Amendment to the law approving the status of informal caregiver
On 6 November 2024, the Decree-Law No 86/2024 making the second amendment to the Law No 100/2019, of 6 September, approving the Statute for Informal Caregivers, in order to implement measures that extend and encourage access to this status, simplify the recognition process and strengthen the conditions for support, rest and accompaniment for caregivers. Thus, the concept of informal caregiver is changed in order to allow those who do not have family ties with the dependent person to be either main informal caregiver or non-main informal caregiver, and in the case of being a main informal caregiver, to live in housing communion with the person cared for. The obligation to change tax domicile is also eliminated whenever the main informal caregiver has family ties with the dependent. On the other hand, the procedure for recognition of the status of informal caregiver is simplified, removing the requirement for a new disability check, through the Incapacity Check Services of the Social Security Institute, I.P., whenever the person cared for is already in receipt of the 1st degree supplement allowance, thus shortening a process that proves to be very time-consuming when, in fact, such a check has already been carried out by the competent services of the ISS. In these cases, a declaration by the family doctor or the accompanying medical services, defining the transitional period, at the end of which the dependency situation of the person cared for is reassessed, becomes sufficient. Support measures for the informal caregiver are also strengthened, with access to the caregiver's grant as a guarantee of the informal caregiver's right to rest.
In addition, it was also published the Regulatory Decree No 5/2024of 6 November amending the Regulatory Decree 1/2022, of 10 January, laying down the terms and conditions for the recognition of the status of informal carers as well as support measures for informal carers and carers.
More information can be found at: Official Gazette No 215/2024, 2024-11-06 Series I
