Regulations on the Application of International Student Status at Universidade

Católica Portuguesa

Attracting international students is one of the main dimensions of Universidade Catolica Portuguesa’s
internationalisation strategy. Therefore, taking into account the recent publication of the
international student status – Decree‐Law No. 36/2014, of 10 March – the regulation implementing
said status is approved, with the following clauses:

Article 1

International student status

“International Students” are those defined in Article 3 of Decree‐law no.36/2014, of 10 March.

1. For the purposes of the provisions of this Regulation, an international student is a student who is
not a Portuguese natural.

2 – The following are not covered by the provisions of paragraph 1:

a) Nationals of a European Union Member State;

b) Those who are not nationals of a European Union Member State but who have been legally
residing in Portugal continuously for at least two years on 31 August of the year in which
they intend to enter higher education, and any of their children who legally reside with
them;

c) Those who request entry to higher education through the special entry regimes regulated
by Executive Law no. 393‐A/99 of 2 October 1999, amended by Executive Law no. 272/2009
of 1 October;

3 – Foreign students who are attending a Portuguese higher education institution within the
framework of an international mobility programme in order to complete a course of studies of a
foreign higher education institution with whom the Portuguese institution has entered into an
exchange agreement for this purpose are also not covered by the preceding paragraph.

4 – The length of residence with a residence permit for study is not relevant for the purposes of
paragraph 2 b).

5 – Students who enter higher education under this regulation maintain the status of international
students until the end of the course of studies in which they enrolled initially or to any other course
they have transferred to;
6 – Exceptions to the preceding paragraph are international students who acquire the nationality of
an EU Member State.

7 – The termination of the application of the international student status as a result of the preceding
paragraph shall take effect in the academic year following the date of acquisition of the nationality.

Article 2

Cycle of Studies

This regulation shall apply exclusively to admission to integrated undergraduate and master's degrees,
generally called “courses”.

Article 3

Access conditions

The following international students can apply to courses:

a) Those holding a qualification that grants access to higher education, understood as any
diploma or certificate issued by a competent authority attesting to the successful completion
of a secondary education programme and which grants them the right to apply for admission
to higher education in the country in which it was granted;

b) Those holding a Portuguese secondary school diploma or legally equivalent degree.

Article 4

Conditions of admission

1. The admission conditions for each course include language requirements and specific academic
verification of the entrance exams established under the general admission framework to
Universidade Católica Portuguesa.

2. Portuguese language requirements are level B2 or equivalent. These may be certified by

documentary evidence (language certificate) or through a written exam to be taken in person on any
of the UCP campuses: Lisbon, Oporto, Braga or Viseu or abroad on the premises of partner
organisations.

3. For undergraduate or integrated master’s degrees taught in English, candidates shall submit one of
the following certificates: IELTS: 7.0; TOELF: 100 (IBT); Certificate in Advanced English (CAE): A;
Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English: A.

4. Proof of knowledge of the subject matter of the entrance exams equivalent to that of students
admitted via the Portuguese national system may be made in one of the following ways:
a) documentary evidence – in the terms of the equivalences established in Annex I to these
regulations. Alternatively, by producing documents that prove that in their school education they
passed the curricular components bridging the contents of the entrance exams required for each
course;

b) written exam in Mathematics or Portuguese, as required by the curricular units, to be taken in

person on any of the University’s campuses: Lisbon, Oporto, Braga or Viseu or abroad on the premises
of partner organisations.

5. Proof of the qualifications set out in the preceding paragraphs may be complemented by oral exams
or interviews with candidates, which are of an eliminatory nature.

6. Applications for the exams referred to in paragraphs 2 and 4 b) are governed by a separate
regulation.

Article 5

Admission Grade

1. The admission grade results from the weighting of the candidate’s final mark in secondary education
or legally equivalent qualification and the mark obtained in the entrance exam of the course to which
the candidate is applying.

2. The classification attributed on the foreign education classification scale shall be converted to the
Portuguese scale in use on the Ficha ENES (0‐200).

3. The application grade is calculated according to a formula in which the following weighting is
applied to the elements referred to in the preceding paragraph:

‐ Final grade of the secondary education course or legally equivalent qualification: 60%

‐ Grade obtained in the entrance exam or equivalent: 40%.

4. In the case of the undergraduate course in Sound and Image of the School of Fine Arts (Regional
Centre of Oporto), the weighting shall be: final grade of secondary education course or legally
equivalent qualification: 50%; grade obtained in the entrance exam or equivalent: 35%; grade
obtained in the pre‐requisite exam: 15%.

Article 6

Applications

1. Applications are presented to Universidade Católica Portuguesa, either online or by email (all
original documents to be presented at a later date) or in person on the premises of the campuses in
Lisbon, Oporto, Braga or Viseu.

2. Applications are formalised by completing the application form, accompanied by:

‐ a photocopy of the passport or identification document;

‐ a photograph;

‐ document proving the completion of secondary education or other legally equivalent degree, in the
terms laid down in Article 3;

‐ document proving the entry conditions set forth in Article 4 above.

‐ declaration of honour stating that the candidate is eligible as an “international student”.

3. A non‐refundable application fee is due, according to the table of fees established annually by the
Rector’s office.

Article 7

Validation of documents

The documents proving the completion of secondary education and compliance with the entry
conditions referred to in Article 4 above, shall be:
a) translated into Portuguese, when they are not written in Portuguese, English or Spanish;
b) approved by a Portuguese consular service or bear the Hague Apostille by the competent
authority in the State in which the documents were issued.

Article 8

Vacancies and time limits

1. The admission of international students to Universidade Católica Portuguesa is made through a

special admission and entrance competition established by these regulations within the time limits
announced annually.

2. The number of vacancies for the admission of international students is fixed annually in an order by
the Rector, on proposal by the curricular units, where students are admitted as supernumerary
students.

Article 9

Registration

1. Successful candidates must register for their course within the respective time limits, producing
the requested documents.

2. At the time of registration, in addition to the fee, the payment of the first month is due. These
amounts are not refundable in case of cancellation of the registration.

3. In order to complete registration, besides the aforementioned documents, students must present
proof of regularised anti‐tetanus vaccine.

4. Students shall be solely responsible for obtaining a visa and maintaining their situation legal while
in Portugal.
 Article 10

Fees

The fees to be paid by international students are defined in tables approved annually by the Rector’s
Office.

Article 11

Non‐refundable payments

If after application and/or registration is made, it is verified that the student does not meet the
conditions to hold the status of “international student”, this shall imply the cancellation of his or her
enrollment, without the right to a refund of any of the amounts paid in the meantime.

Article 12

Interpretation

Any doubts of interpretation resulting from the application of this regulation shall be decided by the
Rector’s Office.

Article 13

Entry into force

This Regulation is applicable to candidates for undergraduate and integrated master's degrees starting
in the 2015‐2016 academic year.