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The Hospital de Santa Maria in Lisbon on a sunny day, framed by pink oleander blossoms

The Testamento Vital (Living Will) and RENTEV in Portugal in 2026 — A Practical Guide to the Diretiva Antecipada de Vontade, the Health-Care Proxy, Lei 25/2012, the Five-Year Validity and How Foreign Residents Register One

A testamento vital lets any adult set out in advance the medical care they would accept or refuse if they could no longer speak for themselves — and name a proxy. A practical guide to the DAV, the free RENTEV registry, Lei 25/2012 and how foreign residents register one.
The Portugal Brief
Assembleia da República Greenlights Lei de Política Criminal 2026-2028 With Prison-Crew Forest-Cleaning Mandate, Stop-and-Search Powers in Zonas de Criminalidade de Impacto Social and a Priority-Crime List Headed by Arson

Assembleia da República Greenlights Lei de Política Criminal 2026-2028 With Prison-Crew Forest-Cleaning Mandate, Stop-and-Search Powers in Zonas de Criminalidade de Impacto Social and a Priority-Crime List Headed by Arson

Parliament passed the Lei de Política Criminal (Criminal Policy Law) for 2026-2028 on 12 June, putting prison-crew forest-cleaning and police pat-downs in high-impact-crime zones onto the statute. PSD, Chega, IL and CDS-PP carried; Livre, PCP, BE opposed; PS, PAN, JPP abstained.
The Portugal Brief
Ordem dos Advogados Reopens Reciprocity Talks with Brazil's OAB After 2023 Termination — 5 June Lisbon Meeting Frames a Return Path for the 4,039 Brazilian Lawyers Already Practicing in Portugal

Ordem dos Advogados Reopens Reciprocity Talks with Brazil's OAB After 2023 Termination — 5 June Lisbon Meeting Frames a Return Path for the 4,039 Brazilian Lawyers Already Practicing in Portugal

The OAP and OAB met in Lisbon on Thursday 5 June 2026 to negotiate the resumption of the bilateral reciprocity instrument that Portugal terminated in 2023 — 4,039 Brazilian lawyers already practise in Portugal under pre-rupture inscriptions, 13% of the active 32,000-strong bar.
The Portugal Brief
Portugal Approaches the 7 June 2026 EU Pay-Transparency Directive Deadline Without a Published Lei de Transposição — Diretiva 2023/970 Tilts the Country Into Article 258 TFEU Infringement-Risk Territory

Portugal Approaches the 7 June 2026 EU Pay-Transparency Directive Deadline Without a Published Lei de Transposição — Diretiva 2023/970 Tilts the Country Into Article 258 TFEU Infringement-Risk Territory

Directive (EU) 2023/970 — the EU Pay-Transparency Directive — must be transposed into Portuguese law by Sunday 7 June 2026. Lisbon has not yet tabled a diploma. ACT is already enforcing on Directive spirit; Article 258 TFEU infringement-risk territory opens on Monday.
The Portugal Brief
Filing for Divorce in Portugal in 2026 — A Practical Guide to the Conservatória Mutual-Consent Track, the Tribunal Litigation Route, the Regime de Bens, Pensão de Alimentos and Responsabilidades Parentais

Filing for Divorce in Portugal in 2026 — A Practical Guide to the Conservatória Mutual-Consent Track, the Tribunal Litigation Route, the Regime de Bens, Pensão de Alimentos and Responsabilidades Parentais

Divorce in Portugal runs on two tracks: the Conservatória mutual-consent route (same-day decree, €280 fee, 4-6 week window) under DL 272/2001, and the Tribunal de Família e Menores adversarial route (8-18 month window, mandatory advogado) under Código Civil Articles 1773-1786 and Lei 61/2008.
The Portugal Brief