Having a child: Adoption of children and young people in Portugal

This section is organized as follows:

People who adopt children have the same rights as people with biological children. Find out more about Parental leave in Portugal.

Licence for evaluation

People in the process of adopting a child are entitled to time off work for the assessment sessions. The assessment sessions take place at Social Security offices or at the home of the prospective adoptive parents.

There is no limit on how many times this time off may be taken. The employer must receive justification for the absence.

 

Find out more about the adoption process.

Adoption leave

Adoptive parents are entitled to adoption leave (see information about the adoption allowance on the Social Security portal). If the child is under the age of 15, working adoptive parents are entitled to leave for 120 or 150 consecutive days.

If more than one child is being adopted, the leave period is increased by an additional 30 days for each subsequent adoption. The leave starts from the moment the adoption process is formalised.

There is no entitlement to leave for the adoption of a spouse or cohabiting partner’s child.

Incapacity of adoptive parents

If the adoptive parent becomes incapacitated or dies during the leave period, their spouse is entitled to the unused leave, or a minimum of 14 days. In the event of hospitalisation, the leave period will be suspended for the duration of the hospitalisation. The employer must be formally notified of this situation.

There is no entitlement to leave for the adoption of a spouse or cohabiting partner’s child.

As a general rule, the parental rights of families with adopted children and young people are equivalent to those of parents with biological children, such as absences, working hours and leave, and social benefits such as allowances and subsidies.

Information updated on March 15, 2024