In a genuine medical emergency in Portugal, call 112 (the free, 24/7 European emergency number); for urgent-but-not-life-threatening situations, call the SNS24 line (808 24 24 24) or use the SNS24 app for clinical triage before deciding whether to go to a hospital emergency department (urgência). Hospital emergency rooms use the Manchester Triage System to sort patients by clinical urgency, not arrival order, and a "moderating fee" (taxa moderadora) of €14–€18 applies to emergency visits made without a prior referral — with broad exemptions and a per-visit cap of €40.
Knowing which number to call, what to expect at hospital triage, and what an ER visit will actually cost helps a newcomer avoid two common mistakes: under-reacting to a true emergency by trying to "just go to the hospital," and over-using the emergency department for non-urgent issues that SNS24 could resolve faster and without a moderating fee.
Key Facts
112 is the European emergency number, free from any phone, 24 hours a day, for situations with immediate risk to life (e.g., cardiac arrest, severe breathing difficulty, loss of consciousness, uncontrollable bleeding, intense chest pain, stroke symptoms, serious accidents/injuries), per Portugal's official gov.pt migrant healthcare guidance page.
Calls to 112 are first answered by police (PSP/GNR) and transferred to INEM (Instituto Nacional de Emergência Médica) when the situation is medical; INEM's CODU dispatch centre triages by phone and decides whether to send an ambulance/helicopter or advise you to go to a health centre instead.
SNS24 (line 808 24 24 24, plus the SNS24 app and web portal) provides clinical triage for urgent-but-non-emergency situations; per gov.pt, clinical advice is available 24/7 and administrative support from 8am–10pm. Since December 2024, SNS24 also offers teleconsultations after phone triage, accessible via the app or a link sent by SMS.
Hospital emergency departments (urgência) triage patients using the Manchester Triage System, mandated by Direção-Geral da Saúde (DGS) technical norms and used across SNS hospitals (and some private ones). The five priority colors and their maximum recommended wait to be seen are: Red/emergent = 0 minutes; Orange/very urgent = 10 minutes; Yellow/urgent = 60 minutes; Green/less urgent = 120 minutes; Blue/non-urgent = 240 minutes.
SNS hospitals are graded into three emergency-service tiers with different moderating fees: Urgência Polivalente (comprehensive/major hospital ER), Urgência Médico-Cirúrgica (medical-surgical ER), and Urgência Básica (basic ER) — see Costs below.
The moderating fee for a hospital ER visit is waived if: (a) you were referred to the ER by your primary-care network, by the SNS24 contact centre, or by INEM; or (b) you end up admitted to the hospital after the ER visit (any fee already charged is refunded at discharge), per the ACSS FAQ.
A long list of population groups is exempt from moderating fees entirely, including: pregnant/postpartum women, minors, people with ≥60% disability, people in proven economic hardship (and their dependents), blood and living organ/tissue donors, firefighters, transplant patients, permanently disabled ex-military, unemployed people receiving benefits up to 1.5× the IAS index (€805.70 in 2026) and their dependents, protected minors, and asylum seekers/refugees (and spouses/direct descendants).
Portugal runs dedicated fast-track hospital protocols ("Vias Verdes") activated by INEM for time-critical conditions, including Via Verde AVC (stroke), Via Verde Coronária (heart attack), Via Verde Sépsis, and Via Verde Trauma; INEM reported routing well over 2,000 suspected heart-attack cases through Via Verde Coronária in 2024 alone.
EU/EEA/Swiss citizens and residents should carry their European Health Insurance Card (EHIC/CESD); presenting it lets you access SNS emergency care under the same terms as an insured Portuguese resident. Without it, you may be billed and would need to seek reimbursement afterward from your home coverage, or request a Certificado Provisório de Substituição (CPS) from Portuguese Social Security as a temporary replacement document, per the EU's official Your Europe portal.
Any foreigner — resident or not, insured or not — can be seen at a Portuguese health centre or hospital in an emergency; the question is who ultimately pays, not whether you will be treated.
Steps
Deciding whether to call 112 or SNS24 — 1. If there is any immediate risk to life (chest pain, stroke symptoms, severe trauma, breathing difficulty, unconsciousness, uncontrolled bleeding), call 112 without delay.
2. If symptoms are concerning but not immediately life-threatening, call SNS24 (808 24 24 24) or open the SNS24 app first for clinical triage.
3. Follow the triage outcome: SNS24 may advise self-care, a teleconsultation, a visit to a health centre, or referral to a hospital emergency department (which then waives the moderating fee).
What happens when you arrive at a hospital emergency department — 1. On arrival, you are assessed and assigned a Manchester Triage colour (red/orange/yellow/green/blue) based on clinical urgency, not order of arrival.
2. You wait to be seen within the target time for your colour; more urgent colours are seen ahead of less urgent ones even if they arrived later.
3. At admission (or at discharge, if unreferred), you pay the applicable moderating fee unless you qualify for an exemption or arrived via referral from primary care, SNS24, or INEM.
Costs
Urgência Polivalente (comprehensive/major hospital ER): €18.00 per visit.
Urgência Médico-Cirúrgica (medical-surgical ER): €16.00 per visit.
Urgência Básica (basic ER): €14.00 per visit.
Maximum moderating-fee charge per emergency episode, including any complementary diagnostic tests performed during that visit: €40.00.
112 calls and INEM dispatch: free, regardless of nationality or residency status.
No moderating fee at all if referred to the ER by primary care, SNS24, or INEM, or if admitted to hospital following the ER visit.:
Unemployment-based exemption threshold for 2026: benefit income up to €805.70/month (1.5× the IAS index of €537.13 for 2026).
Required Documents
EU/EEA/Swiss citizens: European Health Insurance Card (EHIC/CESD), or a Certificado Provisório de Substituição (CPS) requested from Social Security if the card is unavailable.
Anyone claiming a moderating-fee exemption (economic hardship, disability, unemployment, etc.) must present official documentation proving eligibility at the health facility.
Non-EU visitors without a reciprocal healthcare arrangement should expect to be billed directly and should carry travel/health insurance details.
Common Mistakes
Driving yourself (or a patient) to the hospital during a true life-threatening emergency instead of calling 112, which delays pre-hospital treatment (e.g., roadside ECG and Via Verde Coronária routing for a suspected heart attack) and appropriate hospital selection.
Going straight to a hospital ER for a non-urgent issue without calling SNS24 first, which both costs a moderating fee unnecessarily and adds to ER congestion.
Assuming Manchester Triage colour order equals arrival order — lower-urgency patients (green/blue) can and do wait behind later-arriving but more urgent (orange/red) patients.
Assuming EHIC/CESD guarantees free care everywhere — it grants access under local resident terms (including any applicable local fees/exemption rules), not automatically zero-cost treatment.