Pedir o subsídio por adoção

The adoption allowance is a cash benefit paid to the adoptive parents of children under 15 to compensate for lost work income during the period they are unable to work due to being on parental leave due to adoption.

This application also serves for the adoption allowance for one of the adoptive parents due the other parent being unavailable, and for the adoption allowance for foster families.

Service channels

Find out where you can do the service and what the advantages of each channel

Who can pedir o subsídio por adoção?

The adoptive mother or father can apply for the adoption allowance.

To be entitled to the adoption allowance, you must fall within one of the following professional situations:

  • employee (on a contract) paying Social Security contributions; this category includes domestic workers
  • working in the field of culture on a very short-term employment contract, and registered in the Cultural Workers Register (Registo dos Profissionais da área da Cultura)
  • self-employed (issuing ‘green receipts’ or as a sole proprietorships) paying Social Security contributions
  • beneficiary of Voluntary Social Insurance who:
  • works on ships belonging to foreign companies, or
  • has a research grant.

The following are also entitled to the allowance:

  • recipients of unemployment benefits (unemployment benefit, severance grant for economically dependent self-employed persons, severance grant for entrepreneurs and members of the statutory bodies of legal entities) whose payment is suspended during the period the adoption allowance is received
  • recipients of a relative invalidity pension, old age pension or survivor’s pension who work and pay Social Security contributions
  • workers in pre-retirement who have reduced working hours
  • domestic employees (e.g. household employees or gardeners)
  • people who do not pay Social Security contributions, provided that they meet the low income criteria.

The allowance is not granted if the adopted child is the biological child of one of the couple.

If the adopted child is under the age of 15, foster families are entitled to the adoption allowance, which can be shared, and to the initial parental allowance, which is exclusive to the father.

What are the documents and requirements to pedir o subsídio por adoção?

To be eligible for the allowance, you must meet all the following conditions:

  • taking adoption leave
  • at the start of your adoption leave, you must have worked, with registered payslips, for at least six months, either consecutively or at different times
  • if you are self-employed or covered by the voluntary Social Security scheme, your Social Security contributions must be up to date
  • if you have not worked, with registered payslips, for at least six months, whether consecutively or at different times, you must meet the low income criteria.

Documents

You must submit the following documents:

  • declaration of the administrative or judicial trust of the adopted minor
  • declaration of the transition and monitoring period (in the case of early payment of the allowance).

If you apply in person, you must complete the application for the adoption / foster family allowance (Form RP5050). This document is provided at the service desk.

If you prefer, you can print it out and take it with you.

When can you pedir o subsídio por adoção?

The allowance must be applied for within six months of the date on which the judicial or administrative trust was provided for the adoption.

If the allowance is applied for after that deadline, but still within the period during which you are entitled to receive the allowance, no back payments will be made.

How pedir o subsídio por adoção?

You can apply for the allowance online via Social Security Direct or at a service desk.

Online

On Social Security Direct.

To access Social Security Direct, you must sign in using one of the following means of authentication:

To apply for the allowance, follow the steps below:

  1. After accessing Social Security Direct, select the ‘família’ (‘family’) menu .
  2. Then click on ‘parentalidade’ (‘parenthood’).
  3. In the bottom right-hand corner, click on ‘pedir novo’ (‘new application’) and select ‘subsídio por adoção’ (‘adoption allowance’).
  4. An information page on the topic opens up and, after reading it, you must click on ‘autorizo e certifico’ (‘I authorise and certify’).
  5. You then complete the form with the requested details and submit it.

In person

You must submit the duly completed application for the adoption / foster family allowance (Form RP5050) Application Form and submit the documents stated therein:

By post

You must send the necessary documents to the District Centre in your area of residence (see more under ‘centros distritais’ (‘District Centres’).

Adoption leave

To receive the adoption allowance, you must be on adoption leave.

Adoption leave may last 120 or 150 consecutive days, and includes the leave exclusively for the father.

The leave exclusively for the father can be up to 35 days, but must be at least 28 days.

Adoptive parents may be entitled to an additional 30 days in the following situations:

  • multiple adoptions (30 consecutive days for each adopted child after the first)
  • if the leave is shared, i.e. if each parent separately takes at least 30 consecutive days or two separate 15-day periods.

To find out how much allowance you will receive, go to the ‘Adoption allowance’ page on the Social Security website.

Find out more about adoption leave on Having a child: Adopting children and young people in Portugal.

Adoption leave

More information can be found on the Social Security website.

Practical guides

Having a child