Guide

Diploma recognition in Portugal: how the 2019 regime works

By Covered Abroad Research Desk · Last verified July 2026

Since 1 January 2019, recognition of foreign academic degrees and higher-education diplomas in Portugal runs under Decreto-Lei 66/2018, with procedural rules in Portaria 33/2019. The regime uniformised the old processes and offers three types of recognition — automático, de nível and específico. DGES, which also hosts Portugal's NARIC centre, is the national information point for which type fits your degree.

One regime since 2019

DGES states it directly: recognition in Portugal of academic degrees and higher-education diplomas awarded by foreign institutions is regulated, since 1 January 2019, by Decreto-Lei n.º 66/2018, with the procedural side set by Portaria n.º 33/2019. Per the DGES page, the decree uniformised the recognition procedures — making them more transparent, equitable and simple — clarified concepts, extended recognition to higher-education diplomas that don't confer a degree (the CTeSP tier), and introduced simplified procedures, including a system of precedents in level recognition that avoids repetition and reduces the cost and response time of decisions.

Source: DGES — Reconhecimento de Graus e Diplomas Estrangeiros de Ensino Superior, read 8 September 2026.

The three types of recognition

The regime offers three routes, named on the DGES recognition page: reconhecimento automático, reconhecimento de nível and reconhecimento específico. Which one applies depends on your degree, where it comes from and what you need it for — and the honest answer is that the type-by-type criteria live on DGES's own pages and FAQ, which is where to confirm your route before assembling any file. The forms (impressos e formulários electrónicos) and the full legislation stack, including Portaria 43/2020, are linked from the same page.

Source: DGES — tipos de reconhecimento e legislação, read 8 September 2026.

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Who answers questions: NARIC Portugal

Portugal's national centre in the ENIC-NARIC network sits at the higher-education institute: NARIC Portugal, Av. Duque d'Ávila 137, Lisboa (info.naric@dges.gov.pt), per the network's Portugal country page. That makes DGES both the regulator's information point and the recognition network's front door — one address for "which type of recognition do I need, and what goes in the file".

If your goal is practising a regulated profession in Portugal rather than certifying the degree academically, that is a separate track — the EU professional-qualifications framework — covered in our companion guide.

Source: ENIC-NARIC networks — Portugal country page, read 8 September 2026.

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Common questions

Is my foreign degree automatically recognised in Portugal?

Automatic recognition is one of the three types under DL 66/2018, but whether your degree qualifies depends on criteria DGES publishes — check the DGES recognition pages and FAQ for your case before assuming the fast lane.

Do I need recognition to work in Portugal?

For unregulated jobs, no law demands it — employers decide what evidence they want. Regulated professions are a different track (the EU professional-qualifications framework), and study continuation has its own recognition logic.

My recognition was done before 2019 under the old rules — is it still valid?

DL 66/2018 replaced the earlier regimes for new files from 1 January 2019. What that means for a pre-2019 decision in your specific situation is a DGES question — ask NARIC Portugal directly.

What does recognition cost?

The fee side sits in the legislation DGES links from its recognition page (the portarias that regulate the procedure). We don't quote figures we haven't verified — confirm the current fee on the DGES forms before filing.

Keep reading

EU professional-qualification recognition ENIC-NARIC, explained Your NIF number