Civil guardianship

It is a legal relationship established between a child or young person and an individual or family, who then take on parental responsibilities.

This relationship must be formalised through the assessment of the sponsors, which takes place following evaluation and certification that the individual or family wishing to sponsor has the suitability and life autonomy necessary to take on those parental responsibilities, without, however, acquiring the legal status of parents.

It assumes the establishment of emotional bonds that support the well-being and healthy development of the child or young person.

It is established by a written, formal commitment between the sponsors, the parents, the child or young person and the body responsible for supporting the civil guardianship. This commitment, which may initially be signed before the body that assessed the sponsors, must subsequently be ratified by the court or, from the outset, may have been signed in court by judicial decision. It is always subject to civil registration, by entry on the child or young person’s birth certificate.

Santa Casa, as the body responsible for assessing applicants for Civil guardianship, must give particular attention to the following requirements set out in Decree-Law No. 121/2010 of 27 October:

• Maturity, emotional capacity and emotional stability;

• Educational and relational skills to respond to the specific needs of the child or young person and to support their overall development;

• Housing and hygiene conditions;

• Economic, professional and family situation;

• Absence of health limitations preventing the provision of the necessary care to the child or young person;

• Motivation and positive expectations regarding the application for civil guardianship;

• Willingness to cooperate with the support set out in Article 20 of Law No. 103/2009 of 11 September;

• Willingness to receive the training that the competent bodies may provide;

• Willingness to respect the rights of the parents or other persons relevant to the child or young person;

• Ability and willingness to cooperate with the parents in creating the conditions appropriate to the well-being and development of the child or young person;

• Positive validation of the position of the members of the applicants’ household and of other relatives with influence on family dynamics, regarding the civil guardianship bond.

The assessment also depends on the applicant or any of the people living with them not having been convicted, by a judgement with the force of res judicata, of any of the crimes set out in subparagraph a) of paragraph 3 of Article 2 of Law No. 113/2009 of 17 September, with the relevant criminal record certificate being issued under paragraphs 4 and 5 of Article 2 of the same Law.

The applicant for sponsorship may also not be barred from exercising parental responsibilities, nor have their exercise limited under Article 1918 of the Civil Code.

For the purposes of the assessment referred to in paragraph 1, the provisions of Article 3 of Law No. 9/2010 of 31 March and Article 7 of Law No. 7/2001 of 11 May also apply, with the necessary adaptations, to the assessment of sponsors.

• The application may be sent by post to:

  Adoption, Civil guardianship and Foster Care Unit

  Rua da Rosa, 203-207

  1200-384 Lisbon

• Or delivered in person, by prior appointment, through:

  servico.apadrinhamentocivil@scml.pt