In Portugal students can apply to higher education through a special regime when they have specific personal conditions and educational achievement.
One of the special regime determined by law is intended to foreign staff of diplomatic missions accredited in Portugal and their family residing in Portugal, if the foreign country demonstrates reciprocal treatment to Portuguese citizens, and if those students meet all the legal conditions required by legislation.
Special Regime E aims foreign officials of diplomatic missions accredited in Portugal or their relatives living here, who cumulatively:
- Demonstrate reciprocal treatment to Portuguese citizens, and
- hold a secondary education course diploma:
- Portuguese, or
- Foreign equivalent to portuguese secondary education course, or
- Foreign completed in a foreign country, or completed in foreign educational establishment in Portugal, that constitutes, in that country, sufficient academic qualification for entry into official higher education.
Completed the foreign secondary education course the student may submit an application to a Portuguese pair institution/course of higher education that is congener of the course for which have an academic qualification for entry into official higher education of the foreign country of the habilitation. The course counterpart of a given course is one that, although it has a different name, has the same academic level and gives equivalent training.
Documents
- Copy of Citizen Card / Identity Card;
- Document certifying the situation of the foreign official of diplomatic mission accredited in Portugal, with the start date of the mission in here and if it remains at the time of application;
- Document of reciprocal treatment to Portuguese citizens;
- Document proving the satisfaction of prerequisites, when required;
- In the case of application for private higher education it’s necessary document proving prior approval of the higher education institution.
- If the student is relative of the foreign official of diplomatic mission accredited in Portugal, to whom the special regime is intended to, it’s also necessary:
- Document proving kinship; and
- Document proving the relative accompanies the foreign official of diplomatic mission accredited in Portugal and resides with the official permanently here, indicating the beginning of the residence period and if it remains at the time of application;
- When applies with a portuguese educational secundary course:
- Document proving conclusion and graduation of high school course, with the final graduation of the course and the subjects or final exams equivalents to the entrance exams demandad by each institution/cycle of studies that wants to apply;
- When applies with a foreign educational secundary course:
- Document proving conclusion and graduation of high school course, with the final graduation of the course and the subjects or final exams equivalents to the entrance exams demandad by each institution/cycle of studies that wants to apply;
- Equivalence certificate of the foreign secundary course to portuguese secondary course, with the final grade converted to a 0 to 200 points, scale;
- Declaration that the habilitation is enough to enter official higher education of that country and a declaration issued by official education services also from that country that this habilitation is enough there to join upper counterpart course of that which is desired in Portugal.
The foreign documents should be authenticated by the official education services of the issuing country and certified by the portuguese diplomatic or contain the apostille of the Hague Convention as well as translated documents whose original language is not Spanish, Frech or English
Application
The application to higher education through a special regime E is submitted in a online Platform that can be acess in the link actulized each year that is published in the Special Regimes page.
The application through special regimes follows a single stage. Each year the calendar is approved and published and can be consulted in Special Regimes Calendar page. The student can indicate up to three options pair institution/course, in order of preference.
To consult all accredited and registered courses visit the index of courses in English
For questions send an email to acesso@dges.gov.pt.
This information does not exempt consulting the legislation or the detailed information available in Special Regimes page in DGES website
