Guidance

Annexes: Portugal prisoner pack

Updated 24 October 2024

Annexes

Annex 1: How to transfer funds to UK nationals overseas via the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office

Please note that most prisons in Portugal will allow direct bank transfers. Please contact the British Consulate for details of the relevant prison’s bank details and to enquire about any specific bank transfer requirements.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office operates a service which allows you to pay funds to us in the UK which we will pay out in local currency to the above overseas. The various ways you can pay us are detailed below.

Under the Consular Fees Order of 2016/2017, we are obliged to charge for this service. The fee is dependent on the amount that you wish to transfer as follows:

Amount being sent	Fee
One monthly payment up to £100	Free
Each additional payment or amount of £ 0.01 - £ 99.99	£10
Each additional payment or amount of £ 100 - £ 499.99	£25
Each additional payment or amount of £ 500 and above	£50

When forwarding funds, you should add the above fee to the amount that you wish to transfer. For example, if you want the recipient to receive £150, you will need to send us £175 (£150 to forward plus £25 fee). If other friends and family also plan to transfer funds in the same month, you should consider coordinating payments so you know what FCDO fees to expect. We retain the right to further deduct any local overseas charges we may incur in passing the fees to the recipient.

Should we be unable to pay the funds locally to the recipient, our policy is to refund amounts above £5 to the depositor by bank transfer. In this case, we would contact you for your bank details. Refunds may take several weeks as our internal processes can only start once all relevant costs have been cleared with local authorities.

I hope this clarifies our service for you, but should you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us. Please note that our office in Milton Keynes is only responsible for payments. All correspondence concerning your relative/friend in prison should continue to be addressed to the British Consulate:

Options to transfer funds to UK nationals overseas via the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office

Please note that we can only advance funds to the person overseas once your payment has cleared in our account.

Electronic bank transfers

Payment by electronic/internet bank transfer can be made either using online or telephone banking, or at your local bank or building society.

For all bank transfers, you will need to include the following details:

Bank: National Westminster Bank
Account Name: FCDO Multi Vote
Sort Code: 60-70-80
Account Number: 10012362

Reference: FCDO case reference number (if known), surname and first name of the person you are sending the funds for, plus country name if possible, e.g. CON-1234 SMITH JOE – PORTUGAL

IBAN GB56NWBK60708010012362
SWIFT/BIC NWBKGB2L

You may also need our bank address which is: Government Banking Cst, Po Box 2027, Parklands, De Havilland Way, Horwich, Bolton, BL6, 4YU.

By post

Payments by Postal Order, Bankers Draft, Building Society Cheque or personal cheque should be crossed and made payable to “The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office”. They should be sent to:

Accounts Receivable
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
Corporate Service Centre
PO Box 6108
Milton Keynes
MK10 1PX

We recommend that you use Special Delivery.

Please ensure that you include a note briefly explaining who the money is for, why you are sending these funds and quoting the FCDO case reference number. You may wish to use the payment slip below.

If you would like a receipt, please include a stamped addressed envelope.

Please note that it can take approximately 15 days for personal cheques to clear and for payment to be received. Please write the cheque guarantee number and expiry date, and the FCDO case reference number, on the back of the cheque.

We are unable to receive payment by credit or debit card, or by cash.

Payment slip

To: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO)

FCDO case reference number:

Date:

Please find enclosed funds for:

Full name:

Country/place the above is in:

Amount enclosed:

Fee to be deducted:

Payment method:

My name is:

My address is:

Annex 2: Application for prison transfer under the Council of Europe Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons

Step-by-step guide to procedures in Portugal

1. You can make an application for prison transfer to the United Kingdom as soon as your sentence becomes final and absolute and there are no outstanding appeals or court processes. The application can be submitted via the prison authority to the Attorney General’s Office. Consular staff can send you a standard form of words in Portuguese, which you can hand to your prison social worker.

