📘 New Guide Published Getting a Portuguese Mobile Phone Plan in 2026 — A Practical Guide to Prepaid vs Contract SIMs, MEO/NOS/Vodafone/Digi, Number Portability, the NIF Requirement and eSIMs You need
Portugal has created two new DGRSP social-reintegration careers for prison and probation staff, with pay rising up to €481 a month by 2027 and a €225 monthly risk supplement. Around 450 workers are affected in a targeted public-sector deal struck days after the labour-law overhaul stalled.
PM Luís Montenegro laid the first stone of a ~€28 million Alstom train factory in Matosinhos on 30 June. It will build 81 of the 153 new trains CP ordered under a €746 million contract, create about 300 direct jobs and start production in 2028, with first deliveries in 2029.
From 1 July, parcels from Shein, Temu and AliExpress lose Portugal's €150 duty-free exemption and carry a new €3 customs handling charge per product category. The EU-wide reform, brought forward from 2028, aims to curb low-value Chinese imports and level the field for EU sellers.
From 1 May, Portugal's Segurança Social no longer accepts proof of life by post or email, and has added Canada to the mandatory list. Pensioners abroad have until 15 September to comply digitally or in person, or payments are suspended from November. The rule goes universal in 2027.
A decree published on 30 June lets category B learner drivers train with a private tutor, not only a paid instructor. The tutor needs a 10-year licence and takes on legal liability, schools must notify the IMT, and the exam is blocked for 90 days. It takes effect in late July.
Portugal recorded 120 workplace-accident deaths in 2024, an 11.8% fall from 2023, official GEP data show, though total accidents rose 1.3% to 187,018. Construction accounted for a third of the deaths, and small firms carried a disproportionate share.
