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PFC provides a range of services within its mission and competences. For filming purposes, however, we highlight:

  • Promotion of Portugal as a privileged filming destination and, within that scope, active dissemination of the incentive system created by the Tourism and Cinema Support Fund, with the aim to attract international productions to our country.
  • Support to all national and international producers during the permit granting process for filming in Portugal, ensuring the relationship with all entities in the national territory in an effective, informed, and collaborative articulation.

Yes, there are regional and municipal film commissions, which are private structures or incorporated in local authorities’ structures. At the moment, the following film commissions are in operation in Portugal:

The needed licenses will always depend on the type of filming in stake and where it will take place. Cumulative licenses might be in order, to be issued by different authorities (for instance, city councils in matters of public spaces, aviation regulators regarding the use of drones, Infraestruturas de Portugal for the use of major roads, etc)

For any doubts regarding the procedures and entities involved in the process, please contact the Portugal Film Commission.

Under Article 6(3) of Decree-Law No. 135/2015 of 28 July, pyrotechnic articles are classified as follows: fireworks (F1, F2, F3 and F4); theatrical pyrotechnic articles, such as T1 (for stage use, presenting low risk) and T2 (for stage use, to be handled exclusively by persons with specialised knowledge); and other pyrotechnic articles (P1 and P2) for professional use, not included in the categories above.

The pyrotechnic products available for use in film productions, specifically designed for this purpose, are T1 and T2. T1 articles may be freely acquired, provided they are purchased within Portugal from licensed operators, while T2 articles must be handled by certified professionals belonging to licensed operators.

Information on licensed operators is available on the SEROnline portal (Login – Public Information – List of Economic Operators – Pyrotechnics Workshops).

The use of firearms in film productions always requires authorisation from the Public Security Police (PSP). A formal request must be submitted to the National Director of the PSP (via email to filmagens.dae@psp.pt) in order to obtain a special authorisation for the possession, use and carrying of firearms.

The request must include:

  • Identification of the entity, including its NIP and registered address.
  • Identification of the person responsible, including their personal identification document.
  • Identification of the film, as well as the filming dates and locations.
  • Specification of the scenes that involve the use of firearms or replicas.

If necessary, the request should also include a request for firearm provision, as well as the respective police accompaniment or, alternatively, a security plan (to be verified by the PSP) and the identification of the responsible person.

These procedures are subject to applicable fees, duly listed in the official fee schedule.

To verify which types of firearms may be made available, it is advisable to contact and visit the PSP’s Department of Arms and Explosives (filmagens.dae@psp.pt) during the following hours: 9:15–12:00 and 13:30–17:00.

With regard to the use of airspace for filming purposes, the general operating rules are set out on the website of the National Civil Aviation Authority (ANAC) and access to airspace is possible without the need to request prior authorisation from ANAC, provided the requirements mentioned therein are met.

Operations involving drones must comply with the applicable rules depending on the category in which the operation falls: open category, specific category and certified category.

If the drone operates in the open category, it does not require an authorisation from ANAC, provided the general operational rules applicable to it are complied with:

  • They operate VLOS (in line of sight);
  • They cannot fly in prohibited or operationally restricted areas of airports or heliports (article 11 and Annex to ANAC Regulation 1093/2016 until article 15 of the Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/947 is implemented);
  • Operate up to a maximum of 120m above the ground;
  • Operate at civil aerodromes and heliports, without CTR or ATZ/TRMZ or with ATZ/TRMZ (in uncontrolled airspace) up to 120m above the surface with the authorisation of the Aerodrome Director (no need for ANAC authorisation) as referred to in Article 6 and 7 of ANAC Regulation No. 1093/2016;
  • Gliders can be operated up to 120m above the ground, but never 120m above the remote pilot (remote pilot on top of a mountain operating the aircraft over a valley);
  • They can fly 15m above an artificial obstacle that is more than 105m high, provided it is no further than 50m away from the obstacle and is at the request of the responsible authority;
  • They may fly at night and during the day (without ANAC’s authorisation).

It is advisable to consult in detail and check the possible specificities of the subcategories here.

Not complying with these requirements, the operation will have to obey the requirements of the specific or certified category and will already need a direct and prior Authorization from ANAC. You may consult the requirements on the respective website: specific and certified.

The capture of images for the purpose of dissemination is subject to prior authorization from the National Aeronautical Authority (AAN) and must be requested after obtaining ANAC’s authorization, when applicable.

