Foreign Judgment Recognition in Portugal: Validating Your International Civil Acts

If you are a Portuguese citizen or a resident who has undergone a significant legal change abroad—such as a divorce or an adoption—your journey doesn’t end with the final decree in that country. To ensure those rights and status changes are recognized in Portugal, you must go through a specific legal process known as Foreign Judgment Recognition (known in Portugal as Revisão de Sentença Estrangeira).

What is Foreign Judgment Recognition?

In simple terms, a judgment issued by a court outside of Portugal does not automatically have legal effects within Portuguese territory. The recognition process is a formal review by a Portuguese Court of Appeal (Tribunal da Relação) to “validate” the foreign decision, ensuring it complies with Portuguese law and public policy.

The Purpose: Why Is It Mandatory?

The primary purpose is to maintain the continuity and accuracy of your civil status.

• Legal Obligation: Every Portuguese citizen is legally required to register all civil acts (births, marriages, deaths, and divorces) practiced abroad in the Portuguese Civil Registry,
• Preventing “Limping” Legal Status: Without this recognition, you might be considered “divorced” in the USA or Brazil, but remain “married” in Portugal. This discrepancy can cause massive headaches regarding inheritance, taxes, and the ability to remarry.

Most Common Use Cases

While many types of judgments can be recognized, the two most frequent cases we handle are:

1. Divorce: Validating a foreign divorce decree so that your civil status in Portugal is updated to “divorced”, and is the essential prerequisite for a second or third marriage to be validated and recognized in Portugal.

2. Adoption: Ensuring that the legal bond between parent and child created abroad is fully protected and recognized under Portuguese law.

Fun Fact: Our experience goes beyond the standard. We have handled the recognition of Canonical Divorces (religious annulments), ensuring that even specific ecclesiastical decisions are correctly integrated into the Portuguese civil system.

Do I Need a Lawyer?

Yes. By law, the recognition of foreign judgments requires mandatory representation by an attorney. This is not a simple administrative task at a consulate; it is a judicial process that takes place within the Portuguese court system.

How We Can Help

Our team specializes in navigating the complexities of the Portuguese Courts of Appeal. We handle the entire process for you:

• Collecting and legalizing the necessary foreign documents (Apostilles and/or legalizations and translations).
• Drafting and filing the judicial petition.
• Ensuring the final judgment is correctly integrated into the Civil Registry.

We know exactly what the courts look for, ensuring a smooth process without unnecessary delays.

Do you have a foreign judgment that needs to be validated in Portugal?

Click here to schedule a consultation with our legal team and ensure your civil status is fully protected.