Marriage vs união de facto in Portugal: rights compared

In short: In Portugal, living together for two or more years creates a união de facto that unlocks many of the rights of marriage — joint IRS taxation, employment and parental leave, and a survivor's pension — but stops short of the big one: inheritance. A married spouse is a forced heir guaranteed a slice of the estate (Código Civil art. 2157); a de facto partner is not an heir at all and inherits only through a will (Lei 7/2001, art. 3). Property is also treated very differently. CourtStairs answers Portuguese and EU legal questions like this in plain language, with citations to the Diário da República you can check yourself.

Many couples in Portugal — Portuguese and foreign alike — assume that after a few years together the law treats them "basically like married." In some areas it does. In others, the gap is enormous and only becomes visible at the worst possible moment: when one partner dies, or the relationship ends. This post lays the two regimes side by side, in plain English, so you know where you actually stand.

What counts as a união de facto in Portugal?

A união de facto is two people, of any sex, who have lived together in conditions analogous to spouses for more than two years, where neither is married to someone else and they are not close relatives (Lei n.º 7/2001). There is no ceremony and no register of the union itself — but once two years pass you can obtain a declaration from your junta de freguesia (parish council), which is the document you use to claim most benefits.

Marriage, by contrast, is a formal act with an immediate, well-defined legal status from day one. That difference in form drives every difference in rights below.

How do you prove a união de facto?

You prove it with a declaration from your junta de freguesia, supported by a joint address on your citizen records — there is no wedding certificate for a de facto union. The steps are simple, but the paperwork matters when you later claim tax, pension or hospital-visit rights.

1. Live together for 2+ yearsCohabitation "in conditions analogous to spouses" is the trigger (Lei 7/2001, art. 1). The clock only counts full, consecutive years.
2. Get a declaration from the junta de freguesiaBoth partners sign a solemn statement (declaração sob compromisso de honra) confirming 2+ years of cohabitation and that neither is married to someone else.
3. Use it to claim rightsPresent the declaration to Finanças for joint IRS, to Segurança Social for the survivor's pension, or to an employer for leave.
4. Declare the end, if it endsDissolution can be recorded at the junta de freguesia or, if disputed, by a court — useful when benefits depend on the end date.

Married vs união de facto: how do the rights compare?

On day-to-day money — tax, leave, a survivor's pension — the two regimes are almost equal; on property and inheritance they diverge sharply. The table below lays the six areas that matter side by side.

Is property shared in a união de facto?

No — a união de facto has no marital property regime, so each partner keeps only what is in their own name. This is the difference couples most often miss. When you marry without a prenuptial agreement, the default regime is comunhão de adquiridos: broadly, what either spouse earns or buys during the marriage becomes common property, split on divorce or death (Código Civil arts. 1717 and following).

A união de facto has no property regime at all. The law treats you as two separate individuals. Whatever is registered in your partner's name is theirs; whatever is in yours is yours. If you buy a flat or a car together, it is co-owned in the proportions you can prove you each paid. Years of informal contributions — paying the mortgage, renovating "their" house — do not automatically give you a share.

Does my de facto partner inherit if I die in Portugal?

Not automatically — a de facto partner is not a forced heir and inherits nothing unless you name them in a will. Under Portuguese succession law, certain relatives are forced heirs (herdeiros legitimários) — the spouse, descendants and ascendants — and are guaranteed a protected slice of the estate called the legítima, which cannot be given away by will (Código Civil art. 2157). The surviving spouse is one of them.

A de facto partner is not. Legally, they are a stranger to the succession. If your partner dies without a will, you inherit nothing — the estate goes to their children, parents or other relatives. The only way a de facto partner inherits is by being named in a will, and even then only out of the quota disponível (the disposable share left over after the forced heirs' legítima).

There is one important cushion. Article 5 of Lei 7/2001 gives the surviving partner a real right to keep living in the shared family home and use its contents for a period tied to how long the union lasted — at least five years — together with a right of preference if the home is later sold or let. But this is a right to use the home, not to own it: title still passes to the deceased's heirs. For how forced heirship and the legítima work in detail, see our guide to forced heirship in Portugal and how to make a will.

Can de facto partners file taxes jointly and claim a survivor's pension?

Yes to both — but only after proving a two-year union, whereas a spouse gets these rights automatically. Here the two regimes converge. For IRS, de facto partners who share a tax address for more than two years may opt for joint taxation on the same terms as married couples (Código do IRS). It is an annual choice for both — not automatic.

For the survivor's pension (pensão de sobrevivência) paid by Social Security, a de facto partner who lived with the deceased for more than two years can claim it under Decreto-Lei n.º 322/90 (as amended by Lei 7/2001), provided the deceased was not married to someone else. A married spouse receives it automatically as widow or widower; the de facto partner must prove the union, typically with the junta de freguesia declaration.

How does a união de facto end compared with divorce?

A união de facto ends the moment the couple stops living together — no divorce, and as a rule no alimony — while a marriage ends only through a formal divorce. Marriage is dissolved by mutual consent at a registry office or contested in court, with formal division of common assets and, in some cases, spousal support. If you need the end date of a de facto union on record (for benefits, for example), the dissolution can be declared at the junta de freguesia or, in disputed cases, by a court. For the married route, see our walkthrough of the divorce process in Portugal.

Where CourtStairs fits

This is exactly the kind of question CourtStairs is built for. Ask it "does my partner inherit if I die?" and it gives a plain-language answer with each point linked to its source — Código Civil art. 2157 for forced heirs, Lei 7/2001 arts. 3 and 5 for the effects of a de facto union, the CIRS for joint taxation, Decreto-Lei 322/90 for the survivor's pension — so you can open the Diário da República and read the provision yourself. It works in English and Portuguese and has a free tier.

This is general information about the law, not legal advice. The exact outcome depends on your property regime, whether there is a will, how long the union lasted, and rules that change over time, so confirm anything important against the primary source or a lawyer before you act.