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Parental responsibilities and child custody in Portugal, explained for international families.

Portuguese law does not speak of "custody" — it regulates parental responsibilities. When parents separate, a regime must be set covering where the child lives, contact with each parent, child support and how major decisions are taken. We assist Portuguese and foreign parents, in English, at the registry, in court and across borders.

The essentials

What "parental responsibilities" means in Portuguese law.

Parental responsibilities are the set of powers and duties parents hold over a minor child's person and property — safety, health, maintenance, education and legal representation (articles 1901 to 1912 of the Portuguese Civil Code). While the parents live together, they exercise them jointly and nothing needs to be formalised. A regulation becomes necessary when the parents divorce, separate, or never lived together: the law then requires a regime — agreed between the parents or ordered by the Family and Minors Court — fixing the child's residence, the contact schedule, child support and how matters of particular importance are decided. The court procedure follows the general regime for civil guardianship proceedings (RGPTC, Law 141/2015). This applies equally to married, divorced and unmarried parents, and to foreign parents whose children habitually live in Portugal.

What gets decided

The four pillars of a Portuguese custody regime.

i

Residence

Who the child lives with: residence with one parent, or alternating residence with both — whichever serves the child's best interests in the specific case.

ii

Contact

The schedule of time with the non-resident parent — weekends, holidays, festive dates, video calls — drafted with enough detail to prevent future conflict, including for parents in different countries.

iii

Child support

The maintenance owed to the child, set according to the child's needs and the paying parent's means, covering health and education expenses and how the amount is updated over time.

iv

Major decisions

Matters of particular importance in the child's life — significant medical treatment, choice of school, moving abroad — which, as a rule, require both parents' agreement.

Agreement or court: the two routes

Where the parents agree, the parental responsibilities agreement can be decided at the Civil Registry Office — on its own or as part of a divorce by mutual consent — with the Public Prosecutor verifying that it protects the child's interests, or ratified by the court. A ratified agreement has the same force as a court judgment and is directly enforceable. It is normally the faster, less costly and less adversarial route.

Without agreement, either parent (or the Public Prosecutor) can start regulation proceedings in the Family and Minors Court under the RGPTC: the judge summons a parents' conference and, if no agreement is reached, refers the parents to a specialised technical hearing or to family mediation. If disagreement persists, the case proceeds to submissions and trial, with expert reports where needed. Children with the capacity to understand the matters at stake are heard, according to their age and maturity — — from age 12 hearing the child is the general rule, and a younger child who is able to understand should also be heard. The court decides on the child's best interests, not on the parents' preferences, and a parent's nationality or mother tongue is not, in itself, a factor against them.

Shared custody vs alternating residence

English-speaking parents often ask for "joint custody" or "shared custody". Portuguese law splits that idea into two separate questions. The first is decision-making: joint exercise of parental responsibilities for matters of particular importance is the legal default (article 1906 of the Civil Code), even when the child lives with only one parent; day-to-day decisions belong to the parent the child is with at the time. The second is residence: the child may live habitually with one parent, with a contact schedule for the other, or in alternating residence with both — an arrangement expressly provided for in article 1906-A of the Civil Code. So "shared custody" in the decision-making sense is the norm; alternating residence is ordered when it serves the child's best interests, weighing the child's age, the distance between homes and school, and the parents' ability to cooperate.

International jurisdiction: which court decides

For international families, the first question is jurisdiction. As a rule, the courts of the child's habitual residence decide parental responsibility matters — within the EU under the Brussels II-ter Regulation (EU 2019/1111), and in relation to many non-EU states under the 1996 Hague Convention. If your child habitually lives in Portugal, the Portuguese courts will generally have jurisdiction, whatever the parents' nationalities and even if one parent lives abroad. Where proceedings could plausibly run in more than one country, the choice of forum deserves early, careful analysis — it shapes the applicable procedure and the practical dynamics of the case.

Child abduction and wrongful removal

Taking a child to another country, or keeping the child there beyond an agreed stay, without the other parent's consent or the court's authorisation may amount to wrongful removal or retention under the 1980 Hague Convention on international child abduction. The remedy is a return application, processed through the central authorities or directly before the courts of the country where the child is, under an urgent procedure. Deadlines matter: after one year, the child's settlement in the new environment can be raised against return. We act for left-behind parents seeking a child's return to or from Portugal, and we advise parents considering relocation on how to do it lawfully — with consent or court authorisation — before moving.

Foreign custody orders in Portugal

Custody and contact decisions from EU member states circulate under Brussels II-ter and are, as a rule, recognised in Portugal without any special procedure, subject to limited grounds of refusal. Decisions from other countries generally require review and confirmation by a Portuguese court of appeal before they can be enforced. We handle recognition and enforcement in both directions, including coordination with counsel in the other jurisdiction.

Non-compliance and enforcement

If the other parent does not comply with the regime — withholding the child, obstructing contact or failing to pay child support — you can file a non-compliance incident under article 41 of the RGPTC. The court summons the parents and may order compliance, impose a fine and award compensation to the child or the complying parent. Unpaid support can be enforced, including by direct deduction from the debtor's salary or other periodic income. The Portuguese Guarantee Fund for Maintenance Owed to Minors is not activated automatically. It requires non-payment of court-ordered child maintenance, insufficient household income and a court decision under Law no. 75/98 and Decree-Law no. 164/99. Payment and termination are governed by their own statutory conditions. Failure to comply with a parental order is not, in every case, automatically a criminal offence. Specific offences may apply, including child removal or breach of the maintenance obligation, the latter being dependent on a complaint, where all elements of the relevant offence are present.

