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Taking a Child Out of Portugal

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

When a child resident in Portugal needs a parental travel authorisation, when one parent is enough, what the letter must say, and who can certify it.

The Portugal Brief 6 min read

Taking a Child Out of Portugal

Last verified: October 2026.

Who this is for

  • Your child lives in Portugal, is Portuguese or foreign, and will travel abroad without you.
  • Your child will travel with grandparents, a teacher, a friend's family, or alone.
  • You are separated or divorced and want to know if one parent can travel with the child.

Not for you if: you are bringing a child to live in Portugal and need a residence permit for them. Read Applying for Family Reunification in Portugal instead.

A child under 18 who lives in Portugal needs a written travel authorisation (autorização de saída de menor) only when travelling abroad without any parent who holds parental responsibility. A child travelling with one parent who shares parental responsibility needs none, as long as the other parent does not object.

The authorisation must be written, dated, and signed by a parent, with the signature legally certified. It must name the adults travelling with the child. It can be used for any number of trips for up to one year. Recognising a signature at a registry office costs €12.

When your child needs an authorisation

The rule applies to Portuguese children and to foreign children resident in Portugal. Portugal refuses exit to a child who travels without a holder of parental responsibility and without a certified authorisation from one.

For travel to a country outside the Schengen Area, your child needs an authorisation when:

  • they travel with no parent who holds parental responsibility. That covers trips with grandparents, aunts and uncles, family friends, teachers on a school trip, or alone; or
  • they travel with a parent who does not hold parental responsibility. A parent whose parental responsibility a court has removed or restricted needs an authorisation from the parent who holds it.

When your child does not need one

  • Your child travels with one parent, and both parents share parental responsibility. This holds even if the parents are unmarried, divorced, or legally separated, or the marriage was annulled. The condition is that the other parent does not object.
  • Your child travels with the only parent who holds parental responsibility.
  • Your child is emancipated, and can prove it.

If the other parent objects, a letter will not solve it. Ask the family court for a decision.

Travel inside the Schengen Area

There are no border checks on departure for flights and journeys inside the Schengen Area. Most of Europe is in it. But gov.pt says the airline should check whether your child has an authorisation, and tells you to confirm the procedure with the company you travel with.

Airlines set their own rules for children travelling alone or with adults who are not their parents. These are conditions of carriage, separate from the law. An airline may ask for documents the law does not, and may charge for an escort service for children flying alone. Ask the airline in writing well before the trip.

The country your child is visiting may also have its own entry rules for children. Check with its embassy.

What the authorisation must say

The passport law sets four requirements. The authorisation must be:

  • in writing;
  • dated;
  • signed by a parent who holds parental responsibility, with the signature legally certified; and
  • naming the adults who will accompany your child, clearly identified.

The last point is the one most often missed. "I authorise my son to travel to Brazil" is not enough. Name each accompanying adult. In practice, include:

  • your child's full name, date of birth, and passport or Citizen Card number;
  • your own full name, ID number, and contact details;
  • each accompanying adult's full name and passport or ID number;
  • the destination and travel dates, or a validity period;
  • if your child flies alone, the name of the person meeting them, if any.

How long it lasts

  • You can use one authorisation any number of times within the validity period it states.
  • That period cannot exceed one year.
  • If the document states no period, it is valid for six months from its date.

So one certified authorisation naming the grandparents, with a 12-month validity, covers every trip they take with your child that year. You cannot make it valid for longer than a year.

Getting your signature certified

"Legally certified" means a professional with legal power recognises your signature (reconhecimento de assinatura). A signed note on its own is not enough.

Who can do it:

  • a notary (notário);
  • a registry office (conservatória);
  • a lawyer (advogado) or solicitor (solicitador);
  • a chamber of commerce and industry;
  • a Portuguese consulate, if you are abroad.

A recognition by a lawyer, solicitor, or chamber of commerce has the same legal weight as one by a notary. They must record each act in an official online system, or it is not valid, so ask for the record reference. They cannot charge more than the maximum in the notarial fee table.

What it costs:

  • €12 per signature at a registry office;
  • €20 per signature at a Portuguese consulate;
  • notaries, lawyers, and solicitors set their own fees, within the legal maximum.

Bring your passport, residence card, or Citizen Card. If the recognition is to be done in person, do not sign the document before you arrive. For more on who certifies what, see Using a Notary and Certifying Documents in Portugal.

If authorities outside the EU will see the document, ask whether it also needs an apostille. See Getting an Apostille in Portugal.

Step by step

  1. Check who holds parental responsibility. If a court has set it, the court decision or certified agreement says so.
  2. Decide if you need an authorisation, using the sections above.
  3. Write it, dated, naming every accompanying adult with their ID number, and stating a validity of up to one year.
  4. Have your signature certified by a notary, registry office, lawyer, solicitor, or chamber of commerce. Keep the receipt and record reference.
  5. Check the airline's rules for your child's age and travel arrangement, in writing.
  6. Give the accompanying adult the original, plus your child's passport or Citizen Card. Add a copy of the court decision on parental responsibility, if there is one.
  7. Keep a scan. If the original is lost during the trip, a copy and the record reference are a good start.

Separated parents, grandparents, and schools

Separated or divorced parents who share parental responsibility. Neither of you needs the other's authorisation to travel abroad with your child, as long as the other does not object. Telling the other parent is still wise. If an objection is likely, get the authorisation, or ask the court.

Grandparents. This is the classic case, and you need the document. One authorisation, valid for a year and naming the grandparents, covers repeat trips.

Schools and youth groups. The named adults must be the actual teachers or leaders, not just the school. If staff change before the trip, the authorisation must change too.

Foreign families resident in Portugal. The rule covers resident foreign children exactly as it covers Portuguese children, whatever passport your child holds.

Teenagers travelling alone. The rule applies until your child turns 18, or proves emancipation. Airlines' services for children flying alone are a separate booking, with their own age limits and fees.

If you fear your child will be taken abroad

If you fear the other parent or a relative will take your child out of Portugal without consent, go to court. A judge can ban your child from leaving the country. The ban is sent urgently to the border authorities and, if the court orders it, entered in the Schengen Information System, so it applies across the Schengen Area.

  • In urgent cases where a judge cannot be reached in time, the criminal police can issue the alert. A judge must then confirm it, within 48 hours for a child at risk of abduction.
  • A travel ban ordered in parental responsibility or child protection proceedings lasts until the court changes it or your child turns 18.

A note to an airline will not stop a trip. If your child is in immediate danger, call 112.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. For a contested case, speak to a lawyer.

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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