Guides
Becoming a Foster Family in Portugal
Who can foster a child in Portugal, how to apply and get approved, the monthly support of €644.56 per child, and what daily life as a foster family involves.
Children
GNR
Youth Crime Reports to the GNR Climbed 11.6 Percent in Six Months, as Violent Cases Nearly Halved and Online Exposure Cases Grew
The GNR logged 797 reports involving young people aged up to 16 in the first half. Street robberies halved, while cases of private lives exposed online rose from five to 13.
Education
Assaults and Weapons in Portuguese Schools Reach a Five-Year High, the PSP's Safe School Report Shows, While Robberies Fall to a Low
Police logged 4,075 school incidents in 2025/26, up 4.6 percent, with 1,426 assaults and 60 weapons seized. Sexual offences and drug dealing rose too. Head teachers say schools need more psychologists and social workers.
School Meals
Entroncamento Stopped Serving Lunch to Pupils With Unpaid Meal Accounts, and One Father Heard at 11:30 That His Daughter Would Not Eat
The council confirms it has suspended school meals where money is owed since 21 September, and says it will review how families are told. Staff had phoned more than 50 parents, the father told the council.
Health
Four Anaesthetists Leave Lisbon's Children's Hospital in October, a Fortnight After Its Emergency Chiefs Quit Their Posts
The health unit says three of the four were already absent and the fourth worked part time, and that it has hired ten people since June. The doctors' body puts the national shortfall at 600 anaesthetists.
Family
The Free Creche Programme Says 97 Percent of Applications Have a Place, and the Money That Built It Has Run Out
More than 19,000 free places since April 2024 and capacity above 141,000 children. The State now pays 551.50 euros a month for each free place, and the recovery-plan funding behind the expansion is spent.
Guides
Taking a Child Out of Portugal
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.