# Lost trying to obtain health care card number/registering for a doctor - help please!



## Anya Hargreaves (Dec 4, 2020)

Hi,
I have been trying to obtain my health care card number since January with no luck. I am now pregnant after many years of trying and I am starting to stress out at not having any medical care arranged. Due to some previous health reasons, I know if I was back in the UK I would be considered under consultant care/high risk. It is still very early days (just over 5 weeks) for me but that makes me all the more cautious - I don't know where I'd go if anything went wrong, where I'd go for standard checks etc. So far I have visited a private clinic for bloods and booked my first scan but in the long term this will prove to be an expensive option. Plus so far, they are not responsible for my care - they are only doing what I ask of them.

My local health centre was closed due to COVID restrictions so I emailed them a few times with no response. I went to see them this week and the receptionist does not speak English and my Portuguese is still very basic so no progress was made. I work part-time in Lisbon in an attempt to improve my language and to integrate better. Can I try to register with a health centre in Lisbon instead or does it need to be my local one? Any help will be appreciated! Thank you in advance.


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## Pgmills (Jan 19, 2015)

Online Registration Process
Go to this website: Registration-for-SNS-Utente-number.pdf (safecommunitiesportugal.com) for details on what information and documents are required as well as the specific email address to use. 

You’ll be asked to provide the following information and documentation (scanned) in your email. These requirements vary slightly, by region, as you will see in the document linked above. Please, do not fail to provide any required data or document.

1. Full name 
2. Date of birth 
3. Nationality 
4. Place/town of Birth 
5. Passport or residence permit number
6. Full address 
7. Phone / mobile number (Portuguese) 


If you have applied for a residency permit but have yet to receive it: INCLUDE a receipt of your payment for the residency permit as issued by SEF, or your proof of an appointment to obtain a residency permit, or other proof of a similar request issued electronically by SEF.
In-Person Registration:
During COVID-19, SNS asks that you use their email services rather than physically go to your local health center (centros de saude) to register. If you want to know where your local center is, click on this link and enter your location information in boxes at the bottom, left-hand side of the first page: Request the SNS’s user number - ePortugal.gov.pt
Documents Required to Register In-Person:
• Your Temporary Residence permit and fiscal/ tax number (NIF), or 
• A certificate from your local Junta de Freguesia confirming more than 90 days of residence in Portugal, your passport, your fiscal / tax number (NIF) and proof of address, using a rental agreement or utility bill in your name, or
• Your social security card, passport, and residence permit if you are working.


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## Anya Hargreaves (Dec 4, 2020)

Thank you! I will give this a try.


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