Catchment area
The agrupamento de escolas of your registered address is the default. Proof of residence (lease, utility bill or tax address) is what the portal uses.
Public, private and international
Enrol Your Child in a Portuguese School
Every child living in Portugal has the right to education. Public pre-school, basic and secondary schooling is free for residents, and a school cannot refuse a place because of the family's immigration status.
Enrolment for public schools runs through the national Portal das Matrículas. Your registered address (área de influência) decides which school group you apply to first. Families arriving from a foreign system attach the school reports to the same file — the grouping then processes the equivalência de habilitações.
Eagles Ocean Blue maps the agrupamento around your home, prepares and legalises the documents, files the enrolment on time and follows the language-support class (PLNM) your child is entitled to.
Free public schooling from age 6 to 18
One national portal for every public school
PLNM Portuguese support in every school
Equivalence of foreign reports at the school itself
Catchment place tied to your home address
Direct path to Portuguese universities
The Portuguese system
School Cycles in Portugal
School is compulsory from age 6 to 18. Pre-school is optional but strongly recommended and is free in the public network when a place is available.
Ages 3–6
Pré-escolar
Kindergarten in jardins de infância, often run by the municipality or an IPSS. The first enrolment window of the year usually opens in April for September.
Ages 6–10
1.º ciclo
Years 1 to 4 of ensino básico. The 1st-year window is one of the tightest — popular Lisbon and Cascais groups fill quickly.
Ages 10–15
2.º and 3.º ciclo
Years 5–6 then 7–9. Children arriving from abroad are placed after the school assesses their reports and Portuguese level.
Ages 15–18
Ensino secundário
Years 10–12, general or vocational tracks. The diploma (and national exams) is what Portuguese universities look at.
What families ask
The Rules That Decide the Place
Calendar by year
Windows differ by grade. Pré-escolar and year 1 usually open first (April–May). Later years follow in June and July. Confirm the current year on gov.pt before you file.
Equivalência
Foreign reports are recognised under Decree-Law 227/2005. The request is filed at the school of enrolment, with apostilled originals and a certified Portuguese translation.
Do not wait to file
Start the Portal das Matrículas file with the foreign record attached. Final enrolment is completed once equivalência is granted — waiting for it first often means missing the window.
The process
How Enrolment Works in Portugal
-
Fix the home address
Register the family at the address you will actually live at. That address sets the school group and is checked against tax and municipal records.
-
Confirm this year’s windows
Dates change every school year and by grade. We check the live Portal das Matrículas / gov.pt calendar for your child’s year before anything else.
-
Legalise and translate the file
Birth certificate and school reports from outside the EU need an apostille (or consular legalisation) and a certified translation into Portuguese.
-
File on Portal das Matrículas
We submit through portaldasmatriculas.edu.gov.pt, keep the receipt and the reference number, and attach the foreign reports for equivalência.
-
School processes equivalência
The agrupamento sede runs the recognition (subjects, grades and grading scale must appear on secondary certificates). Non-residents apply to the DGE in Lisbon instead.
-
Confirm the place and PLNM
Once the place is assigned we finalise registration and the school starts the Portuguese-language assessment for PLNM support.
Official sources
Portugal — pages to bookmark
- Portal das Matrículas — national enrolment Open official page
- gov.pt — enrolment and renewal (pre-school to secondary) Open official page
- gov.pt — schooling for migrant children and adults Open official page
- DGE — FAQ on equivalence of foreign studies Open official page
- gov.pt — Português Língua Não Materna Open official page
Where We Help
Schools in Spain and France
Schools in Spain
Spain — Padrón and Admission Points
Admission is organised by each autonomous community. Your municipal registration (padrón) sets your catchment zone and the points that decide the place. Families arriving mid-year are placed through the local schooling commission.
Schools in France
France — Mairie and Académie
For maternelle and élémentaire you register at the town hall, which issues a certificate for the assigned school. For collège and lycée the académie assigns the school after a level assessment, usually organised through the CASNAV.
Ready to Enrol in Portugal?
Tell us your city or concelho, your child’s age and current school year — we will map the agrupamento, the next window and the documents you still need.