I just received my Portuguese Golden Visa last month. I want to enroll my son to an elementary school in Lisbon. Will he be able to enjoy the same level of tuition and fees as local students? Are we subject to a different set of rules?
By getting your Golden Visa and performing family reunification through this program, you and your children will have the same rights as Portuguese citizens with regards to living, working and studying in Portugal. In view of this, the answer is yes; they will enjoy the same level of education and fees as the local students.
In response to your question, there is no difference in treatment for students who are Portuguese citizens and foreigners who hold resident permits in Portugal.
Under the elementary school perspective, there is in Portugal no differentiation between foreign and national students. This means that foreign students will be able to enjoy the same level of tuition and fees as local students This principle is different with regards to higher education at the universities, as each university, public or private, can decide the application of a differentiated tuition fee to the Portuguese or equivalent students and to the international students. As such, it is important to verify for this level of education if the applicant is considered or not an international student as follows. Those who do not have Portuguese nationality are considered international students as general rule, with the following exceptions: European Union citizens; family members of Portuguese nationals or of European Union citizens, regardless of the applicant's nationality; those who, not being European Union citizens, have been legally resident in Portugal for more than two years, on an uninterrupted basis, on 1st of January of the year in which they intend to enter higher education, as well as the children living with them rightfully; those who are beneficiaries, on January 1st of the year in which they intend to enter higher education, of equal status of rights and duties assigned under an international treaty granted between the Portuguese state and the state of which they are nationals; students admitted under the special access and entrance regimes in higher education; Portuguese officials of a Portuguese diplomatic mission abroad and their family members accompanying them; Portuguese citizens abroad or public officials on official missions abroad and their families accompanying them; officers of the permanent staff of the Portuguese armed forces, in the context of satisfying specific training needs of the armed forces; national scholarship students from Portuguese-speaking African countries, within the framework of cooperation agreements signed by the Portuguese state; foreign officials of a diplomatic mission accredited to Portugal and their families residing here, on a reciprocal basis; practicing athletes with high competition status or integrated in the course of high competition; natural and children of natural persons of the territory of Timor-Leste; and foreign students who are attending a Portuguese higher education institution as part of an international mobility program to carry out part of a study cycle of a foreign higher education institution with which the Portuguese institution has established an exchange agreement for this purpose.
A Golden Visa holder can reside and work in Portugal. In fact, the holder of a Golden Visa is the holder of a temporary residence for authorization. In this sense, by enrolling your children in an elementary school, you would enjoy the same level of tuition fees as the local students, according to the prices fixed by the school (if private) or according to the general tuition fees for public schools.
+1-800-347-9390
