Child custody and support rules in Portugal, explained

In short: When parents split up in Portugal, the law does not hand one parent "custody" and cut the other out. It shares the exercise of parental responsibilities (responsabilidades parentais) — as a rule, jointly for the important decisions — and separately fixes where the child lives and how the other parent has contact (Código Civil art. 1906). Child support (alimentos) has no fixed formula: it must be proportional to the means of the paying parent and the needs of the child (art. 2004), and it can run until the child turns 25 while they are still studying (art. 1905(2), Lei 122/2015). CourtStairs answers Portuguese family-law questions like these in plain language, with citations to the Diário da República you can check yourself.

Separation is hard enough without also misreading the law. Many parents — Portuguese and foreign alike — arrive expecting a "winner takes the kids" contest. Portugal is built differently: the guiding principle throughout is the best interests of the child (superior interesse da criança), and the default is that both parents stay involved. Here is how it actually works.

What is the difference between custody and residence in Portugal?

Portugal barely uses the word "custody" — it splits the idea into who makes the important decisions (exercise of parental responsibilities) and where the child actually lives (residence and contact). Portuguese law splits what English speakers lump together as "custody" into two distinct issues.

• Exercise of parental responsibilities — who makes the important decisions about the child (schooling, major health choices, religion, moving abroad).
• Residence and contact — which parent the child lives with (residência), and the contact regime (regime de convívio / visitas) for the other.

A parent can share the first while not having day-to-day residence. Everyday acts of ordinary life are decided by whichever parent the child is with at the time; only the matters of particular importance are, by default, decided together.

Does Portugal favour joint or sole custody?

Portugal starts from joint exercise of parental responsibilities and treats sole exercise as the exception. A court only moves to sole exercise when shared decision-making would be contrary to the child's interests.

The starting point in Código Civil art. 1906(1) is joint exercise (exercício conjunto) of responsibilities for matters of particular importance — regardless of which parent the child lives with. A court departs from this only under art. 1906(2), ordering sole exercise (exercício exclusivo) when joint decision-making would be contrary to the child's interests.

Note what the table shows: even where one parent has sole exercise, the other is not erased. Under art. 1906(6) the non-deciding parent keeps the right to be informed about, and to monitor, the child's upbringing.

Can a child live with both parents in Portugal (alternating residence)?

Yes — Portuguese courts can order alternating residence (residência alternada), where the child spends roughly balanced time with each parent, but only where it genuinely serves the child. Separately from who decides, the court fixes where the child lives. This can be:

• Residence with one parent, with a contact and holiday schedule for the other; or
• Alternating residence (residência alternada) — the child spends substantial, roughly balanced time living with each parent.

Alternating residence has become more common but is still not the automatic outcome; it is ordered where it genuinely serves the child, taking into account the parents' ability to cooperate, distances, schooling and the child's routine. If the parents agree a parenting plan, it is submitted for approval; if they do not, the case is decided under the Regime Geral do Processo Tutelar Cível (RGPTC, Lei 141/2015). Parental responsibilities are usually settled at the same time as the split itself — see our guide to the divorce process in Portugal.

1. Try to agree a parenting planParents can agree responsibilities, residence, contact and support — approved by the conservatória (with children) or the court.
2. Conciliation / mediationIf there is disagreement, the RGPTC process opens with an attempt at agreement, often with a técnico or family mediation.
3. Reports and the child's voiceSocial/technical reports are gathered; a child of sufficient maturity is heard on matters that affect them.
4. The court decidesIf no agreement, the judge sets responsibilities, residence, contact and the support amount, always on the best-interests standard.

How is child support calculated in Portugal?

There is no fixed formula or salary percentage — support must be proportional to the paying parent's means and the child's needs (Código Civil art. 2004).

Child support in Portugal is called alimentos. Parents owe their children maintenance as part of parental responsibilities, and where the child does not live with a parent that parent contributes in money.

There is no official national table and no fixed percentage of salary. The governing rule is Código Civil art. 2004: support must be proportional to the means of the person who provides it and to the needs of the person who receives it, and the court also weighs the recipient's own ability to provide for themselves. In practice a judge looks at:

• the child's real needs — housing, food, clothing, childcare, school, health, activities;
• each parent's income and reasonable expenses (the means);
• how time and costs are shared between the households;
• the standard of living the child had before the separation.

The result is a monthly amount, usually updated each year, and the paying parent may also be ordered to cover a share of extraordinary costs (major medical or school expenses). If a parent does not pay and the other cannot obtain it, the State's guarantee fund (FGADM) can step in for children in need, and persistent non-payment can be a criminal offence.

Until what age must you pay child support in Portugal?

Child support does not end at 18 — it can run until the child turns 25 while they are still in education or training (Código Civil art. 1905(2), Lei 122/2015).

The most common myth is that support ends at 18. It does not automatically. Under Código Civil art. 1905(2), as amended by Lei 122/2015, the pension set while the child was a minor continues after majority, until the child turns 25, for as long as they are reasonably completing their education or professional training.

It ends earlier only if:

• the education or training is finished before 25;
• it was freely interrupted (the child dropped out by choice); or
• the paying parent proves it is unreasonable to keep demanding it.

Crucially, the burden is on the paying parent to show one of these exceptions — they cannot simply stop paying on the child's 18th birthday.

Where CourtStairs fits

Working out whether your situation points to joint or sole exercise, how residence and contact should be framed, and what a fair support figure looks like is exactly what CourtStairs is built for. Ask it "does my ex get a say in schooling?" or "can support continue while my child is at university?" and it answers in plain language, tying each point to its source — art. 1906 for the exercise of responsibilities, art. 1906-A for the domestic-violence limit, arts. 2003–2004 for how support is measured, and art. 1905(2) for the run to 25 — so you can open the Diário da República and read it yourself. It works in English and Portuguese and has a free tier. If your separation also raises questions about property or partner status, see marriage vs união de facto in Portugal.

This is general information about the law, not legal advice. The right arrangement, the exact support figure, and how the rules apply depend on your family, your incomes and rules that change over time — so confirm anything important against the primary source or a lawyer before you act.