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:
The rule in writing
“At the AIMA residence-permit appointment after arrival, travel-grade insurance is no longer enough: applicants show full health insurance valid in Portugal, or registration with the public SNS. Applicants consistently report this second stage catching them out.”
Based on: AIMA appointment guidance as documented by applicants and advisors (not a single government checklist — confirmed case-by-case) — Last verified:
The NHS and your move to Portugal
NHS entitlement is based on living in the UK, not on being a British citizen, so it does not follow you to Portugal. The GHIC or EHIC card you may already carry is designed for necessary care during a temporary stay; it is not residence cover, and it is not what a long-stay visa application asks for.
Since Brexit, UK citizens who want to stay in Portugal beyond the short-stay window need to apply for a long-stay visa, and proof of valid health insurance sits inside that visa file from the first submission.
Portugal checks insurance twice
Portugal reviews your health cover at two separate points, and each stage expects something different. At the consulate stage, you need valid insurance covering urgent medical care and possible repatriation; in practice, the €30,000 Schengen standard is commonly applied to these applications.
Once you arrive and move on to your residence permit with AIMA, a travel-grade policy is no longer enough. AIMA asks applicants to show full health insurance valid in Portugal, or registration with the SNS, before the residence permit is granted.
What we arrange for UK movers
We work certificate-first: a specialist confirms your certificate wording matches what the consulate and AIMA expect before you buy, so you are not guessing. Plans carry annual limits from US$1,000,000 to US$2,000,000 depending on the plan you choose, with same-day cover and no medical exam, plus a 14-day cooling-off period. Children aged 0 to 17 are covered at one flat rate per plan.
The plans accept new applicants up to age 70, or up to 80 on the Essential plan, so retirees know exactly where they stand. Pre-existing conditions are excluded, and treatment in the United States is not covered. Because one insurer underwrites all eight of our destination countries, your cover moves with you if you later relocate within them.
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.