How to learn Portuguese for free: PLA and IEFP courses, the CIPLE exam
Adults can learn Portuguese for free: the state runs Português Língua de Acolhimento (PLA) courses — at IEFP job centres, in ordinary schools and in Qualifica centres, from A1 to B2. An A2 certificate from such a course or the CIPLE exam, which costs €95, proves your Portuguese for permanent residence and, for applications filed before 19 May 2026, for citizenship too. Below, in order: which level you need and what for; who can study on PLA and how to sign up; what IEFP pays you while you study; how the CIPLE exam works and where to sit it; in which language you can take the driving theory test; and whether you can get a visa for a language course. For children there is a separate guide: How to help a child who doesn't speak Portuguese.
Which level you need and what for
For an ordinary residence permit, a D7 or D8 visa and for work you don't need the language: it is not among the conditions for a temporary residence permit.
For permanent residence (autorização de residência permanente) and EU long-term resident status the law requires “basic Portuguese”, which is level A2. You prove it with an A2 certificate from a PLA course or with the CIPLE exam.
For citizenship the rules have changed. Since 19 May 2026 Lei Orgânica n.º 1/2026 has been in force: you need 10 years of residence (7 for citizens of Portuguese-speaking countries and the EU), and a test or certificate now has to prove not only the language but also knowledge of the country's culture, history and symbols, as well as of citizens' rights and duties and how the state is organised. The law does not name a language level. How all this will be checked is to be set out in new regulations; as of early October 2026 there are none, and the justice ministry's pages are marked “em atualização”. People in the chats say you now need B1 or B2 — the law says no such thing.
Citizenship applications filed before 19 May 2026 are decided under the old rules: an A2 certificate — CIPLE or a PLA course — is enough.
Family reunification. Since 2025 the law has required relatives who get a residence permit to take Portuguese courses and to prove their Portuguese when they renew. The procedure is to be set by a separate decree, which does not exist yet. More on citizenship in the guide How to get Portuguese citizenship.
Free PLA courses: who can study and where they run
Português Língua de Acolhimento (PLA) is the state Portuguese course for newcomers (it used to be called Português para Todos). You can study from the age of 16 if Portuguese is not your native language.
What they ask for to get in. A residence permit or one of these documents: proof that you have applied to renew it or applied for a residence permit, that you have applied for international or temporary protection, or that you have been given a social security number (NISS). They also take people with a residence visa or a temporary stay visa. In practice it varies: some schools accept you with a document from AIMA, others turn you away without a residence card — ask in advance.
Where they run. At IEFP employment and vocational training centres, in state schools (agrupamentos de escolas, escolas secundárias) and in the Qualifica centres attached to them. A private school can run PLA only under an agreement with them. AIMA itself does not run courses, but it will tell you the nearest ones if you email lingua.portuguesa@aima.gov.pt.
Levels and hours. There are two tracks, A1+A2 and B1+B2, each up to 150 hours (75 hours per level, up to 100 for those whose language does not use the Latin alphabet). You can sign up straight for the level you need: before the course they check what you already know. Groups are 15–20 people. Daytime classes run up to six hours a day, evening classes two or three times a week for three hours. The law also allows the course to be taught remotely.
“You can study at the Agrupamento or Escola Secundária in your area that has a PLA course - there is a list ( but you can't attach a file here ). In my area, Odivelas, it cost 20 euros ( they charged for the printed materials ) and the course lasted six months, three hours three times a week. I signed up in spring and they invited me in autumn that same year.”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkru_Portugal_pt08.11.2024
Signing up through IEFP
Online. Register on iefponline (“Entrar/Registe-se”), open “Ofertas de Formação” and find “Português Língua de Acolhimento” in your area. A group's listing shows the level, hours, timetable, start date and format — in person or “A Distância”. The “Fazer Pré-Inscrição” button is an application, not a place: after that the centre will invite you to a meeting itself. On 5 October 2026 the catalogue had 184 PLA groups, most of them A1+A2.
At a job centre. You can walk into the nearest Centro de Emprego or book an appointment there online. You don't need to register as unemployed: the courses are open to people in work too. If you sign up for a distance-learning group run by another centre, they may turn you down and send you to the centre where you live — then go there and say you want to study on PLA.
How long you wait. A group starts once enough people have signed up: they may call you in a month, or in six months. If you hear nothing for a long time, write to the centre or go in again.
“Can't help you with the courses at school. But I've just finished 9 months in total, from A1 to B2, on the PLA Portuguese course at an IEFP centre. I applied online through the website, picked the right town and the course I wanted to take. But I also went to the centre itself, which got me nowhere, and an acquaintance simply “signed me up” again over the phone, although they said the application on the website was enough. I went to the IEFP centre to sign up and ask about it in November 2022( they said they'd call back in January), and in the end they only sent me a letter in June 2023 saying we'll see you on the course in a week.”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkru_Portugal_pt22.03.2024
“Basically, yes. For example, if you register on iefponline.iefp.pt - there's almost always enrolment open there for distance PLA A1+A2 courses. I finished one of those last year.”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkchatporto29.01.2026
Signing up at a school or Qualifica centre
In schools PLA usually follows the school year: classes start in September or October, and you sign up in spring and summer. Find the nearest agrupamento de escolas or escola secundária with a PLA course and go there in person, or email the Qualifica centre at the school. A list of courses by town is in the Portal da Oferta Formativa catalogue, and the centres are on the Qualifica website.
