Bachelor's in Law

School Year 2025/2026

Places:

(i) For the 1st curricular year of the 1st study cycle: 10

(ii) For the 2nd curricular year and/or subsequent years of the 1st study cycle: 10

Who can apply for this special contest?

International students may apply for this contest, meaning all those who do not have Portuguese nationality and who, cumulatively, do not fit into any of the following categories:

• Nationals from a Member State of the European Union;
• Students who are not nationals of a European Union Member State, but who have been legally residing* in Portugal, uninterruptedly, for more than two years (the time they have held a residence permit for studies is not relevant for this purpose), January 1st of the year in which they intend to enrol at NOVA School of Law, as well as their children who legally reside with them;
• Students who apply for admission at NOVA School of Law through the special regimes for access and admission regulated by Decree-Law No. 393 -A/99, of October 2, as amended by Decree-Law No. 272/2009, of October 1;
• Students who are attending NOVA School of Law in the context of an international mobility programme for the completion of part of a study cycle in a foreign higher education institution with whom NOVA School of Law has established an exchange agreement for that purpose;
• Family members** of Portuguese nationals or of nationals of a Member State of the European Union, regardless of their nationality, under the terms defined by point e) from the Article 2 of Law No. 37/2006, dated 9 August;
• Students granted equal status of rights and duties under an international treaty between the Portuguese State and the State of which they are nationals on January 1st of the year in which they intend to enrol at NOVA School of Law;

International students who are in an emergency situation for humanitarian reasons can also apply for international student status (cf. article 8-A of Decree-Law No. 36/2014, as amended by article 3 of Decree-Law No. 62/2018 of 8 June).

*Legal resident means a foreign citizen/citizen holding a residence permit in Portugal, valid for one year or more, in accordance with the provisions of paragraph v) of article 3 of Law no. 23/2007, of 4th July, as amended, which approves the legal regime for the entry, stay, exit and expulsion of foreigners from national territory

**Family members of Portuguese nationals or of nationals of a member state of the European Union, regardless of their nationality:

• The spouse of a citizen/citizen of the Union;
• The partner with whom a citizen/citizen of the Union lives in a non-marital partnership, formed in accordance with the law, or with whom the citizen/citizen of the Union maintains a permanent relationship duly certified by the competent entity of the member state where he/she resides
• The direct descendants who are under 21 years of age or are dependants of a citizen/citizen of the Union as well as the spouse or partner as defined in the previous sub-paragraph;
• The direct ascendant being a dependant of a citizen/citizen of the Union and of the spouse or partner as defined in the second point.

Notice: Students who enter higher education under this special contest will maintain their international student status until the end of the study cycle in which they initially enrolled or to which they transfer, unless, during the frequency of the study cycle, they comply with the disposition established in article 2, No. 4 of Regulation No. 687/2020, of 20th August, being exclusively applicable from the academic year following the one in which the student’s situation changes.

In situations where the candidate provides false statements or presents counterfeit documents, the seriation will be cancelled or the enrolment and registration already made will be cancelled, and there will be no refund of the amounts paid to NOVA School of Law, without prejudice to other legal procedures that may be adopted.

Students in emergency situations for humanitarian reasons

Under the provisions of article 8-A of Decree-Law no. 36/2014, as amended by article 3 of Decree-Law no. 62/2018, of 8 June, international students who are in an emergency situation for humanitarian reasons may apply for international student status.

By law, students in emergency situations for humanitarian reasons enrolled and registered in public higher education institutions are subject to the same regime of fees, charges and emoluments established by the institution for national students. International students who are granted the status of students in situation of emergency for humanitarian reasons also benefit, by law, from all the support foreseen in the scope of direct and indirect social benefits.

Students coming from Ukraine and Female Afghan students with refugee or temporary protection status – all information on our webpage.

Conditions for entry

Cumulative conditions for admission to the first cycle at NOVA School of Law are:

• The specific academic qualification for entering a 1st cycle (licenciatura) course;
• Knowledge of Portuguese and English.

Submission of Applications (Online):

• Copy of the identification document or passport, which expressly states the applicant’s nationality;
• Declaration, under oath, that the candidate does not have Portuguese nationality, nor is covered by any of the exceptions of No. 2 of Article 2 of Regulation No. 687/2020, of 20th August, which under the terms of Decree-Law No. 36/2014, of 10th March, excludes them from International Student status;
• Document (certificate or diploma) attesting the level of knowledge of the Portuguese and/or English language, depending on the case;
• In the case of foreign qualifications that grant access to higher education, the applicant must also submit a diploma or certificate issued by a competent authority attesting the approval of an education programme and entitling its holder to apply and enter higher education in the country where it was obtained, or a document attesting the conclusion of the Portuguese secondary education or equivalent;
• In the case of a Portuguese secondary education diploma or legally equivalent qualification, the applicant should also submit a simple copy of a document proving the conclusion of the Portuguese secondary education or a certificate of equivalence of such qualification and a document proving the classification obtained in the Portuguese secondary final exams corresponding to the entry examinations for holders of the Portuguese secondary education diploma or equivalent;
• After submitting the application, the candidate must pay the fee according to the references indicated (€70, which can be paid via Multibanco, MB way, Paypal or Visa). The application will only be sent for assessment once payment has been made.

Applications that are not accompanied by all the documents or for which the application fee has not been paid will be rejected outright.

If there is any doubt about the documentation presented, particularly in the case of documents obtained abroad, recognition may be requested by the local Portuguese consular agent and/or legalised by the Apostille system under the terms of the Convention on the Abolition of the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Acts (better known as the Hague Convention), signed in The Hague on 5 October 1961, with the exception of documents issued by Higher Education Institutions in European Union countries.

Optional elements for the application form:

Candidates may submit a request for accreditation of academic training and professional experience obtained prior to entering the study cycle. Accreditation processes take into account the level of credits corresponding to previous training, and under no circumstances will accreditation be allowed for further studies in a study cycle for training undertaken as part of a study cycle at a lower level of qualification.

For the purposes of accreditation, the candidate must fill in a specific form and attach all the relevant documentation. When the request for accreditation is made at the time of application, accreditation is not a sufficient condition for admission to the study cycle and only takes effect after admission and only in that same study cycle.

Whenever the above-mentioned documents are in a language other than Spanish, French, English or Portuguese, you must provide an official translation. The translations must be duly certified by the relevant authorities.

Selection Criteria/ application grade

The formula for calculating the application grade is the result of the sum of 40% of the final grade of secondary education and 60% of the best grade of the entry exams. The minimum classification in the entry exams to the Bachelor’s Degree in Law is 100 points on a scale of 0 to 200.

For students who have successfully completed the Foundation Programme at NOVA University Lisbon, the result of the application of the above formula is increased by 50 points

Application deadlines

1^st Phase

2^nd Phase

3^rd Phase

Tuitions Fees, Taxes and Emoluments

The fees are determined each year by the General Council of Universidade NOVA de Lisboa.

Reading of this information does not exempt consultation of the full documentation regarding fees, emoluments and taxes for the academic year in question.

Regulations Applicable

• Decree-Law n.º 36/2014, of March 10th, altered by Decree-Law Nº. 62/2018, of August 6th, e Regulation Nº. 436/2020, of April 28th, of the NOVA School of Law..
• Request for accreditation of academic qualifications and professional experience