Damos o Caminho›Lei 23/2026
Territorial Continuity Mechanism
Law 23/2026 removed the maximum reimbursement for flights between Madeira and mainland Portugal. The official page, updated on 9 September, still says €400. On two of our own trips above that figure, the cap was not applied.
In force since 6 June 2026. The maximum eligible amount was removed from the scheme.
Service page on gov.pt, updated 9 September 2026. Still shows the old limit.
Claim MCT20260194708: cost €444.15, co-payment €79, reimbursed €365.15. Paid on 8 September.
Enter the eligible cost of your return trip, economy class.
Only the economy-class fare is reimbursed. Resident co-payment: €79 (students €59). This is a comparison, not a guarantee — the decision is always the service's.
Found in real claims, not in the documentation. Each one is shown on the right screen of the claim in five steps.
Choosing a cheaper ticket to stay under the cap now costs you money. Two of our claims above €400 were paid in full, less the co-payment.
On step four, “Will you take this trip?” opens set to No. In that state there are no amount fields and the reimbursement stays at €0.
YP, YQ, PT, XP and J9 pass through empty without an error. On a normal ticket that is about €157 — over a third of the refund.
Copying that number into the fare field doubles the fuel surcharge and sends the claim back for correction.
Reopen a return-trip draft and the return e-ticket and fare are empty. On leaving, the total in the list drops too — in one of our claims from €208 to €118. Fill it in and submit in one sitting.
The link is there and it is dead. A draft you started stays in your list forever.
No. Law 23/2026 has been in force since 6 June 2026 and removed the maximum reimbursement amount from the scheme. The gov.pt service page, updated on 9 September 2026, still states €400 — that is an outdated figure, not the rule now in force.
Under the new rules, €521: only the co-payment, €79 for a resident, is subtracted from the cost. Under the old rule it would have been €321, because only amounts up to €400 were taken into account. In this example the difference is €200.
It is the share the passenger pays out of pocket: €79 for a resident and €59 for a student. It is deducted from every claim and cannot be avoided.
Anyone who has lived in Madeira or Porto Santo for more than six months, flew between the island and the mainland or between the autonomous regions, and bought the ticket in their own name on or after 15 January 2026. Foreign nationals need a valid residence permit.
Online, at www.ssm.gov.pt, logging in with Chave Móvel Digital or Cartão de Cidadão. Two documents from the airline are required: the invoice and proof of travel.
In our three claims, 15, 12 and 2 days passed between submission and payment. The claim is reviewed by an operator, who approves each attachment separately — hence the difference.
If you are entitled, here is how to submit the claim — screen by screen.