Medical treatment visa: coming to Portugal for hospital care

What the visa is

A temporary-stay visa (visto de estada temporária) for treatment in an official or officially recognised health establishment. It is valid for the length of the stay, with multiple entries, for periods under a year; longer treatments are extended in Portugal at AIMA (extension of stay for temporary-visa holders: 106,10 €, or 79,50 € online).

Patients sent under a health cooperation agreement between Portugal and their country (several African Portuguese-speaking states) follow a distinct track: the medical board’s decision and the appointment replace most documents, and the fee is waived.

• 30 days legal deadline for the decision
• 110 € fee; exempt for patients and companions under cooperation agreements
• Under 1 year per visa, extendable at AIMA
• Companion visa for a family member, on proof of the tie

Documents for the patient

• a medical report;
• confirmation from the hospital or clinic — official or officially recognised — that in-patient admission or outpatient treatment is arranged;
• for cooperation-agreement patients: the medical board’s decision (Junta Médica) and the appointment.

Means of subsistence can be shown in three ways: prepayment of the admission or treatment; care assured under a cooperation agreement; or a guarantor in Portugal (a Portuguese citizen or legal resident) who signs a notarised termo de responsabilidade covering board, lodging and removal costs, with their household certificate, last tax return and three months of bank statements. For agreement patients, the embassy in Lisbon may issue a declaration replacing both means and accommodation.

Common documents of any temporary-stay visa: form, passport valid three months beyond the stay, two photos, a return ticket, proof of legal status if applying outside your country, travel insurance covering medical costs and repatriation, and a criminal record certificate (not for under-16s).

The companion

A relative may apply for the visa para acompanhamento de familiar sujeito a tratamento médico: proof of the family tie, the patient’s medical report and the hospital’s confirmation, and the same means options (prepayment, agreement, guarantor).

Practicalities

Private hospitals in Lisbon and Porto (CUF, Luz, Lusíadas and others) issue the admission letter once a treatment plan and an estimate are accepted; public hospitals treat foreign patients under agreements or by referral. Costs are paid by the patient unless an agreement or insurance covers them. The office coordinates the hospital’s letter, the guarantor’s documents and the consular appointment, and arranges the extension at AIMA when treatment runs long.

Questions