Portugal’s health care system is divided into the public healthcare & private healthcare systems.

• Public healthcare (SNS – Serviço Nacional de Saúde): Portugal has an extensive tax-funded public healthcare system, run by the Serviço Nacional de Saúde (SNS). Under the SNS, most essential medical services are available free of charge, while non-essential services and treatments require a small co-payment.
• Private healthcare: fast, flexible, and widely available across the region.

You’ll notice residents use a mix of both. The public network covers prevention, ongoing care, and prescriptions, while private hospitals often mean faster access to specialists or urgent treatment. Some newcomers lean more on private care at first, out of respect for the public system and the Portuguese people who’ve paid into it — but once you’re a legal resident, you have access to the benefits of the SNS.

Emergency Services

• Gov.pt provides a list of emergency contacts for various situations.
• The EU Emergency Line (112) should be used for true emergencies only. Although this line has English speakers working the call lines, there may be instances where the operator speaks limited English or has a heavy accent. If this is the case, it is important to STAY CALM & SPEAK SLOWLY.
• Tips:
  • Memorize your phone number so you can quickly provide it to the operator
  • Take note of your location & provide as much information as possible (exact address, coordinates, landmarks, etc).
• Below are some key phrases in Portuguese.