Programs — Portugal

Study grant (bolsa de estudo)· Bolsa de Estudo

€871.25 – €6,444.50 per year

Portugal's main means-tested grant for higher education: €871.25 to €6,444.50 per year in 2025/26, paid in around ten monthly installments.

Housing complement (bolsa holders)· Complemento de Alojamento

up to €496.38 per month

Monthly housing top-up for displaced bolsa holders: rent support up to €496.38 in Lisbon and Porto, or a residence fee capped at €91.44 and fully offset.

Housing complement for non-bolsa students· Complemento de Alojamento para Não Bolseiros

up to €241.90 per month

Monthly rent support up to €241.90 for displaced students who missed the bolsa only because of income — up to 50% of the bolsa holders' municipal caps.

Merit scholarship (bolsa por mérito)· Bolsa por Mérito

€4,350 one-time

€4,350 — five times the minimum wage — awarded ex officio for outstanding results: every curricular unit passed with an average of 16/20 or higher.

+Superior (interior regions grant)· +Superior

€1,700 – €1,955 per year

€1,700 a year on top of the bolsa for studying at one of 16 interior or low-density institutions away from home — €1,955 for CTeSP and over-23 entrants.

Student residences (PNAES)· Alojamento em Residências (PNAES)

Rooms in the institutions' SAS residences — for bolsa holders the monthly fee is capped at €91.44 (17.5% of IAS) and fully offset by the housing complement.

Subsidised meals (refeição social)· Refeição Social

A full meal for €3.00 in the canteens of public higher education — open to every enrolled student, no means test.

Public tuition cap (propina máxima)· Propina Máxima

€697 per year

Tuition at public higher education is capped at €697 a year — frozen since 2020/21 — for CTeSP, licenciatura and mestrado integrado.

Porta 65 Jovem (youth rent subsidy)· Porta 65 Jovem

Rent subsidy for 18–35-year-olds: 50%, 40% or 30% of the rent in year one depending on income, decreasing on renewal, for up to 5 years.

IRS Jovem (youth income-tax exemption)· IRS Jovem

Ten years of income-tax relief on earned income for under-36s: 100% exempt in year one, tapering to 25%, capped at 55 × IAS per year.

Free transport pass under 23· Passe Gratuito ≤23

Free public transport passes for everyone up to age 23 — student or not — with mestrado integrado students keeping it until 25.

Erasmus+ mobility grant· Erasmus+

€400 – €650 per month

€400–650 per month for studying or interning abroad from a Portuguese institution — cumulable with the DGES bolsa, plus a €250/month top-up for fewer-opportunities students.

Santander Foundation grants· Bolsas Fundação Santander

€500 – €1,000 one-time

488 one-time grants of €500, €750 or €1,000 for students with limited means at partner institutions (2026 first edition).

Emergency support (FEAS/SAS)· Apoios de Emergência (FEAS/SAS)

up to €1,567.50 one-time

One-off hardship support of up to €1,567.50 (3 × IAS) from your institution's social-action services when something suddenly goes wrong.