Visa-ready plans from $721 per adult, billed annually · see your exact price by age.
The rule in writing
“Portugal’s national-visa documentation page requires valid insurance covering urgent medical care and possible repatriation. In practice, consulates and visa centres commonly apply the €30,000 Schengen standard (Schengen-wide validity, urgent care, hospitalisation, repatriation), and some US visa centres ask for a full year of validity — treat €30,000 as the practical bar, with the published national-visa rule as the floor.”
Official source: Portuguese MFA visa portal — national-visa documentation (vistos.mne.gov.pt); €30,000 = the MFA’s published Schengen-visa standard, commonly applied in practice — Last verified:
What the $392 starting price means
The honest answer to how much health insurance costs in Portugal starts with a floor, not a typical price. $392 a year is what Regency charges an 18 year old for the Essential plan, the lowest tier, billed annually. It is a real, published rate, not a marketing number, but very few movers to Portugal are 18 and buying the entry-level plan.
Two things move that number up: your age, since rates step up in bands as you get older, and the plan tier you choose. Regency's ladder runs Essential, Major Medical, Standard, Comprehensive, and Fully Comprehensive, with annual limits from $1,000,000 up to $2,000,000 depending on tier. We recommend Comprehensive for most movers building a life in Portugal, since it sits well above the minimum consulate requirement with real day-to-day coverage. Cover can start the same day, with no medical exam, and there is a 14-day cooling-off period to confirm it's right for you.
The only way to know your real number is to run your own age and household through the calculator. What follows are real published examples so you can see how the price actually moves.
Real 2026 examples at ages 40, 55, and 65
These are Regency's actual 2026 annual rates for a single applicant, shown with the real monthly-billing installment beside them. Age is the single biggest driver of cost after plan tier.
| Plan | Age 40 | Age 55 | Age 65 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essential | $589/yr ($57/mo) | $926/yr ($90/mo) | $1,731/yr ($167/mo) |
| Major Medical | $1,081/yr ($104/mo) | $1,701/yr ($164/mo) | $3,180/yr ($307/mo) |
| Standard | $1,804/yr ($174/mo) | $3,199/yr ($309/mo) | $5,367/yr ($519/mo) |
| Comprehensive | $2,475/yr ($239/mo) | $4,334/yr ($419/mo) | $6,917/yr ($669/mo) |
| Fully Comprehensive | $3,094/yr ($299/mo) | $5,418/yr ($524/mo) | $8,646/yr ($836/mo) |
Notice how much the price climbs between age 40 and 65, especially on the higher tiers: that's the insurer pricing real risk by age, not a Portugal-specific surcharge. New applicants can join the Essential plan up to age 80, and every other plan up to age 70.
Family pricing: children and multiple ages
Moving with kids changes the math in your favor. Children aged 0 to 17 are priced at one flat rate per plan, regardless of exactly how old they are within that range, so you won't see a child's premium climb the way an adult's does.
| Plan | Child rate (0-17), per year |
|---|---|
| Essential | $308 |
| Major Medical | $566 |
| Standard | $853 |
| Comprehensive | $1,151 |
| Fully Comprehensive | $1,439 |
For a family, every member, adult and child, is priced individually on their own age and added together. The fastest way to see the real total is the calculator, which adds up each person's exact age-based rate for you and applies the household rules automatically.
Annual vs monthly billing, and what to do next
Every price on this page is the annual-billing rate, and that's deliberate: annual billing is the cheapest way to pay. Monthly billing is genuinely convenient, but it carries the insurer's installment loading, so the monthly figures above are not the annual price split evenly across the year, they are the real, higher installment amount charged by the insurer. For example, a 55 year old on Comprehensive pays $4,334 billed annually versus $419 a month if billed monthly, which adds up to more across the year.
If you're applying through Portugal's consulate for a D7 or similar visa, that stage typically requires proof of cover for urgent care and repatriation, with €30,000 in coverage commonly applied as the Schengen standard. Every plan's annual limit sits far above that minimum, so the paperwork minimum is rarely the sticking point; the real question is which tier fits your health needs and budget.
Next step: run your own age, and your family's if you're not moving alone, through the pricing calculator for an exact number, then request a quote when you're ready to apply. If you want the fuller picture first, see how Portugal's healthcare system works alongside private cover, or check the D7 visa insurance requirement in detail.
Honest limits: Cover is worldwide but excludes treatment in the United States. Pre-existing conditions are excluded, including conditions you did not know about. We disclose this before you request a quote. Consulates keep discretion, and requirements can change. We show the published rule and its source; the final decision is the consulate’s.