Healthcare in Portugal is based on the Serviço Nacional de Saúde (SNS), the national health service set up in 1979, universal and funded by taxation. Portuguese citizens and foreign residents are entitled to it, while European Union citizens on temporary stays are covered by the European Health Insurance Card. Alongside the public service there is a large network of private hospitals and clinics, widely used by those with insurance.
How the SNS works
The first point of contact is the health centres (centros de saúde, organised into Unidades de Saúde Familiar), where you are assigned a family doctor. From there you are referred to specialists and hospitals. In recent years the taxas moderadoras, the fees once charged for visits and tests, have largely been abolished: today they apply mainly when you go to A&E without a referral from your doctor or the SNS 24 line. Part of the cost of medicines is still paid by the patient, at a variable percentage.
The public service is of good quality, but waiting lists for specialist appointments and operations can be long and some areas lack family doctors: that is why many residents also have private health insurance, which is relatively inexpensive.
For tourists
For a short stay the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) is enough: it entitles you to necessary care in public facilities on the same terms as residents. It does not cover private clinics or medical repatriation, so travel insurance is recommended. UK visitors can use the GHIC.
Before going to A&E with a minor problem, call the SNS 24 line (808 24 24 24), open day and night, also in English, which directs you to the most suitable service. The emergency number is 112. Pharmacies, marked by a green cross, are everywhere and pharmacists give excellent first advice; some stay open at night on a rota.
For students and workers
Those going to Portugal for a period of temporary study, for example on the Erasmus+ programme, are covered by the European card for necessary care during their stay. Those moving permanently and taking up residence register with their local health centre and receive a número de utente, their SNS user number.
Those going to work in Portugal as employees or self-employed are registered with Segurança Social, the Portuguese social security system, and have the same rights as Portuguese workers: employers register their employees, while the self-employed must register when they start their activity. Those who work in Portugal while remaining insured in their home EU country, for example as posted workers, need the European forms A1, for the applicable social security legislation, and S1, for healthcare in the country where they live. The S1 form is also used by EU pensioners moving to Portugal.
For all formalities you need a NIF, the Portuguese tax number, which is also required to open a bank account or sign a rental contract.