For documents, schools most often ask for your NIF and a paper showing you are here legally. Sometimes they charge €10–20 for printed materials. There aren't enough places for everyone: people in the chats say they were fortieth in the queue at one school — so apply to several at once.
“I go to B1–B2 in Matosinhos. I booked an online appointment for a set time, they filled in my details about education and where I live, and told me to wait for a letter when there was a group. They forgot. So did I, a bit :) Then I wrote a letter saying I wanted to do Portuguese courses. They sent me an invitation to A1–A2, but I wanted a higher level, so I waited a month and they called me to B1–B2. To study, all they asked for was proof that I was legally staying in the country.”
Translated from Ukrainian; the original is at the linkukrporto12.09.2026
“The secondary schools have Portuguese courses. They take you there without a residence permit, at least in our town they do”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkru_Portugal_pt01.02.2025
What IEFP pays you while you study
On IEFP courses, PLA students get the same payments as on any of the centre's vocational training. If you are unemployed — a training allowance of up to half the IAS, in 2026 up to €268.57 a month, based on the hours you attend; people who receive unemployment benefit don't get it. For meals — on days when classes last three hours or more; if you work, only if you study outside working hours. For travel — up to €80.57 a month (not on a distance-learning course). For childcare — up to €268.57. To work it out they will ask for your NISS, IBAN and papers about your job or benefits.
Courses at schools and Qualifica centres have no such payments.
You only get the certificate if you attended at least 90% of the course hours: absences are counted strictly.
“If it's through the job centre, they may want those documents to work out how much to pay you. For people in work they only cover meals (6 euros I think at the moment), and for people not working they pay something extra as well.”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkmyptaxes24.07.2025
The PLA certificate: what it gives you
After the course you get a Certificado de Qualificações showing your level. An A2 certificate or higher proves your Portuguese for permanent residence and long-term resident status, and also for citizenship on applications filed before 19 May 2026: you then don't need to sit the CIPLE exam. A1 is no good for any of these.
A certificate from a private school is only valid if the school ran PLA under an agreement with a state school or IEFP and they approved it (homologação). In April 2026 Público reported on fake certificates from paid courses for migrants, and prosecutors opened an investigation. If you have doubts about a school, a state course or CIPLE is the safer option.
“Nowhere urgently, people book ciple six months ahead. The only faster way is to do the official courses, the certificate for finishing them replaces the exam, but they don't start every day either, maybe the Porto folks can tell you the nearest dates.”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkchatporto27.03.2025
“I recommend taking the official CIPLE, because with certificates from all sorts of other schools not accredited by CAPLE you get requests for more documents, even having to resit.”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkRussosEmPortugal09.06.2026
The CIPLE exam: what it is and how much it costs
CIPLE is the A2-level exam set by CAPLE, a centre at the University of Lisbon. You can sit it from the age of 16. It costs €95. It takes about two hours with a 15-minute break: reading and writing (1 hour 15 minutes, 45% of the mark), listening (30 minutes, 30%) and a speaking part together with another candidate (15 minutes, 25%). The pass mark is 55%. Sample papers are on the CAPLE website. There are equivalent exams for other levels: DEPLE (B1) costs €115, DIPLE (B2) €135.
Where. About 100 centres in 35 countries, 21 of them in Portugal: Lisbon, Porto, Coimbra, Braga, Aveiro, Faro, Évora, Funchal and other towns. There are no centres in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus or Kazakhstan; the nearest option abroad is Spain, which also has 21 centres.
When. In Portugal in 2026 CIPLE was held on 7 February, 14 March, 18 April, 20 June, 19 September and 17 October; there are also international sessions in May, July and November. Registration for 17 October closes about 12 days before the exam; for the international session on 5 November 2026, on 20 October. CAPLE has not yet published the dates for 2027.
“Yes, it's all doable if you're motivated, I passed A2 CIPLE 8 months after arriving in Portugal, first attempt, did lessons with a teacher online for 2-3 months, and otherwise studied everything on my own, it's all doable”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkchatleiria27.10.2025
“a few months ago I tried to make a new booking for CIPLE, the centres in Portugal had no slots at all, but in Spain there were quite a lot. As for needing to speed up your documents in light of the new legislative initiatives, I can't say anything.”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkru_Portugal_pt09.07.2025
Registering for CIPLE and getting the certificate
Registration is online only, on the CAPLE website: the exam and country, the centre, the date, your details (passport or residence permit and NIF), payment. The form only shows free places where there are any, and they go quickly — in Portugal sometimes within a few hours of opening.
You have to pay within 24 hours — by card, through Multibanco or MB Way. If you miss it, you lose the place and can only register again after 48 hours.
The fee is not refunded. You can only sit one exam per session. Results are published on the CAPLE website by candidate number 7–8 weeks later, and you collect the certificate from the centre 15–20 working days after that. Keep your candidate number and proof of payment.
