University Grant Applications Clear 100,000, With 35,427 Still Waiting for Missing Information

More than 100,000 students have applied for a state grant (bolsa de estudo) for the 2026-27 academic year, but over a third of those applications cannot yet be assessed because information is missing. Figures dated 6 October from the Instituto para o Ensino Superior (Institute for Higher Education, the body formerly known as the DGES) count 100,922 applications, of which 35,427 were still waiting for the information needed before technical analysis can begin.

The institute's summary table breaks the 2026-27 applications down as follows:

• Who applied: 83,502 applications came from students at public universities and polytechnics, 14,074 from private institutions and 3,346 from applicants not yet linked to any institution.
• Waiting for information: 16,943 lacked academic information, 9,573 lacked other information and 8,904 lacked both. Seven more were waiting after a decided case had been reopened.
• Being processed: 39,783 had everything needed and were with the institutions' social services.
• Decided so far: 25,024 had been approved, 23,989 of them under the automatic award process. 468 were refused or faced a proposed refusal, and 402 of those were still at the stage where the student can respond.

A late window and a last-minute rush

Applications normally open on 25 June. This year, as an exception, the window ran from 14 August to 2 October, according to the institute's deadlines page. The institute's daily table records 3,778 submissions on 1 October and 5,544 on deadline day. By 6 October its running total stood at 100,919, against 102,440 on the same date a year earlier, when the window had been open since June.

The 2025-26 year closed with 109,227 applications, of which 79,785 were approved and 28,426 refused, according to the institute's summary for that year, also updated on 6 October.

The late start followed a change of rules. Portaria n.º 331-B/2026/1 (Ministerial Order 331-B/2026/1), published on 10 August, approved a new grant regulation under Decree-Law 148/2026 of 20 July. The order says the new system will apply in full only from 2027-28. This year brings two parts of it: a monthly housing supplement for grant holders studying away from home, set at 30 percent of the social support index (IAS), and a one-off incentive grant for first-year students whose families are in the lowest child benefit band. Everything else still follows the previous regulation.

Automatic awards predate the reform: under the previous regulation, last year's grant holders whose situation is unchanged get the same amount again, and first-year students from families in the three lowest child benefit bands receive a provisional grant. A separate institute table, compiled half an hour later, counts 25,187 automatic results: 23,450 for last year's grant holders and 1,737 for first-year students.

What "missing information" means

The summary does not say who has to supply what is missing. Under the regulation, a student's academic record is sent by the institution's own academic services, within ten working days of enrolment or, if later, of the end of the previous year's academic acts. Documents requested by the people assessing the file, by contrast, must come from the student.

All of that happens on BeOn, the institute's online grant platform. The regulation makes the student's BeOn account the official channel for every notification. A notification counts as received when the student opens it, or on the fifth day after it is sent if they never do. The institute's applicant guide says requested documents are uploaded in the "Documentos em falta" (missing documents) tab within the deadline set in the notification. A student who cannot obtain a document in time should instead send a sworn statement explaining why and ask to be notified again.

Ignoring a request has consequences. The regulation lists an incomplete file, and failure to provide requested information within the deadline for reasons attributable to the applicant, as grounds for refusing a grant.

Missed the 2 October deadline?

It may not be too late. The deadlines page sets out three routes:

• Enrolled shortly before 2 October: a student always has 20 working days from enrolment to apply. The institute's table puts the deadline at 27 October for someone who enrolled on 28 September.
• Applying from 3 October to 31 May: still possible, but the grant is reduced in proportion, counting only from the month after the application to the end of the academic period.
• Graduates on a professional internship: 20 working days from the date the host issues proof that the internship has started.

Who qualifies if you are not Portuguese

Article 3 of Decree-Law 148/2026 sets out who can receive direct support such as grants. As well as Portuguese citizens and their family members, it covers EU citizens with permanent residence in Portugal or who are workers here, and their families. Non-EU nationals qualify if they hold a permanent residence permit or long-term resident status, or come from a country with a cooperation agreement or reciprocal treatment for Portuguese students. Stateless people, refugees and others under international protection, people under temporary protection and students in a humanitarian emergency are also covered. An ordinary temporary residence permit is not on the list in its own right.

What to do now

• Log in to BeOn: check the notifications and "missing documents" tabs. An unread notice counts as received after five days.
• Answer within the deadline: if a document from abroad or from a former employer will take time, send the sworn statement rather than staying silent.
• Chase academic records: if the missing item is academic, ask your institution's academic or social services office whether your record has been sent.
• Check your residence status: make sure the permit you hold is one the law lists before you count on a grant.

Our guide to applying for a university grant covers the full process. Some councils run their own schemes: Cascais has raised its university grants and is taking applications until 16 October. The institute updates its grant statistics through the year, so the next table will show how fast the incomplete files clear.