2. On receipt of your application, the Attorney General’s Office will contact the sentencing court to obtain a copy of your court file and confirmation of sentence. This is then translated into English, together with the relevant section of Portuguese law, and sent to the UK Prison Service.

3. If the UK Prison Service agree you qualify for prison transfer, they will write to the Attorney-General’s Office to confirm that they will continue to enforce the sentence imposed in Portugal, that they will credit any remand/remission time authorised by the Portuguese authorities, and that the resulting ‘balance to serve’ will be deemed to be the equivalent to a UK sentence. They will also send this information to you, together with a consent form, information on the UK prison system and a letter of undertaking to repay the cost of your airfare.

4. If you agree with the terms of the transfer, you should sign the consent form in the presence of a witness (ie, your prison social worker, a guard or other official) and the undertaking to repay, and return these forms to the UK Prison Service.

5. If you do not wish to proceed, you should return the forms under cover of a letter stating that you wish to withdraw your application.

6. In the meantime, provided the Attorney General’s Office agrees with the calculations sent to them by the UK Prison Service, the Minister for Justice will be asked to give her formal approval to the transfer. The application will then be passed to the High Court responsible for the area in which you are detained – Lisbon, Coimbra, Évora or Oporto. The High Court in Lisbon is responsible for the autonomous regions of Madeira and the Azores.

7. The High Court may schedule a hearing to ensure you are in agreement with the proposed terms of the transfer and wish to proceed.

8. Finally, Interpol are informed and release warrants are issued to enable arrangements to be made by the UK Prison Service for you to be escorted from Portugal to the UK by British prison officers.

British Embassy Lisbon, April 2021

Annex 3: Unofficial translation of legislation on conditional release

Portuguese criminal code

Section IV – conditional release

Article 61

1. Conditional release will only be applied with the consent of the prisoner.

2. The parole court may grant conditional release once half of the sentence has been served provided this is equivalent to no less than six months, if A) there is sufficient evidence to suggest that the prisoner, once released, will adopt a socially-responsible lifestyle and will not revert to crime. Such factors as the circumstances of the case, the prisoner’s previous lifestyle, his/her personality and any changes in his/her attitude during his/her term of imprisonment, are taken into consideration; and B) release is compatible with the maintenance of public order.

3. The court may grant conditional release once two thirds of the sentence has been served and provided that this is equivalent to no less than six months, if the requirements at a) above are fulfilled.

4. Notwithstanding the dispositions laid down in the above paragraphs, those sentenced to terms of imprisonment of more than 6 years, will be granted conditional release as soon as they have completed five sixths of their sentence.

5. Whether conditional release is granted at the halfway, two thirds or five sixth point of the sentence, its duration is only ever equal to the remaining term of imprisonment up to a maximum of 5 years, with any remaining time to serve considered extinct.