“I only saw 7 February and 20 June with my own eyes, but since my payment didn't go through and I sat for 1.5 hours with the university where the exam would be trying to work out what was what, the places went before my eyes in 1.5 hours( you could only see the places from 15:00 to 16:30. If they opened other dates before 14:00, they could have snapped them all up straight away. You can look at the open places for Diple to see which towns have them, in those towns they've already released slots for Ciple.”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkschoolinportugal08.01.2026
“CIPLE exam. Booking is at the start of the year for the year ahead, places go v. fast. But they say you can also book in Spain or sometimes places come up, you have to keep watching the booking site all the time. I think there's even a bot for it.”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkchatalgarve28.01.2026
Other ways to prove A2
Besides CIPLE and PLA, the current citizenship regulations (article 25) accept several other documents.
School in Portugal. A certificate showing that you successfully studied Portuguese or PLNM at a Portuguese school for at least two school years.
Vocational training. Portuguese modules of at least 100 hours as part of a vocational training programme.
An exam at a state school (PaN, €65) exists by law but in practice is not held: registration is closed.
If the authorities have doubts about a certificate, they can check it with whoever issued it.
In which language you can take the driving theory test
The IMT theory test is in Portuguese, but you can apply to take it with a translation. Since July 2026 this is possible for any licence category; before, only for mopeds, motorcycles and cars.
The translator comes from the IMT list: Russian and Ukrainian are on it. You tell the driving school about the translation in advance, and the translator is given two hours to translate your test paper. On the screen the questions stay in Portuguese and the translation is given to you on paper; you get the same time as everyone else. You pay separately for the arrangements and for the translator.
The law only allows translation for the theory test. The driving test is conducted by an IMT examiner, and, according to people who have taken it, the instructions are given in Portuguese — learn them in advance. How to choose a driving school is in the guide How to get a driving licence in Portugal through a driving school.
“At the theory test they'll give you a printed translation of your questions. You get the same time as everyone, 30 minutes. On the screen the questions are in Portuguese, on the printouts in the translation language. The IMT website has contacts for certified translators. For Russian there are three people.”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkchatlisboa25.12.2025
“They do translate the theory, yes, but you need to be careful, I took it with a girl, and in her translation they made a fatally wrong translation of the words com / sem as without / with, if she'd answered by the English version it would have been a mistake, with no possibility of appeal.”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkchatlisboa09.12.2025
Can you get a visa or residence permit for a language course
No. In Portugal a student visa and residence permit are given for degree study at a university (a foundation course only as part of such a programme) and for secondary school. Standalone Portuguese courses — even year-long ones at a university — don't qualify.
For a course of up to a year the consulate may issue a temporary stay visa: it is for less than a year, and you cannot get a residence permit on it. The University of Lisbon states plainly on its year-long course page that it does not arrange visas for students. If your aim is to stay, see the guide How to get into a Portuguese university.
“They won't give it, because you can't get a D visa and residence permit on language courses. You need courses at a university that give some kind of degree or a ctesp. But those aren't language courses”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkleft4portugal05.12.2024
Other free and cheap options
Plataforma de Português Online from AIMA — free lessons at levels A and B, 24 modules, and you can study at your own pace. It doesn't give a certificate, but it is a good way to start before a course or while you wait for a group.
University of Lisbon courses (ICLP, Faculty of Letras) are paid, but with a solid number of hours: the evening course is €440 a semester, 60 hours, on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 18:30 to 20:30, from the age of 17; the year-long course is €1,280 a semester, 200 hours, four days a week. The second semester of 2026/27 starts in February 2027.
Children under 16 don't go to PLA — they are taught the language at school. More on this in How to help a child who doesn't speak Portuguese.
What it costs, according to community conversations
| Printed materials on a PLA course at a school | €20 | source |
| Translation of the driving theory test into Russian | €60 | source |
What to bring
- A residence permit — or a document showing you have applied to renew it or applied for a residence permit, applied for protection, or your NISS social security number — for PLA courses
- NIF — your tax number; schools, IEFP and CAPLE all ask for it when you register for the exam
- Social security number (NISS) and IBAN — if you study at IEFP and are counting on the training allowance
- Passport or residence permit — when you register for CIPLE and at the exam itself
- A card with 3D Secure, Multibanco or MB Way — to pay for the exam within 24 hours
- An A2 certificate (PLA or CIPLE) — for your application for permanent residence or citizenship
Where people most often trip up
- If you register for CIPLE and don't pay within 24 hours, you lose the place and can only register again after 48 hours
- Miss more than 10% of PLA classes and you won't get a certificate, even if you know the level
- A certificate from a private school that is not part of the state network is not valid on its own — it has to be approved by a state school or IEFP
- An A1 certificate is no good for permanent residence or citizenship — you need A2 or higher
- The CIPLE exam fee is not refunded, even if you don't turn up; you can only sit one exam per session
- If you sign up on IEFP online for a distance-learning group from another town, you are often turned down and sent to the job centre where you live
- Language courses do not get you either a student visa or a residence permit