How do we change schools in Portugal?

State schools in Portugal allocate places by national priority rules, and you can ask to change school through the Portal das Matrículas or the school office. Mid-year transfers are limited after the start of the second term unless you move house. Children arriving from the UK join on a conditional basis while their schooling is given a Portuguese equivalence.

How to ask for a transfer

The rules are set nationally in Despacho Normativo 6/2018, last amended by Despacho Normativo 7/2026 for the 2026/27 year.

1. Log in to the Portal das Matrículas with a Citizen Card, the Chave Móvel Digital or your Portal das Finanças password, and use the transfer option. If that isn’t possible, apply in person at your child’s current school
2. List five schools in order of preference, or every school in a municipality with fewer schools
3. The schools apply the priority rules. If none of your choices has room, the request waits at your last-choice school until the education authority (AGSE) places your child, where possible with the town hall
4. Your child’s file stays at the old school until the new one asks for it

Catchment areas and priorities

Every school has an area of influence (área de influência). When there are more applicants than places, the law sets the order. For Years 1 to 9 (ensino básico) it is:

1. Pupils with specific educational needs
2. Pupils who were in the same school cluster (agrupamento) the year before
3. Pupils with brothers, sisters or other children of the same household at the school
4. Pupils receiving school social support (ASE) whose parents live in the area, then those whose parents work there
5. Pupils whose parents live in the area, with priority among them to those already in the cluster
6. Children who went to a social-sector pre-school in the cluster’s area
7. Pupils whose parents work in the area
8. By age

Secondary schools (Years 10 to 12) use a similar order. Address priorities are checked against the household data held by the tax office (AT), so update your address on the Portal das Finanças as soon as you move. If you choose a school outside your area when your local school has a place, you pay any extra transport costs yourself, unless your town hall does otherwise.

Arriving from the UK: records and equivalence

• Equivalence: UK schooling is converted to a Portuguese year by an equivalence (equivalência de habilitações estrangeiras) under Decree-Law 227/2005. You apply at the school when you enrol; it is free and the reference time is 30 days once all documents are in
• Documents: school reports or certificates showing the years completed and the grades with the grading scale, with a Hague apostille and an official translation into Portuguese
• UK tables: Portaria 224/2006 has tables for the UK. Six GCSEs at grades A* to C (the old 8-point scale) give equivalence to Year 10, so a pupil can join Year 11. Ask the school how 9 to 1 grades are converted
• Cambridge, IB and international schools: qualifications such as Cambridge IGCSE and A levels, the IB and those from international schools in Portugal are decided by the Direção-Geral da Educação (DGE), through the school
• Conditional start: your child is enrolled conditionally while the equivalence is pending, and can pass the year. In secondary, the enrolment becomes final only when the equivalence is granted
• Going down a year: you can ask for a place one year below the equivalent year, within the same stage, if your child would struggle to settle. The head decides

Portuguese support (PLNM)

Pupils whose first language isn’t Portuguese are placed at a level, from level zero through beginner (A1, A2) to intermediate (B1), and get a support plan. New arrivals at the lower levels can join the curriculum gradually, with chosen subjects, tutoring, clubs and sport. Pupils at A1 to B1 sit a PLNM test in Year 9 and a PLNM national exam in Year 12. Ask a new school how it runs PLNM before you move: see schools in Portugal.

Moving within Portugal

International and private schools

There are about 82 international schools in Portugal: 38 in the Lisbon area, 17 in the Algarve and 8 in Porto, with a median fee of about €12,000 a year (about £10,170) in July 2026. Private schools set their own admissions and notice terms, so read your contract for the notice period, any registration fee and fees owed for the term before you tell the school. Moving from an international school into the state system means an equivalence decided by the DGE, so ask early.