Apply within 90 days of starting the work.
If you do not qualify: the social unemployment benefit
If you have fewer than 360 days of pay, you may get the social unemployment benefit (subsídio social de desemprego). It is means tested.
You may qualify if:
- You have at least 180 days of recorded pay in the 12 months before your job ended. This drops to 120 days in some cases, such as a fixed-term contract that ended.
- Your household income is no more than €429.70 a month per person.
- Your household's savings and investments are worth no more than €128,911.20.
The benefit is €429.70 a month if you live alone, or €537.13 a month if you have a family. It cannot be more than your past net pay. The length follows the same age table as the main benefit.
If your main benefit runs out and you are still unemployed, you can apply for the follow-on social unemployment benefit (subsídio social de desemprego subsequente). The same means test applies. If you are 40 or over, it lasts as long as your main benefit did. If you are under 40, it lasts half as long.
If your claim is refused or stopped
- Read the decision letter. It gives the reason and your deadline to respond.
- If the problem is missing pay records, check your contribution statement in your Segurança Social online account. Ask your former employer to correct any gaps.
- If the refusal is about the reason your job ended, ask your former employer to correct the RP5044, or ask ACT for help.
- If your job centre registration was cancelled, you can appeal to the IEFP appeals committee (Comissão de Recursos).
- For a complex case, contact a trade union or a lawyer. You may qualify for legal aid.
Sources
- Segurança Social, Guia Prático Subsídio de Desemprego, version 4.78, 29 July 2026: https://www.seg-social.pt/ptss/pssd/documento/cmc0debv9008agw2ys1kly9so?dswid=2298 (conditions, involuntary unemployment, mutual agreement quotas, 90-day deadline, documents, RP5044, 65% formula, holiday and Christmas pay in the reference pay, €537.13 minimum, €617.70 minimum for minimum wage earners, €1,342.83 maximum, 75% of net pay limit, 10% increase, duration table, not subject to IRS, duties, sanctions, online menu path)
- IEFP, Subsídio de Desemprego: https://www.iefp.pt/en/subsidio-desemprego (registration at IEFP, iefponline claim, 90 days counted from the day after the contract ended, payment from the date of application, appeals)
- Decreto-Lei 220/2006, as amended, consolidated text on Diário da República: https://diariodarepublica.pt/dr/legislacao-consolidada/decreto-lei/2006-34533075 (legal framework for the benefit, the partial benefit, and the social unemployment benefit)
- DECO PROteste, Subsídio de desemprego 2026: https://www.deco.proteste.pt/dinheiro/emprego/noticias/subsidio-desemprego-regras-prazos-valores (social benefit conditions: 180 and 120 days, €429.70 income limit, asset limit, follow-on duration by age)
- simula.pt, unemployment benefit simulator: https://simula.pt/simuladores/simulador_subsidio_desemprego (the 10% cut after 180 days was revoked by Lei 114/2017, State Budget for 2018)
- Postal, partial unemployment benefit: https://postal.pt/nacional/arranjou-um-emprego-enquanto-recebe-o-subsidio-de-desemprego-saiba-como-continuar-a-receber-parte-do-apoio/ (partial benefit formula and conditions, article 27 of Decreto-Lei 220/2006)
- Regulation (EC) 883/2004 on social security coordination: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2004/883/oj (U1 aggregation and U2 export for up to three months)
- Despacho, report on the vote of 19 June 2026: https://despacho.pt/guias/reforma-laboral-votacao-18-junho (rejection of the Trabalho XXI labour reform)
Last verified September 2026. Rules and fees change; check the official source before acting.