Emergency Care in Portugal for Americans and Britons

In a life-threatening emergency in Portugal, dial 112; for a health problem that is not an emergency, call SNS 24 on 808 24 24 24. Visiting a hospital emergency department (urgência) without a referral carries a user fee, and this guide sets out what the official pages say about each step.

We read the pages listed at the end on 19 October 2026. This is not medical advice: for a medical decision, follow what the emergency services and your doctor tell you.

Which number do I call: 112 or SNS 24?

The health ministry’s shared services (SPMS) and INEM ran a campaign called “Quando ligar SNS 24 ou INEM?” (When to call SNS 24 or INEM?) to explain the right use of the two lines, 808 24 24 24 and 112. The SNS page describing it says the campaign compares non-emergency health problems with situations that may involve a risk to life, to make clear when to call which. The page has English-language posters and a video, but we did not open them, so we do not repeat their lists of examples.

GOV.UK’s travel advice for Portugal, last updated on 11 August 2026, tells British travelers to dial 112 and ask for an ambulance, and for an unwell-but-not-emergency case lists three SNS 24 numbers: mainland Portugal 808 24 24 24 (press 9 for English), Madeira and Porto Santo 800 24 24 20, and the Azores 808 24 60 24. It adds that if you have hearing loss you can reach SNS 24 by videocall or webchat, on a Portuguese-language website.

What happens when I dial 112?

INEM’s frequently asked questions explain the chain. The call is first answered by a 112 center, and the page says it is initially handled by an authority officer who makes a brief assessment of whether it is a police, fire or health matter. A health call is passed to a Centro de Orientação de Doentes Urgentes (CODU), the INEM medical dispatch centers, staffed 24 hours a day by doctors and pre-hospital emergency technicians who ask questions, triage the call and decide which resources to send: ambulances, doctor-staffed emergency vehicles, motorcycles or helicopters.

INEM asks callers to be ready to say:

• the exact location, with landmarks if possible
• the phone number you are calling from
• the type of situation (illness, accident, birth and so on)
• the number, sex and apparent age of the people needing help
• the main complaints and any changes you see

It also says to keep following the operator’s instructions and to hang up only when told to. If the case turns out not to need an emergency vehicle, INEM says the call is transferred to SNS 24 for further advice. INEM covers mainland Portugal: its FAQ describes it as coordinating the system on the mainland, (“no território de Portugal Continental”). We did not read pages for Madeira or the Azores.

What does SNS 24 do?

The INEM guide calls SNS 24 the SNS contact center and says it provides clarification and advice, including for calls INEM passes on. For the wider picture of how newcomers use the public system, see our healthcare access guide. We could not open the SNS 24 website itself (it only loads in a browser script), so we cannot describe its triage or referral services beyond what these pages say.

One point matters for cost, and comes from the health ministry’s fee guide: an urgência visit that follows a referral from the SNS contact center is not charged the user fee. The next sections explain.

When do I go to a hospital emergency department?

The pages we read do not list symptoms that call for an urgência, and we do not make that list. They do give the pathways: call 112 for a risk to life and INEM decides on sending help; call SNS 24 when it is not an emergency; or go to the urgência yourself, which has a fee. INEM also notes that it does not transport non-urgent patients: if you only need a ride to hospital, it says to call the fire brigade or the Portuguese Red Cross for your area, and to call SNS 24 if unsure.

GOV.UK adds two practical points for British travelers: contact your insurance or medical assistance company quickly if you are sent to a medical facility, and, for a repeat prescription, go to the nearest health center or hospital A&E, where you may have to pay for medication. Our guide to pharmacies and prescriptions in Portugal covers how the electronic prescription works.

How much does an urgência cost, and who is exempt?

The health ministry’s central administration (ACSS) fee guide, updated in February 2025, says user fees (taxas moderadoras) are charged “nos serviços de urgências hospitalares” (in hospital emergency departments). Its table, from ACSS Circular 8/2016 applying Portaria 64-C/2016 and printed in the ACSS FAQ of February 2025, gives the amounts since 1 April 2016:

The table dates from 2016 and we did not find a newer one on the pages we read, so confirm the amount with the hospital.

Portugal’s health regulator (ERS), in its supervision alert 6/2025 of 18 December 2025, states the current rule: care funded by the SNS carries a user fee only in hospital emergency departments (Decree-Law 113/2011, article 2, as amended by Decree-Law 37/2022). Under article 8 of that decree-law the fee is waived when there was a prior referral by the SNS or when the visit leads to admission through the emergency department. ERS adds that after an assault or a road, work or sports accident, or another event with a liable third party, the user is not charged the fee: the liable third party pays the full price of the care.

The ACSS guide lists what is not charged. The fee does not apply to an urgência visit that follows a referral by primary care (the health center), by the SNS contact center or by INEM, including the tests prescribed during it, nor to admission to hospital through the urgência, nor to a referral from a hospital specialist consultation. It also does not apply to urgent care and follow-up tests for victims of domestic violence. Exempt groups, who pay no fees for any care, are:

• pregnant women and women giving birth
• minors (the guide says the exemption ends the day after the 18th birthday)
• people with a disability of 60 percent or more
• people in proven economic hardship, and the dependent members of their household
• blood donors, living donors of cells, tissues and organs, firefighters, transplant patients
• asylum seekers and refugees, and their spouses and direct descendants

Other groups are listed on the page too. For the paperwork, the guide says how to prove each exemption: for pregnancy and for minors it is at the health center, the economic hardship exemption needs an application made via the internet, and firefighters are recorded through the national user register (RNU), so ask before you need it. Our guide to registering with the SNS covers the user number that the exemptions are recorded against. For the pregnancy side, see our guide to pregnancy, birth and registering a baby.

What about visitors and people not yet registered?

For Britons, GOV.UK says that to get medically necessary state healthcare in Portugal you need a GHIC or EHIC, which is not a substitute for travel insurance. It lists costs the card may not cover: changes to travel and accommodation bookings, additional standard costs for treatment, repatriation to the UK, treatment ruled non-urgent, and private healthcare and clinics. Our GHIC and S1 guide goes further.

For Americans, we could not open the U.S. Embassy or State Department pages, so we state only what the Portuguese side says. ERS describes the rules for SNS beneficiaries, so it does not tell a visitor what is charged. Medicare is a question of its own: see Medicare and U.S. insurance abroad. A visa applicant’s insurance is covered in private health insurance for the visa.

ERS says users may be liable for the cost of care only if they do not present themselves identified as SNS beneficiaries (or do not name a liable third party) and also do not prove, within 10 days of being asked to pay, that they hold or applied for the SNS user card. We found no page on how a visitor with only a GHIC or EHIC, or a private insurer, is charged beyond what GOV.UK says, so we leave that open.

What to do in your first weeks

Save 112 and 808 24 24 24 in your phone and know your address in Portuguese, since INEM asks for the exact location first. Register with the health center when you are eligible, as laid out in your first year in Portugal.

What the date refers to

This guide’s update date, 11 August 2026, is the date of GOV.UK’s travel advice health page for Portugal, the most recent dated page among our sources. The SNS campaign page was updated on 14 April 2026, the ACSS fee guide in February 2025 and the INEM questions are undated. We read them on 19 October 2026. Pages read: INEM, Perguntas Frequentes; SNS portal, Quando ligar SNS 24 ou INEM?; ACSS, FAQ taxas moderadoras; ERS, Alerta de Supervisão 6/2025 (18 December 2025); GOV.UK, Portugal travel advice, Health.