Anna_5683

I understand that I need to register as employed/self employed so that I can obtain a social security number to access the Portuguese healthcare system fully, my question is do I need to continue to be registered as employed in order to continue to have access to healthcare provision?

Or is it allowed for example to register as self employed for 1 year, receive a social security number, The next tax year inform them that you are no longer self employed, but retain the social security number and therefore healthcare access?

Thanks

Anna

mfesharne

You don't mention what passport you have or your personal circumstances but if it's EU then technically you probably don't need to register as employed or self employed.

However you should bear in mind that requirements are often interpreted differently according to area & individual civil servant.

For example, my wife & I are below (Government) retirement age but retired early on private pensions & we both have UK passports & we were allowed access to the same Portuguese NHS care as any Portuguese citizen......... and very good it is too.

liveaboard

All legal residents of Portugal can now apply for [semi] free government health care.

We use our private insurance, but also have the PT public health numbers as backup, and also to get discounts on prescribed medications.
Not EU, never worked here, not retired, but live and pay income tax in Portugal.

Anna_5683

We have UK passports and were told by the hospital that we could not access more than basic level/emergency care without a social security number, and at the social security office we were told that to get a number we must register a job, which can include farming our quinta which is what we are doing. I understand that there are potentially taxes to pay though if we have a social security registration (not that we actually make any money here) hence my question about whether active social security registration is necessary to access full healthcare provision. We live in the Açores.

Anna_5683

How do you apply for the government healthcare? Did you need your social security number for this? We have the Certificado de Registo but not the permanent registration yet as we have not been here 5 years.

mfesharne

Whoever told you that was wrong but that's not surprising because every civil servant seems to have their own interpretation.

Some places/people may want you to get a SS number before registering with a health centre & some may not but I think it's unlikely that you need to register as employed or self employed.

Can I ask how old you are, if you're in receipt of any kind of pension & what area told you that please?

It might perhaps be worth noting that it's often harder to get registered in the coastal zones than in the central or northern zones for some obscure reason.

liveaboard

the system was changed a couple of years ago.
You DO NOT need an SS number to get a health insurance number.
The application is made at your local health center.
The clerk will probably be unaware of the new rules. Somewhere I saw a page to printout in Portuguese to advise them, but in my case I didn't actually need it. Sorry but I can't find it right now.

mfesharne

I seem to remember the same thing but I can't find the link either so the OP might need to spend some time using the search function here.

I'm also pretty sure there's no requirement to register as employed or self employed because that'd then entail paying monthly fees to Govt.

There was certainly no requirement for it when we came here 5 years ago.

Red Eric

This is one of those areas where the law may differ according to whether you live on the mainland or in one of the autonomous regions, which have devolved powers when it comes to health provisions.

I'll have a scout round and see if I can find anything specifically from the Açores SRS on the matter.

Red Eric

This is the page from SRS Açores - unfortunately only available in Portuguese. There is an option to change language but it changes the page, too

It does say in the first section that if you're legally resident, you're entitled to access healthcare and doesn't specify there that registration with or contributions to Social Security are required. Further down the page, though, it talks about family members of resident foreigners who make social security contributions also being covered and some other stuff about immigrants in "irregular" situations who don't make Social Security contributions. That appears to me to refer to people who are not legally resident, rather than legal residents who are neither active nor covered by another country's Social Security system, which is your situation as I read it.

Sorry not to be of much help - it's certainly not as explicit as here, for example : http://www.arsalgarve.min-saude.pt/s...tugal/#content where, if you scroll down to the headings Citizens with Health Insurance and Citizens without Health Insurance, you can see it's possible to enrol without a Social Security number.

That link is from the Algarve Regional Health Authority - one of 5 covered by the law in continental Portugal. As I say, it may be different in the Açores. I had a search for the regional law which applies to see if it could shed any further light but without success, I'm afraid.

Anna_5683

We are 25-30, no pension or income from Portugal or elsewhere. We are in the Azores.

We visited with a Portuguese speaker and I'm fairly sure the hospital said no full healthcare access without SS number & the social security people said no number without a job...

mfesharne

Anna

I've no idea about the Azores but here on the mainland that isn't the case.

Have you tried asking in your local Centro do Saude who would probably be more up to date with current regulations?

Red Eric

Or there's the Health Ombudsman, who may be able to inform you whether what you were told is right.

Anna_5683

It was the only medical centre on the island which told us we needed a Social security number

Anna_5683

Thanks for finding that link. I interpret it as saying that foreigners are guaranteed access to emergency care only, as you say elsewhere it assumes you will be SS registered... I guess its just an Azores thing...