Parliament Approves Making Non-Resident Foreigners Pay for Non-Urgent SNS Care at First Reading, and Throws Out the Bill to Scrap User Charges

Parliament on Friday 16 October approved, at first reading (na generalidade), two bills that would make foreigners who do not live in Portugal pay for care in the Serviço Nacional de Saúde (SNS, the national health service) or show proof of cover. Neither is law yet: both now go to detailed committee work and a final vote. A Bloco de Esquerda (BE) bill to abolish user charges (taxas moderadoras) for everyone was rejected, as was a second Chega bill on those charges.

For anyone holding a valid residence permit, neither approved text removes SNS access. The open question is people whose papers are expired or awaiting renewal, covered below.

How the parties voted

According to Lusa, as carried by Renascença and ECO, the joint PSD and CDS-PP bill (Projeto de Lei n.º 786/XVII) passed with the votes of its authors and Chega. PS, Iniciativa Liberal (IL), Livre, PCP, BE, PAN and JPP voted against. Chega's Projeto de Lei n.º 638/XVII also passed, backed by PSD, Chega and CDS-PP; Lusa adds JPP to that list, while Diário de Notícias reported every other party against.

• Chega's Projeto de Lei n.º 637/XVII, on user charges for non-residents, failed: only Chega and CDS-PP voted for it, and PSD abstained.
• BE's Projeto de Lei n.º 798/XVII, ending user charges, failed: PSD, Chega, IL and CDS-PP voted against, and PS and PAN abstained, DN reported.
• Non-binding resolutions from the PS (a survey of non-residents' SNS use, reported within 90 days) and IL (charging before non-emergency care, or a deposit) were approved. Livre's, on immigrants' access, was rejected.

What the two approved bills would do

The PSD and CDS-PP bill rewrites Base 21 of the Lei de Bases da Saúde (the Health Framework Law). Beneficiaries would be foreigners in a regular stay, on a visit or on temporary residence, including EU and third-country nationals, stateless people and asylum applicants. It drops the current reference to migrants "with or without" legal status. People in Portugal irregularly, and non-residents outside that list, would pay or show cover plus identification. Emergency, urgent and life-saving care would still be given first, with the paperwork produced afterwards. A later law would set how charges are collected, including deposits or advance payment.

Chega's bill is narrower in who it protects. Non-EU nationals who are not resident, stateless people, asylum seekers whose claim has not yet been granted and undocumented migrants would use the SNS by paying, with emergencies treated and proof of cover shown later.

The failed Chega bill was the one that would have limited pregnant women's exemption from user charges to legal residents. That change is off the table for now.

What it means if your papers are pending

The PSD and CDS-PP text does not define "irregular stay". Público, as we reported in September, read it as possibly reaching residents whose permit has expired, a large group according to AIMA's own count. Livre's resolution, which asked for people whose documents are being renewed to be able to register at a health centre, was voted down. How a pending AIMA process is treated is therefore a point for the committee stage.

Nothing changes at your health centre today. If a renewal is under way, keep the AIMA document that shows it. For help with a stalled case, see our report on free legal advice for immigrants. Our preview of the vote sets out each text in more detail.