A student is considered an international student as long as they:
- Are not a Portuguese citizen;
- Are not citizens of a Member State of the European Union;
- Have legally resided in Portugal for less than two years on August 31st of the year in which they intend to enter higher education, as well as their children who legally reside with them, even if they are not citizens of a Member State of the European Union;
- Are not covered by the following situations (regulated by Decree-Law no. 393-A / 99 and Decree-Law no. 272/2009:
° Portuguese Diplomatic Mission abroad;
° Portuguese officials of Portuguese diplomatic mission abroad and family members accompanying them;
° Portuguese citizens abroad or public officials on official missions abroad and family members accompanying them;
° Officers of the Portuguese Armed Forces - Officers of the permanent staff of the Portuguese Armed Forces, within the scope of meeting specific training needs of the Armed Forces;
° PALOP scholarship recipients - National scholarship students from Portuguese-speaking African countries, within the framework of cooperation agreements signed by the Portuguese State;
° Foreign diplomatic mission accredited in Portugal;
° Foreign officials of a diplomatic mission accredited in Portugal and family members residing here, on a reciprocal basis;
° High-performance athletes;
° Natural children and citizens of the territory of East Timor;
- Are not attending a Portuguese higher education institution as part of an international mobility program to complete part of a study cycle of a foreign higher education institution with which the Portuguese institution has established an exchange agreement for this purpose.
