After immigrating to Portugal, the official healthcare service provided to you is the National Health Service (Serviço Nacional de Saúde). In addition to this public service, there are also private medical institutions and professionals available for those living in Portugal.
The hospital network consists of modern, well-equipped units distributed throughout the country, maintaining long-term relationships with major international insurance companies. To ensure foreign patients feel more comfortable, hospitals are implementing personalized patient care and monitoring services, with English as a common language. Portugal also possesses a comprehensive medical emergency system, ensuring accurate and rapid responses for accident victims or those suffering from acute illnesses. The emergency response time is extremely fast (did you know that the current average response time for emergency calls is 7 seconds!).
According to the World Health Report by the World Health Organization, the Portuguese healthcare system is ranked 12th in the world.
Where to seek help?
If you need to use the National Health Service, remember that you can obtain medical assistance at your nearest local health center. In emergencies, you can use hospital accident and emergency services (e.g., for severe trauma, poisoning, burns, heart attacks, thrombosis, respiratory diseases, etc.). In the event of an accident or emergency, please dial the European emergency number: 112.
Please note: If you are a national of one of the 27 EU member states, or a national of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, or Switzerland, you must present your European Health Insurance Card (issued by your home country), your passport, or your identity document to be entitled to free or low-cost medical care. Overseas citizens holding a Portuguese residence permit must register at a health center and possess a user card, which can be obtained by presenting their residence authorization document at the center.
If you need to go to a hospital, all units belonging to the National Health Service network are available. If you have private medical insurance, check whether your company has agreements with private hospitals outside of the public healthcare service.