If the filming takes place in a protected area, such as a Natural Park, a Natural Reserve, or others, you will always need a previous permit by the Instituto da Conservação da Natureza e das Florestas (ICNF – Nature and Forest Conservation Institute).

In these areas, there may be cases of absolute filming prohibition, or specific situations subject to the terms of the authorisation granted, as shown in the diploma that regulates each of these areas.

You can access the list of the existing protected areas in mainland Portugal here.

The type of permits depends on the site you intend to film.

Using museums, palaces and national monuments with promotional intents, cultural dissemination, filming, and others, is subject to authorization by the “Museus e Monumentos de Portugal” or the “Património Cultural”, whenever they relate to properties that are under the supervision of these governmental bodies.

Check here the Annex II with the list of museums, monuments and palaces under the management of “Museus e Monumentos de Portugal”, as well as the properties allocated to this entity, in Annex III. Here you can check the cultural heritage allocated to “Património Cultural”, in Annex I, and to municipalities, in Annex II.

There are other entities with the authority to permit filming in certain buildings, which may be of a municipal or associative nature, foundations, etc.

Whenever the filming involves this type of buildings, it must be previously determined which entity is responsible for managing that heritage.

Whenever filming takes place in private property, if the owner(s) authorise/agree with it, there is no need for a license/permit, unless:
• There is need to use public parking for the production vehicles
• Public areas must be used to install any accessories
• Filming implies collecting images of public spaces or adjacent areas to the private property
• There is need to make such noise that the neighbourhood’s well-being and rest is affected

To be able to film with animals, you must get a permit by the Directorates of Food and Veterinary Services of the region you are settled in to film.

Animals used for filming must be insured, and all conditions of safety and well-being must be guaranteed. The involvement of animals must not present any risk to health and safety of third parties.
Council services must make a risk assessment of the presence of animals.
A drinking fountain and a feeder should be placed in all places where the animals are to remain.
The company should also provide the immediate collection and packaging of animal waste.

Documentation needed:
• Sanitary documentation of all the involved animals
• Declaration issued by the veterinarian, attesting the good health and accommodation conditions of the animals
• Declaration issued by the production company confirming it complies with all the requirements regarding the animals’ well-being
• Civil Responsibility Insurance
• Proof of licensing of the vehicles used to transport the animals in question

Whenever filming involves temporary occupation of road area or road platform, you should get a permit, license or approval by Infraestruturas de Portugal (Portugal Infrastructures), and/or other entities that might be necessary to articulate with, such as police departments, bridge management bodies, motorway authorities, etc.

In the case of municipal roads, the responsibility for authorisation already lies with the respective municipal authority.

As a non-resident in Portugal and providing the service by direct contract or by means of a contract with the representing company, the tax procedures may be:

a) business and professional income paid by a Portuguese company to a non-resident without a permanent establishment are covered by the IRS tax rules. This type of income is taxed at the rate of withholding tax at a definitive rate of 25% unless there is a Double Taxation Convention or bilateral agreement.

b) if there is a convention to avoid double taxation and exclusive taxation is foreseen in the beneficiary’s country of residence, it will be necessary to activate this agreement to have the necessary effects. The request must be made by sending the beneficiary (service provider) to the payer (Portuguese entity that purchases this service) of the following documents:

– Completed Form 21-RFI, signed by the beneficiary and certified by the tax authorities of your country of residence,
OR
– Form 21-RFI completed, signed by the beneficiary, and accompanied by the beneficiary’s tax residency certificate (attesting to his taxation in the country of residence).

In other words, if it is not possible to certify the 21-RFI model by the tax authorities of the beneficiary’s country, it is also permissible to send this annex, completed and signed, accompanied by a certificate of tax residence and tax liability issued by the tax authorities.

If there is a retention or a waiver is applicable, the payer will have to send the model 30 to the Tax Authority, by the end of the second month following payment.

In case of goods and products not intended for consumption and that will temporarily remain in the country, with subsequent object of re-export, they may enter the country with the application of the temporary import customs regime.

In order to be included in the temporary importation regime, the following requirements must be met: (i) the goods do not undergo any change beyond the normal depreciation resulting from the use made of it and (ii) it is possible to ensure the identification of the goods subject to this regime (the goods must be endowed with marks, manufacturing numbers or other means of identification that allows confrontation in the act of re-export).

This special customs regime is dependent on an authorisation previously requested to the Tax and Customs Authority.

