Portugal Retains the One-Third Ceiling on Degree Credit for Work Experience in Its New Higher-Education Decree
Decreto-Lei 214/2026, published on 6 November, still lets professional experience count for no more than a third of a course's credits, after a first draft, Público reports, left the limit to each institution. It also creates a preparatory year and takes effect in January.
Working adults who want to turn their careers into a university degree will still be able to count that experience for no more than a third of the course. The Government's new legal regime for higher-education degrees and diplomas, Decreto-Lei n.º 214/2026, was published in the Diário da República (the official gazette) on Friday 6 November, and it keeps the existing cap on credit for professional experience.
That is a retreat from the ministry's first draft. According to Público, the text first shown to universities and polytechnics set no ceiling at all, leaving each institution to decide in its own regulations how much a candidate's career could be worth.
What the rule says
Article 50 of the decree lets institutions award credit (creditação, the recognition of earlier learning towards a course) for three things: study already completed at another higher-education institution in Portugal or abroad, course units taken at the institution itself, and "duly proven" professional experience "up to the limit of one third of the total ECTS of the course". ECTS are the European credits used to measure student workload; a standard three-year licenciatura (bachelor's degree) is 180 of them.
In practice that means professional experience can be worth at most 60 credits on a 180-credit degree and 40 on a 120-credit master's. The decree also lets institutions make some or all of that credit conditional on a test of specific knowledge. Público adds that institutions may ask for interviews, portfolios or demonstrations of skills.
The one-third cap has applied since 2013, Público notes, when it was introduced after the controversy over the degree of former minister Miguel Relvas, whose career counted for 160 of the 180 credits he needed.
Each institution must set its credit rules in a regulation published in the Diário da República and on its website. Credit alone never gets anyone into a course: it only takes effect once the student has been admitted.
Other routes in, and a new preparatory year
The decree keeps the routes adults already use to enter a licenciatura: the special exams for candidates over 23, a recognised school, scientific or professional record (only at institutions accredited without conditions), and a short-cycle higher-education diploma such as a CTeSP (curso técnico superior profissional, a two-year vocational course). Credits from those short courses can be counted towards a degree.
It also creates formação propedêutica, a non-degree preparatory course for admitted students who are not adequately prepared. They keep their place and may enrol in the following academic year, and the fee may not exceed the proportional fee for the course they were admitted to.
The literacy, numeracy and English benchmarks that students asked President Seguro to veto in October survive only as "indicative" references, and the decree states that they do not limit institutions' autonomy over access.
What it means for you
- The decree takes effect 60 days after publication, in early January 2027.
- The new credit rules do not apply to credit requests or applications already pending on that date.
- Universities and polytechnics have until 1 September 2028 to adapt to the new regime, so check your institution's own credit regulation before you apply.
The decree was approved by the Council of Ministers on 9 September and promulgated by the President on 30 October. It arrives as the 2027 budget bill proposes ending the freeze on university tuition fees.
