

Find information per region
Yes, consultation and prior consent are necessary for decisions to place a minor with a foster family or in an institution in Portugal.
Consultation and prior consent are not necessary if the child is entrusted to a person with family ties, e.g. grandparents, uncles and aunts, or older siblings. In such cases, it is sufficient for the authority deciding on the placement simply to inform the central authority for Portugal.
The central authority for Portugal for the purposes of Regulation (EC) No 2201/2003 is:
DGRSP – Directorate-General for Rehabilitation and Prison Services (Direcção-Geral de Reinserção e Serviços Prisionais)
Legal Assistance and Dispute Department (Gabinete Jurídico e Contencioso)
Travessa da Cruz do Torel 1
1150-122 Lisbon (Portugal)
Telephone: (+351) 218 812 200
Fax: (+351) 218 853 653
E-mail address: gjc@dgrsp.mj.pt
Stages of the procedure for placing young people in Portugal under Article 56 of the Brussels IIa Regulation
ACP = Central Authority for Portugal
Stage 1 – Prior authorisation for placement by the ACP
Stage 2 – Declaration of enforceability by the Court
Or, alternatively:
The placement decision/ruling issued by the administrative or judicial authority of the country of origin is sent to the ACP, together with additional documentation giving details of the placement: duration, intervention plan, declaration from the foster family that they are able to financially support themselves.
The ACP forwards the application for enforceability of the measure to the Public Prosecutor’s Office (Ministério Público) at the competent Court, where it will be officially lodged on behalf of the child.
Stage 3 – Execution of the placement measure in Portugal
For information, a list of the documents required by the ACP before authorising the placement of a child with a foster family or institution in Portugal can be found in English at the following link.
Article 12 of Decree-Law No 139/2019 laying down rules for the application foster family measures in Portugal reads as follows:
A foster family may be:
a) a single person;
b) two married or unmarried persons;
c) two or more persons linked by family ties and living in the same household.
In the cases referred to in points (b) and (c) of the previous paragraph, one member of the foster family shall be the person responsible for the fostering.
The persons referred to in paragraph 1 who are entrusted with the care of a foster child or young person may not have any family relationship with that child or young person.
Article 6 of this Decree-Law lays downs that management of the foster family system is the responsibility of the Social Security Institute and the Lisbon Holy House of Mercy (Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa), working together with the framework institutions designated by national law as specific social solidarity bodies, or similar, working in the field of children and young people and which have entered into cooperation agreements with the Social Security Institute.
Article 5(2) of the Decree-Law lays down that foster care measures decided upon in court proceedings are to be managed and monitored by the Court, designating the specific teams for this purpose provided for in Law No 147/99 on the protection of children and young people in danger.
No, under Portuguese law the concept of ‘foster family’ does not cover relatives (cf. Article 16(3) of Decree-Law 139/2019, referred to in the reply to the previous question).
Relevant legisation:
Final note:
This information is not binding on the Portuguese contact point, the courts, or other bodies or persons consulting it. Despite the care put into the drafting of this information, it remains necessary to consult the legislation in force at any given time.
The national language version of this page is maintained by the respective EJN contact point. The translations have been done by the European Commission service. Possible changes introduced in the original by the competent national authority may not be yet reflected in the translations. Neither the EJN nor the European Commission accept responsibility or liability whatsoever with regard to any information or data contained or referred to in this document. Please refer to the legal notice to see copyright rules for the Member State responsible for this page.