Living Will in Portugal for Expats: How to Make a Testamento Vital

In brief: A living will in Portugal (testamento vital) is a legally binding healthcare document — not a financial document. It records your treatment wishes if you become unable to communicate and must be registered with the national registry (RENTEV) to be enforceable. For expats, a home-country advance directive alone is not enough.

What Is a Testamento Vital?

A testamento vital (literally "vital will" or "living will") is a formal legal document in Portugal that records your wishes about medical treatment in advance — in case you become temporarily or permanently unable to communicate those wishes yourself.

It is created by Law 25/2012 of 16 July 2012 and is entirely separate from your conventional will (testamento) that governs the distribution of your assets after death. The testamento vital is exclusively about healthcare and end-of-life decisions.

You can use it to:

• Refuse or consent to specific medical treatments, procedures, or interventions
• Express wishes about palliative care, pain management, and quality of life
• Designate a healthcare proxy (procurador de cuidados de saúde) to make medical decisions on your behalf

Portuguese healthcare professionals are legally required to respect a validly registered testamento vital when making treatment decisions for an incapacitated patient.

Who Is This Relevant For?

Every adult living in Portugal, regardless of nationality, should consider a testamento vital. It is especially relevant for expats because:

• Your family may be abroad: in a medical emergency, Portuguese doctors cannot reach your family in the UK or Germany within hours. A registered testamento vital ensures your wishes are consulted immediately.
• Language barriers: a healthcare proxy who speaks Portuguese and is locally available can advocate for you more effectively than a family member abroad on the phone.
• Cultural and medical system differences: treatment norms and end-of-life practices differ between countries. Your Portuguese testamento vital ensures the local system applies your values and wishes, not its defaults.

What Can — and Cannot — Be Included

You can include:

• Refusal of specific treatments (resuscitation attempts, mechanical ventilation, artificial nutrition)
• Wishes about organ donation
• Preferences for palliative care over life-prolonging treatment
• Any medical treatment preference consistent with Portuguese law

You cannot include:

• A request for active euthanasia (though Portugal legalised medically assisted dying under Law 22/2023 — this is a separate process with specific conditions)
• Requests that are illegal under Portuguese law
• Financial, property, or asset-related instructions (those belong in your conventional will)

How to Make a Testamento Vital in Portugal

Step 1: Prepare the document. You can write it yourself or use the model form available on the SNS Portal (Serviço Nacional de Saúde website). In practice, many people draft it with the help of their doctor or a lawyer to ensure the medical terminology accurately reflects their wishes.

Step 2: Sign before a competent authority. The testamento vital must be signed in the presence of one of the following:

• A notary (notário)
• A lawyer (advogado) or trainee lawyer (solicitador)
• An official at a health centre that accepts declarations

Step 3: Register with RENTEV. The Registo Nacional do Testamento Vital (RENTEV) is the national registry managed by the SNS. Registration can be done:

• Online: via the Portal SNS with a Citizen Card (Cartão do Cidadão) or Chave Móvel Digital (mobile digital key)
• In person: at certain health centres and hospitals

The testamento vital only becomes enforceable once it is registered. Without RENTEV registration, Portuguese medical staff will not be required to act on it in an emergency.

The Healthcare Proxy (Procurador de Cuidados de Saúde)

One of the most important elements of a testamento vital is the designation of a procurador de cuidados de saúde — a healthcare proxy who is authorised to make medical decisions on your behalf.

The proxy's authority is:

• Limited to healthcare decisions only — they cannot make financial decisions
• Activated by incapacity — they act only when you cannot communicate your own wishes
• Required to follow your documented wishes where expressed

For expats, choosing a locally-based, Portuguese-speaking proxy is strongly advisable. This person should understand your values and wishes in detail, and should have a copy of your registered testamento vital.

Can You Use a UK or German Advance Directive in Portugal?

A foreign advance directive (UK Lasting Power of Attorney for Health and Welfare, German Patientenverfügung, etc.) may be legally acknowledged in Portugal — but its practical use in an emergency is very limited.

In an emergency, Portuguese medical staff will consult RENTEV. They will not search for foreign documents, especially if they are not in Portuguese. By the time a foreign document is located, translated, and verified, the relevant decisions may already have been made.

The solution for expats: make a Portuguese testamento vital and register it with RENTEV, in addition to any home-country advance directive. Ensure the two documents are consistent. Give copies to your Portuguese GP, your healthcare proxy, and any family members in Portugal.

What Sucesio Adds to Your Living Will

Your testamento vital handles your healthcare wishes. Your conventional will handles the distribution of your estate. But there is a third layer that both documents ignore: your digital life, personal messages, and the practical information your family needs to navigate your affairs.

Sucesio complements both documents by allowing you to:

• Leave personal messages for your loved ones — the conversations you want to have but may not be able to
• Organise your accounts, passwords, and crypto assets so your executor can find them
• Record family recipes, memories, and non-legal legacy that has no place in a will or a healthcare directive

Think of it as the human complement to your legal documents — ensuring that when the time comes, your family has everything they need, not just the legal minimum.

This article is provided for informational purposes only. For specific advice on making a testamento vital in Portugal, consult a Portuguese notary, lawyer, or your local health centre.