CNA | National Call

The National Call is the most common route into Portuguese public higher education for Portuguese and EU students who complete secondary education. Through this competition, applicants may apply for up to six institution/programme combinations, which must be ranked in order of preference.

Pathways to Portuguese Higher Education (In PT)

General admission requirements

Applicants must meet the following requirements:

- Hold Portuguese nationality, be a national of a European Union Member State, or have legally resided in Portugal for more than two years (this requirement may also be met if the applicant’s parent has legally lived in Portugal for more than two years and the applicant resides with them).
- Hold a Portuguese secondary education qualification or another legally recognised equivalent qualification.
- Have valid national examinations corresponding to the entry requirements for the chosen institution/programme combinations and have obtained at least the minimum required score.
- Applicants holding foreign secondary education qualifications recognised as equivalent to Portuguese secondary education may replace the required entry examinations with final examinations from those programmes.
- Meet any prerequisite requirements established for the chosen institution/programme combination.
- Achieve at least the minimum application grade required.

¹ http://www.dge.mec.pt/equ ivalencias-estrangeiras | ² Examinations are valid in the year they are taken and for the following two years if taken up to and including 2021; or for the following four years if taken from 2022 onwards.. | ³ http://www.dges.gov.pt/pt/pagina/substituicao-de-provas-de-ingresso-por-exames-estrangeiros (in PT)

General admission requirements at Iscte

Successfully complete a secondary education programme or hold an equivalent legally recognised qualification.
Take the required entrance examinations for the chosen programme and achieve a minimum score of 9.5/20.
Obtain an application grade equal to or higher than the minimum grade established by Iscte: 10.0/20.

Entry examinations and national exams

Admission to higher education requires applicants to take the national examinations corresponding to the entry requirements of the institution/programme combinations they wish to apply for.

These requirements, together with the number of places available for each programme at each institution, are published annually in the Application Guide.

National examinations may be used as entry examinations in the year they are taken and:

For the following two years, if the examinations were taken up to and including 2021.
For the following four years, if the examinations were taken from 2022 onwards.

Vacancies/ Available places

The number of places available for each institution/programme combination is determined annually by each higher education institution.

All available places are offered in the first application phase. In general, the second and third phases include places that remain unfilled after applicants admitted and enrolled in previous phases.

Special admission quotas are only available during the first phase. Applicants who are not admitted through a special quota may still compete for places under the general quota in subsequent phases.

Application phases and timeline

The National Competition takes place at the end of the academic year and is organised into three phases, according to the timetable approved annually by DGES (Directorate-General for Higher Education).

Applicants may apply in more than one phase. However, admission in the second or third phase automatically cancels any previous enrolment completed in an earlier phase.

Application process

1. Identification Number (Portuguese Citizen Card) or Internal Number

To access the DGES online application platform, applicants must have a valid Portuguese identification number.
Applicants who do not hold a Portuguese Citizen Card or Identity Card must request an internal number from a Higher Education Access Support Office (GAES): https://www.dges.gov.pt/online/SenhaAcesso/PedirSemId.aspx

2. Access Password

Applicants must request an access password online at: https://www.dges.gov.pt/online/SenhaAcesso/Pedir.aspx
When requesting the password, applicants must provide: Their identification number or internal number Full name (as shown on the identification document); Email address; The location where the request will be validated (secondary school or GAES).
The process is as follows:
- Submit the online request.
- Receive a confirmation email containing a validation link.
- Access the link, print the request receipt, and submit it to the selected secondary school or GAES.
- If the applicant is a minor, the receipt must be signed by a parent or legal guardian.
- After validation, the password is sent to the applicant’s email address.

The password is valid only for the application year in question but may be used throughout all application phases of that year.

3. ENES Form or Activation Form

The ENES Form:

Provides information on the national examinations taken and the respective grades;
Must be requested from the school where the examinations were taken;
Is valid only for the relevant application year.

The Activation Form:

Replaces the ENES Form;
Is requested from a GAES by applicants who have not taken Portuguese secondary education examinations;
Contains a code required during the online application process, without which the application cannot proceed.

4. Prerequisites Form, where required by the chosen institution/programme combination, applicants must submit the relevant prerequisites form.

5. Applicants must present:

Their Identity Card or Citizen Card;
If the applicant is a minor, identification documents for the parent or legal guardian exercising parental responsibility or guardianship.

Applicants may apply for up to six institution/programme combinations, ranking them in order of preference.