The period established by law and fixed by customs for these goods to be re-exported is 24 months, and, at the request of interested parties, a shorter period may be fixed. In special circumstances, the deadline may be extended, or another customs procedure may be assigned, fixed by customs.

The participation of minors requires a request for authorisation from the Commission for the Protection of Children and Young People (CPCJ) of the respective area of residence of the minor in question (or of the filming area). They should always take into account the age of the minors in question, as well as the number of hours of effective participation. It may, however, be subject to only one communication if the participation takes place within a 24h period and for minors with a minimum age of 13 years old, who have not participated for 180 days in similar activities. The request is made in writing, at least 5 (five) days in advance.

In this case it depends on whether the minors in question will be paid and taxed according to the rules of Portugal and/or by a Portuguese company, or according to the rules of the country of which they are nationals and/or by a foreign company.

In the first case, the participation of minors requires an authorization request to the Commission for the Protection of Children and Young People (CPCJ), being the request made in writing, with a minimum of 5 (five) days in advance; in the second case, they may, eventually, only be subject to the rules of the country of origin, but the situation must be presented/communicated to the CPCJ of the area where the work will take place, as well as the conditions for the provision of the same.

Citizens of the European Union, Andorra, Cyprus, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland need only their identification document to enter Portugal. If they are minors, in addition to the identification document, they must also present a parent’s authorisation to travel. For stays of no more than 90 (ninety) days, nationals of third countries* only need to present a passport valid for more than three months after the end of their stay.

If the workers stay for a period exceeding 90 (ninety) days, they may apply for a residence permit for cultural activities, under the terms of no. 2 of art. 90 of Law no. 23/2007, of 4 July (reference should be made to the provisions of article 4 of Law no. 4/2008, of 7 February, pursuant to which “For the purposes of the law that defines conditions and procedures for the entry, stay, departure and removal of foreign citizens from Portuguese territory, it is assumed that professionals in the performing arts and audio-visual perform highly qualified activities.”)

* You can consult the list of third countries that need a visa to enter Portugal here

They must meet the following requirements:
• Be the holder of a travel document that is valid for at least 3 months after the intended stay
• Have sufficient means of subsistence for the period of the stay
• Not being registered in the Integrated Information System of the Serviço de Estrangeiros e Fronteiras (SEF – Borders and Foreigners Service) or in the Schengen Information System

Visas are granted based on the purpose and duration of stay in the country.

  • Schengen Visa;
  • Short-stay Visa;
  • Seasonal Work Visa;
  • Airport Transit Visa;
  • Long-stay Visas (or National Visas).

You can find detailed information on the different types of visas here.

Under the Tourism and Film Support Fund, Portugal created Pic Portugal – Cash Rebate Incentive.

This incentive is aimed at cinema and audiovisual productions, covering national productions, co-productions, and executive productions.

The support rate may vary between 25% and 30%, depending on the score obtained in the Cultural Test (and may reach 40% in the case of the Autonomous Regions of the Azores and Madeira and in low-density regions).

Two application phases are opened each year. Payments for the incentive are made in different instalments and on an advance payment basis.

Projects must present a minimum expenditure in Portugal of 200.000 euros for documentaries and post-production, and 500.000 euros for fiction and animation.

The 2024 State Budget Law introduced a new production incentive scheme: Pic Portugal – Cash Refund Incentive.

This incentive, with an annual allocation of up to 20 million euros, is aimed at higher-budget productions, with eligible production expenditure in Portugal equal to or greater than 2.5 million euros per project.

Support is granted on a first come, first served basis, and it is necessary to achieve a minimum score in the Cultural Test.

The Cash Refund consists of reimbursing 30% of the first 2 million euros and up to 25% of the remaining amount. Payment is made in a single instalment in the year following the Final Recognition.

Expenses incurred in Portugal which are directly and exclusively related to the production of the work in Portugal are considered eligible. This includes:

  • Remuneration of authors, actors, technicians and other staff involved in production, whether with a dependent employment relationship or under the service provision regime.
  • Expenses for the acquisition of goods and services provided by companies with their registered office or permanent establishment in Portugal, provided that the services are provided and invoiced in Portugal.

In this case, the applicant should submit their request to the APA – Portuguese Environment Agency (through the respective ARH – Hydrographic Region Administration), which is the competent authority to authorize the filming.

