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The maroon and white facade of the Liceu Passos Manuel state secondary school in Lisbon, with the school name carved into stone above the entrance.

Free School Textbooks in Portugal in 2026/2027: A Practical Guide to the MEGA Vouchers, the Books the 1st Cycle Now Keeps, the Ones You Must Hand Back, and the Cover Price You Pay If You Do Not

Every child in the public system from year 1 to year 12 gets their textbooks free, but nothing happens automatically. How to register on MEGA, when the vouchers land, why workbooks are not included, and what a missing book costs you next year.

The Portugal Brief 30 Aug 2026

The exterior of a Portuguese integrated continuing care unit, a modern three-storey building in white render and red panels with shaded balconies.

Portugal's Queue for a Continuing-Care Bed Hit 3,195 This Week, the Highest in the Decade the SNS Has Published It

The SNS Transparency Portal's daily tape shows 3,195 people waiting on 28 August, 23.5 percent above the same date last year. Long-stay units ran at 97.6 percent occupancy in July, and the count of long-stay beds fell by 57 over the year.

The Portugal Brief 30 Aug 2026

Terracotta-roofed houses climbing a steep green hillside above Funchal on the island of Madeira, with banana plants and terraced gardens between them.

A Two-Year Building Ban Lands on Amparo in Funchal, and Madeira Says the Plots Are for Affordable Housing

Decreto Regulamentar Regional 16/2026/M froze ten categories of act inside a marked area of São Martinho from Saturday, down to repainting a wall. Article 52 of Lei 31/2014 gives owners a right to compensation, and the freeze runs to 29 August 2028.

The Portugal Brief 30 Aug 2026

The neoclassical facade of the Tribunal da Relacao de Coimbra, inscribed DOMVS IVSTITIAE, seen from above a Coimbra street.

Portugal's Courts Come Back on Tuesday After a Month and a Half of Judicial Holidays, and the Civil Deadlines That Froze on 16 July Start Running Again

The judicial holidays fixed by Article 28 of Lei 62/2013 end on 31 August, so the courts reopen in full on Tuesday, 1 September. Civil procedural deadlines that suspended on 16 July start running again, and September's calendar already holds Marques, BES, Tutti Frutti and the Rato torture trial.

The Portugal Brief 30 Aug 2026

Five Timed Minutes of Shower Twice a Week: A Porto Engineer Came Out of 100 Days Sealed in a Windowless Room for the European Space Agency

Five Timed Minutes of Shower Twice a Week: A Porto Engineer Came Out of 100 Days Sealed in a Windowless Room for the European Space Agency

Diogo Paupério Abreu was the Portuguese member of SOLIS100, six volunteers confined to 130 square metres in Cologne from May to August. He is now starting a doctorate at INESC TEC in Porto.

The Portugal Brief 30 Aug 2026

Portugal Reclaims Part of Its Fuel-Tax Discount on Monday, Betting That Pump Prices Will Fall Anyway

Portugal Reclaims Part of Its Fuel-Tax Discount on Monday, Betting That Pump Prices Will Fall Anyway

A portaria in force from 31 August lifts the ISP on diesel by €9.98 per 1,000 litres and on petrol by €2.36. The government is narrowing the rebate because it expects the underlying price to drop.

The Portugal Brief 30 Aug 2026

Thirty-One Foreign Farm Workers Were Sleeping in a Bombarral Agricultural Shed, and the Owner Got Twenty-Four Hours to Rehouse Them

Thirty-One Foreign Farm Workers Were Sleeping in a Bombarral Agricultural Shed, and the Owner Got Twenty-Four Hours to Rehouse Them

A GNR inspection in the Oeste on 27 August produced ten formal records. Eight of them fall on the workers, one on the building's drainage, and none on the accommodation itself.

The Portugal Brief 30 Aug 2026

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