Guidance

Portugal: Knowledge Base profile

Published 19 March 2024

Version 3.0

About: Portugal

This document contains useful information about Portugal which will assist HM Passport Office staff process passport applications.

Contacts

If you have any questions about the document and your line manager or senior caseworker cannot help you or you think that the document has factual errors then email the Guidance team.

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Publication

Below is information on when this version of the document was published:

• version 3.0

• published for Home Office staff on 13 March 2024

Changes from last version of this document

This document has been updated with minor formatting changes.

Portugal: names

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about names in Portugal.

Portuguese surnames consist of the mother’s surname followed by the father’s surname.

Children who are born in Portugal to foreign national parents will have their name registered according to the laws of the parent’s nationality.

Change of name

Name changes are allowed in Portugal.

Changes of name must be registered with the Portuguese Civil Register before a new passport can be issued in the new name. Changes of name can take place in Portugal following:

• adoption

• marriage

• divorce

• removal or addition of hyphens linking names

• corrections to the birth register or to change to the name originally intended when the name was waiting for an onomástica consultation (agreement from the authorities)

The name on a Portuguese birth certificate can only be changed by the Civil Registry in special circumstances. Where a name has been updated on a Portuguese birth certificate, this will be updated on the civil registry database.

Child change of name in Portugal

If the parents have shared parental responsibility, both parents must be present to change a child’s name in Portugal.

Portugal: nationality

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about nationality in Portugal.

Dual nationality is recognised in Portugal.

If a Portuguese citizen obtained a second citizenship before October 1981, they will have lost their Portuguese citizenship. These citizens can petition for the return of their Portuguese citizenship.

Birth in Portugal does not automatically confirm nationality; therefore a person may hold a Portuguese birth certificate but not be a Portuguese national. A child will become a Portuguese national if they are born to a Portuguese parent.

Portugal: legitimacy and parental responsibility

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about legitimacy and parental responsibility in Portugal.

Legitimacy

Portugal does not recognise a difference between legitimate and illegitimate births. All children are born legitimate, whether a child’s parents are married or not.

Parental responsibility

Where a child is born to married parents in Portugal, the parental responsibility is shared between both parents equally.

If the parents are divorced or separated, both parents should continue to exercise parental responsibility.

The courts can decide to remove parental responsibility or give it to someone else including family members.

An agreement made on parental responsibilities will become legally binding if it is approved by the courts or the civil registrar.

A child will be considered to be a minor until the age of 18 years old in Portugal.

Portugal: adoption

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about adoption in Portugal.

Both full adoption and restricted adoptions are recognised in Portugal. Restricted adoption can be revoked.

When an adoption takes place, a new birth certificate is issued which does not state the child has been adopted. The adoptive parents will show on the updated birth certificate as the child’s birth parents.

Same sex couples are not allowed to adopt.

Portugal: surrogacy

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about surrogacy in Portugal.

Surrogacy is illegal in Portugal.

Portugal: gender recognition

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about gender recognition in Portugal.

Transgender citizens are recognised in Portugal.

To change documents to the gender of choice, the person must present a medical report to confirm they have changed gender.

Portugal: civil partnerships and marriage

This section gives HM Passport Office staff information about civil partnerships and marriage in Portugal

Same sex marriage is permitted under Portuguese legislation.

There are both religious and civil marriages in Portugal.

Proxy marriage is allowed in Portugal, using a person holding power of attorney for the absent spouse.

Portugal: documents

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about documents in Portugal.

Official documents are issued to all citizens in Portugal.

Following the withdrawal of the UK from the EU, HM Passport Office cannot accept Multilingual Standard Forms (MSFs) issued by member states. An MSF will:

• contain a reference to the convention signed at Vienna on September 8 1976, this may be on the reverse of the document

• be marked as a Formul A (birth certificate), normally in the top right corner on the front of the document in the language of the country where the document was issued

  • there will also be marriage certificates and death certificates that will have a different Formul version that is also not acceptable

These documents are an extract of a civil registration record translated into the language needed and not a full, original certificate.

Birth certificates

Birth certificates are issued to all children born in Portugal; births must be registered within 20 days. Parents are fined if they do not register a birth. Late registration is allowed.

There are 3 types of birth certificate issued. Only 2 types are acceptable for HM Passport Office purposes. These are the:

• ‘Cópia integral’ (a birth certificate including an ‘integral’ copy of the birth entry, containing all the texts of the registration and marginal notes)

• ‘Narrative’ (a birth certificate recording any life events, for example, marriage or divorce)

Marriage certificates

A marriage certificate, known as an ‘Assento de Casamento’, will be issued following a marriage in Portugal.

Both religious and civil ceremonies can be registered at the local registry, where the marriage certificate will be issued. There is no central registry in Portugal. All marriage records are computerised and can be accessed from any local registry office if a replacement marriage certificate is needed.

During a civil ceremony, the marriage is registered at the time of the ceremony. Religious marriages must be registered no more than 3 days after the event.

There are 2 types of marriage certificates acceptable for HM Passport Office purposes:

• ‘Assento de casamento’ (marriage certificate)

• ‘Boletim de casamento’ (short marriage bulletin), these are no longer issued by the Portuguese authorities

Death certificates

Portugal issue death certificates following the registration of a death, which must happen within 48 hours from the:

• time of death

• discovery of the body

• completion of a post-mortem

• decision not to hold a post-mortem

There are 2 types of death certificates acceptable for HM Passport Office purposes and these carry an embossed seal of the registry office. These are the:

• ‘Certificado de óbito’ (death certificate), including the:

  • time of death

  • place of death

  • cause of death

  • post-mortem report (if applicable)

• ‘Certidão de Óbito’ (death record document), including the:

  • circumstances of the death

  • time of death

  • place of death

Identity documents

Local authorities issue EU registration certificates. Visas and resident permits are issued by the National Immigration Authority and ID cards for third country nationals by the National Identification Authority.

Passports

If a Portuguese citizen was born in Hong Kong, their Portugal passport will show their place of birth as:

• ‘Reino Unido’ (United Kingdom), if they were born on or before 30 June 1997

• ‘China’, if they were born on or after 1 July 1997

If a Portuguese citizen was born in Macau, their Portugal passport will show their place of birth as:

• ‘Macau’, if they were born on or before 19 December 1999

• ‘China’, if they were born on or after 20 December 1999