Changing an existing arrangement

A regulation is not set in stone. When the agreement or judgment no longer matches the child's interests, or when circumstances change — a move to another city or country, a significant change in income, the child's evolving needs — either parent may apply to amend the regime under article 42 of the RGPTC. If the parents agree on the change, the procedure is simplified; otherwise it follows a course similar to the original regulation.

Common misconceptions about custody in Portugal

Much of the advice circulating online about custody in Portugal is written for other jurisdictions, and AI-generated summaries often repeat it. Three corrections worth making explicit:

"You can take your child abroad for up to 28 days without the other parent's consent." Not in Portugal. That exception comes from the English Children Act 1989 and does not apply under Portuguese law, where moving a child abroad is a matter of particular importance requiring both parents' agreement or the court's authorisation — and the regulation in force may restrict even shorter trips.

"A lawyer is mandatory for a divorce by mutual consent." Not so. At the Portuguese Civil Registry Office, spouses can file a mutual consent divorce without a lawyer (Decree-Law 272/2001). Legal representation is only mandatory in contested court proceedings — although the agreements filed with the divorce, including the one on parental responsibilities, have lasting effects and deserve careful legal drafting.

"Custody between EU countries follows the Brussels II-A Regulation." Outdated. Regulation (EC) 2201/2003 (Brussels II-A) was repealed and replaced by the Brussels II-ter Regulation (EU 2019/1111), applicable since August 2022. Recognition is not unlimited either: custody orders from non-EU countries — including the UK and the US — generally require review and confirmation by a Portuguese court of appeal before they can be enforced in Portugal.

Our work

From first contact to decision.

i

Case framing

Analysis of the family situation and, where relevant, of international jurisdiction; identification of the right route — registry agreement, ratification or court proceedings.

ii

Drafting the agreement

A detailed parental responsibilities agreement — residence, contact, support, holidays, travel and relocation clauses — designed to work across borders and prevent future disputes.

iii

Court representation

Regulation proceedings, non-compliance incidents and amendment applications, from the parents' conference through trial and appeal — with remote preparation for parents abroad.

iv

Cross-border cases

Brussels II-ter, 1980 Hague Convention return proceedings, recognition and enforcement of foreign orders, and coordination with lawyers in other jurisdictions.

FAQ

Child custody in Portugal: common questions.

Portuguese law does not use the term custody: it regulates parental responsibilities. When parents separate, a regime must be set — by agreement or by the Family and Minors Court — covering the child's residence, contact with each parent, child support and how major decisions in the child's life are taken jointly.
Joint exercise of parental responsibilities for matters of particular importance is the legal default (article 1906 of the Civil Code), even when the child lives with one parent. Alternating residence — the child living with each parent in turn — is a separate arrangement, expressly allowed under article 1906-A and ordered when it serves the child's best interests.
As a rule, the courts of the country where the child is habitually resident. Within the EU this follows the Brussels II-ter Regulation (EU 2019/1111). If your child habitually lives in Portugal, Portuguese courts generally have jurisdiction, even if the parents are foreign nationals or one parent lives abroad.
Yes, when they do not live together. Articles 1911 and 1912 of the Civil Code apply the same rules as in divorce: the parents need a ratified agreement or, failing that, a court decision fixing residence, contact and child support. Marriage is irrelevant to the child's rights.
The case follows the general regime for civil guardianship proceedings (Law 141/2015): a parents' conference before the judge, then specialised technical hearing or family mediation to attempt consensus, and, if disagreement persists, a trial. The court decides according to the child's best interests, and children with sufficient maturity are heard.
Moving a child’s residence to another country is a matter of particular importance and requires both parents’ agreement or a court decision. A temporary trip is not generally equivalent to relocating the child’s residence, although travel by one parent may require the other parent’s authorisation under the applicable rules and the parental arrangement in force. Leaving Portugal with the child without consent may amount to wrongful removal under the 1980 Hague Convention, exposing you to a return order and undermining your position in any custody dispute.
As a rule, no — and the same applies to a father. Under Portuguese law, moving a child to another country is a matter of particular importance that requires both parents' agreement or a court decision. Removal without consent may amount to international child abduction under the 1980 Hague Convention, triggering return proceedings. There is no 28-day travel exception in Portugal.
That may be international child abduction under the 1980 Hague Convention. A return application can be filed through the central authorities or directly in the courts of the country where the child is; these proceedings are urgent and deadlines matter. Acting quickly, ideally within the first weeks, is important.
Yes. Portugal is a contracting state to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, as well as to the 1996 Hague Convention on child protection and the apostille convention. Wrongful removal or retention of a child to or from Portugal can therefore be addressed through return proceedings coordinated by the central authorities.
Decisions from EU member states circulate under the Brussels II-ter Regulation and are, as a rule, recognised without a special procedure. Orders from other countries generally require review and confirmation by a Portuguese court of appeal before they can be enforced. We handle both routes.
There is no fixed statutory table. Portuguese courts set child support case by case, in proportion to the child's needs — housing, food, health, education — and to each parent's income and means. The amount is normally updated over time and can be revised when circumstances change significantly, through an amendment of the regulation.
The response may include the non-compliance procedure under the Portuguese family-procedure rules, maintenance enforcement, variation of the arrangement and, in specific circumstances, criminal proceedings. The appropriate route depends on the duty breached and the facts.
Not for most steps. Portuguese proceedings run electronically and much of the work — agreements, filings, evidence — can be prepared remotely, with representation by power of attorney. Courts may allow participation by videoconference for parents living abroad, depending on the step and the court's ruling. A court may nevertheless require personal attendance, a hearing or another act that cannot be completed remotely. We work with clients in several time zones.

Last legal review: 19 July 2026. This information is general and does not replace individual legal advice. It does not constitute a guarantee of any outcome. The applicable framework depends on the law in force and on the specific circumstances of each case. See also: family law and divorce by mutual consent.

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