Unofficial translation prepared by: British Embassy, Lisbon, December 2017

Annex 4: Glossary of terms

English	Portuguese
Access to file (by Lawyer)	Acesso ao processo (pelo advogado)
Acquitted	Absolvido
Adjudication	Julgar, decidir
Administration of justice	Administração da justiça
Appeal	Recurso
Appeal or complaint	Recurso / Reclamação
Application	Requerimento / Pedido
Application forms (prison)	Formulários da prisão (admissão)
Bar Association	Ordem dos Advogados
Blood test	Análise de sangue
Charge	Acusação
Police Officer	Polícia
Attorney-General’s Office	Procuradoria Geral da República
Code of criminal procedure	Código de Processo Penal
Complaints system	Procedimento de reclamações
Conjugal Visit	Visita íntima
Court file reference	Número de Processo
Criminal code	Código Penal
Criminal Court	Vara Criminal
Custody hearing	Audiência
Custody order	Mandado de Condução à Prisão
Danger of interfering with the course of justice	Perigo em interferir com o curso da justiça (ou da investigação).
Deportation order	Ordem de Expulsão
Duty of obedience	Dever de Obediência / Respeito
Evaluation of evidence	Avaliação de Provas
Expert Witness	Perito
Extradition	Extradição
Immigration Police	Serviço de Estrangeiros e Fronteiras
Police (for Public Safety)	Polícia de Segurança Pública
Police (Judiciary)	Polícia Judiciária
File	Processo/Arquivo
Final public trial	Julgamento
Guilty	Culpado
High Court	Tribunal da Relação
Lower Court	Tribunal de Primeira Instância
Supreme Court	Supremo Tribunal de Justiça
Interpreter	Intérprete
Investigating Judge	Juiz de Instrução
Judge	Juiz/Juiza
Judgement	Acórdão
Jurisdiction	Jurisdição
Lawyer	Advogado
Legal Aid Lawyer	Advogado Oficioso
Trainee Lawyer	Advogado Estagiário
Prison rules	Regulamento Geral
Offence	Delito
Minister of Justice	Ministro da Justiça
Minor offence	Contravençao
Notary	Notário
Officer of the Court	Técnico de Justiça
Criminal proceeding	Procedimento Penal
Permit, entitlement	Autorização
Physical examination	Exame físico
Plaintiff	Autor
Police Chief Inspector	Inspector Chefe
Police Commissariat	Comissário de Polícia
Police station	Esquadra de Polícia
Police Inspector	Inspector de Polícia
Power of Attorney	Procuração
Preliminary detention / remanded in custody	Prisao Preventiva
Prison	Prisão
Prison Director	Director do Estabelecimento Prisional
Prison house rules	Regras internas da prisão
Prison newspaper	Jornal da prisão
Prison rule book	Livro ou manual de regras prisionais
Prison rules regarding supervised visit	Regras prisionais relativas a visitas supervisionadas
Prison Warder	Guarda Prisional
Prisoners	Reclusos
Private prosecution	Acção Penal Privada
Procedural complaint against official	Representação contra autoridade
Proof of evidence	Prova
Proportionality	Proporcionalidade
Public Prosecutor	Procurador do Ministério Público
Public Prosecutor’s Office	Ministério público
Punishment cell	Solitária
Rehabilitation	Reabilitação
Release	Colocar em liberdade
Release order	Ordem de liberdade
Remand rules	Regras para prisão preventiva
Representative of the Local Authority	Representante de Autoridade Local
Riot squad	Polícia de choque
Security	Segurança
Social Worker	Assistente social
Suspended sentence	Pena suspensa
Temporary detention	Detenção temporária
The accused	O acusado
To buy	Comprar
To change money	Trocar dinheiro
To deport	Deportar
To file an application	Submeter um requerimento
Transfer to another prison	Transferir para outro Estabelecimento Prisional
Treason	Traição
Valid or legal	Válido ou legal
Visit	Visita
Visiting permit	Autorização de Visita
Warder	Guarda Prisional

Annex 5: Useful links with information on specific requirements for sending parcels

Please note that under the general prison regulations – the only parcels prisoners can receive are from those people who are on their list of potential visitors/correspondents, so it’s important that parcels are clearly marked with the sender’s name.

Royal Mail

• help with customs and sending items abroad

• postage to Portugal: get a price for sending a letter or parcel to Portugal with Royal Mail

• prohibited and restricted items: what you can and cannot send in the mail

Post Office

• customs forms for sending abroad

Please note this important information from the Post Office website:

From 29 December 2020, you will need to complete customs forms for goods sent to countries outside of the UK, this includes EU countries, apart from sending items from Northern Ireland. You can get all the customs forms you need in-branch. But to speed the process up, you can also print these forms at home. You can always ask a member of staff in branch if you have any questions.

Customs agents and fast parcel operators

It can be complicated to submit import and export customs declarations, so you may want to use a company which specialises in this area, which include: customs agents and brokers, freight forwarders, shipping companies fast parcel operators (for example, couriers or next-day parcels services), agents who specialise in a certain industry, for example fresh foods or pharmaceuticals. See this list of customs agents and fast parcel operators.

Portuguese Post Office (CTT)

Information on International Items (in English language)