Parish Councils Across Portugal Threaten to Close Every Service on 4 November Over the 2027 Budget

The Associação Nacional de Freguesias (National Association of Parishes, ANAFRE) will call on every parish council in Portugal to close all its services on 4 November, unless it has a guarantee by then that its main demands will be written into the 2027 State Budget. Its president, Francisco Branco de Brito, announced the protest on Monday after an extraordinary board meeting in Pombal (Leiria district), Lusa reported.

"All services. So not only the counters, but all the services associated with the country's parishes," he said. The bill, he added, left the feeling that "parishes are not important to the Ministry of Finance". If the demands are still unmet after 4 November, ANAFRE is weighing "other forms of struggle". It has not said what those would be.

Four requests, none in the bill

ANAFRE says it sent four requests to the Prime Minister, the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Economy and Territorial Cohesion on 22 July. According to Lusa, they are:

• A bigger share of state taxes. The Lei das Finanças Locais (Local Finances Law, Lei 73/2013) gives parishes 2.5 percent of the average revenue from IRS, IRC and VAT, which makes up the Fundo de Financiamento das Freguesias (Parish Financing Fund). ANAFRE says a cross-party agreement signed by the PSD, PS and CDS foresaw a rise to 3.5 percent in this budget.
• Full-time instead of half-time posts for parish leaders, to cope with "ever greater demands".
• Updated transfers to Lisbon's parishes, which it says have absorbed pay rises without matching funding.
• A right of first refusal when property is sold, as municipalities already have.

Lusa's reading of the budget bill delivered on 8 October is that parishes would receive 440.1 million euros through the fund in 2027, up 8.2 percent on the 406.8 million euros in this year's budget. It also sets aside 89.4 million euros for Lisbon's parishes and 44.2 million euros for the pay of full-time and half-time parish presidents.

What a parish council does for residents

The law on local authorities (Lei 75/2013) gives the junta de freguesia (parish council) the power to issue certificates and run electoral registration. For many foreign residents, the most familiar of these is the atestado de residência, a certificate that a person lives at an address.

Its weight has shifted. Under the national health user register rules published by the ACSS, the health system's central administration, a parish declaration that a foreign citizen without a residence permit has lived in Portugal for more than 90 days gives access to urgent and vital care paid for by the SNS, and must be shown at each visit. AIMA, by contrast, said in November 2025 that it no longer accepts parish council certificates as proof of accommodation when granting or renewing residence permits; it asks for a sworn declaration with a lease, deed or loan agreement. ANAFRE also reports that the 2026 budget told the Government to set, with ANAFRE, a maximum number of residence certificates per home for foreign citizens and to tighten proof of actual residence.

What a closure would mean, and what comes next

If the protest goes ahead, parish counters would be closed on Wednesday 4 November, so anyone needing a certificate would have to go on another day. ANAFRE has not said whether any minimum service would be kept, or how many parishes have signed up.

ANAFRE is seeking urgent meetings with the parliamentary parties and with the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance. Parliament debates and votes on the bill in general on 27 and 28 October. The protest date falls in the detailed stage that follows, when parties table amendments, and the final overall vote is set for 24 November.