When filming involving drones, the limitations of the respective POC – Coastal Zone Programmes should also be considered, as these may include some specific rules for overflying with drones.

The Harbour Captaincies authorise and license the filming / photographic sessions in all the Public Maritime Domain under their respective jurisdiction (on beaches, on the banks, underwater, with drone, on a boat, etc.).

However, Law no. 50/2018, of 16th August, approved the framework law for the transfer of competencies to local authorities, and DL 97/2018, of 27th November, established the framework for this same transfer in terms of maritime, fluvial and lake beaches.

Therefore, currently and in most cases, whenever we are facing beaches under concession and the so-called bathing beaches, the competence to authorise filming is in the sphere of the respective City Council, although the Captaincy must always issue an opinion regarding safety. In these cases the request for filming should be requested to the respective Town Hall, which will liaise with the Captaincy, thus avoiding the payment of double fees.

In all other areas of the beach (other than authorized bathing beaches) the competence remains with the respective Captaincy.

You can consult the jurisdiction of each captaincy here.

The authorisation request must be addressed to the Harbour Captain, accompanied by information about the activity to be performed:

  • Complete identification of the production company (including the company legal number)
  • Indication of the name and contact for the person responsible, for coordination and security purposes
  • Exact location of the filming, with illustrative image
  • Approximate number of people involved as well as the dates and times of filming
  • Purpose and summary of the action
  • Indication of the need for people to enter the water (ensure the presence of two properly trained lifeguards, equipped and ready to intervene in case of need)
  • Indication of the use of vessels (send copy of booklets) or drones (need authorisation from the National Aeronautical Authority)
  • Placement of any type of equipment or removable structure (indicate the size of the areas to be occupied)
  • Indication of the need for vehicles to circulate on the beach
  • Indication of the need to interrupt road traffic (due to the matter, the competent police body is the PSP / GNR)
  • Indication of limitation on public fruition of the location

Captaincies will issue a dispatch indicating the safety conditions the applicant must comply with in order to proceed with the proposed activities, including, or not, the need for policing to be carried out by the Maritime Police (dismounted or by ship).

The request must enter the respective Captaincy with a minimum of 3 weekdays before the date of the activity. In case of non-compliance with the established deadline, an urgency fee will be applied, as predicted by the services chart provided by the Bodies and Services of the Maritime Authority (RESAM), approved by Ordinance No. 506/2018, of 2 October

As a rule, the payment is made in four instalments: the first upon signature of the contract corresponding to 20% of the total amount, two interim instalments each corresponding to 30% of the total amount, and the last instalment after the delivery of the work and the audit report corresponding to 20% of the total amount.

The works must demonstrate viable international dissemination in at least three territories, including one where Portuguese is not the official language. Alternatively, if the work is intended for less than three territories, they must have a total population of at least 45 million inhabitants.

For projects without filming in Portugal, the minimum amount of eligible expenses is 200,000 euros and, in order to be eligible, the work must demonstrate compliance with other criteria for dissemination and cultural contribution, even if they do not involve filming in the country.

The works applying for the incentive must demonstrate that they have at least 55 % of the funding for the planned eligible expenses already secured at the time of application. Such confirmation must be attested by means of financing contracts or final public support decisions. The producer’s own financing may also be accepted, provided that it is proven by a certified banking institution or chartered accountant which certifies the availability of the necessary funds.

No, the application for the incentive must be submitted before the start of filming or main animation in Portugal. Exceptions are made for productions that do not involve filming, where the application must be submitted before the start of the planned works in Portuguese territory. If the project has already begun, the application will not be eligible for the incentive, as stipulated in Article 5 of the Ordinance.

The Support Request Register serves as a mechanism to ensure that the project is formally registered for the incentive benefit, even if the application stage is not yet open. This registration allows the project to apply for the incentive benefit in the next stage of applications, despite having already started the production project in Portugal.

The incentive must be mentioned visibly and clearly using the “Visit Portugal” and “PIC Portugal” logos, in accordance with the contractually agreed guidelines.

ICA and Turismo de Portugal provide a standard template for mentioning the incentive, including access to the logos and the text to be used in the credits and promotional materials. The beneficiary should follow this template to ensure the conformity of the incentive mention. This template is available here.

Feature-length cinematic projects (fiction, documentary or animation) and audiovisual works (fiction, animation or documentary), whether one-offs or series, are eligible, provided that they are initially shown in cinemas, on television services, or on-demand audiovisual communication services.