Portugal Cracks Down on Rogue Cosmetic Clinics Amid Rising Complaints

Tourists are not the only newcomers flocking to Portugal’s sun-kissed coasts. A steady stream of foreign residents now also seeks quick cosmetic fixes—cheaper Botox, lunchtime hyaluronic-acid fillers, or a shot of the latest biostimulator promised on Instagram. Yet as demand soars, Portugal’s health regulator has sounded the alarm: more clinics are being reported for unsafe or illegal practice, and a record number have already been shut this year.

Complaints Multiply Across Portugal

Portugal’s Entidade Reguladora da Saúde (ERS) logged over 200 formal grievances in 2024 and another 33 in just the first six months of 2025. Each grievance can involve several infractions, but together they point to 111 facilities flagged last year and 33 fresh cases this year. Although the numbers may seem modest, ERS investigators warn that these reports often reveal systemic problems such as unlicensed injectors, expired products and misleading advertising that targets price-sensitive newcomers.

Lisbon and Beyond: Where Inspectors Knock

Since adopting an emergency Action Plan in April 2022, the regulator has fielded 377 separate requests for clarification on medical-grade beauty procedures. Those tips mushroomed into 290 onsite checks, with officers concentrating on densely populated Lisbon suburbs but also turning up in Faro, Setúbal, Porto, Guarda, Viseu and Leiria during spring 2025 sweeps. Travel bloggers may rave about Algarve sunsets, yet ERS inspectors recently forced a popular Faro studio to close after discovering medical and dental acts performed by staff with no recognised qualifications.

What Investigators Discover Behind the Polished Reception Desk

Walk into many offending parlours and the décor looks immaculate. What clients rarely see are counterfeit vials of botulinum toxin, filler syringes sourced from dubious websites and professionals who cannot produce a medical licence. ERS routinely brings in the economic crimes unit ASAE and the medicines watchdog Infarmed when evidence suggests criminal behaviour—from "usurpação de funções" (impersonating a health professional) to trafficking restricted drugs. Joint raids in 2025 even uncovered fake packaging that mimicked leading pharmaceutical brands.

Why This Matters for Foreign Residents

Portugal’s cost of living can feel like a bargain, especially compared with London, Paris or New York. Yet the same budget mentality can obscure the real health risks of bargain cosmetic work: nerve damage, infections, disfigurement and protracted legal battles. Private insurance generally refuses to pick up the tab when procedures were carried out by an unlicensed provider, leaving expats to shoulder corrective surgery bills that can dwarf the original savings.

Spotting a Legitimate Clinic

Before you book that “baby Botox” session, step back and verify a few essentials. Every medical-grade aesthetics office must display a brightly coloured ERS certificate, list its clinical director near reception, carry a physical or digital Livro de Reclamações and show an up-to-date operating licence. Practitioners should provide their Ordem dos Médicos or Ordem dos Médicos Dentistas registration numbers on request; you can confirm them in seconds on the associations’ English-language websites. When in doubt, snap a photo of the licence and cross-check from your smartphone before the needle comes out.

The Regulatory Web: Who Does What?

Think of Portugal’s oversight as a three-tier safety net. ERS polices healthcare providers and can suspend dangerous facilities overnight. ASAE tackles economic crime, seizing counterfeit or smuggled injectables. Infarmed scrutinises the drugs themselves, recalling faulty batches and logging adverse reactions. Together they have imposed 16 immediate suspensions between 2023 and mid-2025, an unusually high tally for a small country.

Future Rules Still Unclear

For now, lawmakers are debating whether to tighten the grey zone separating non-medical beauty salons from clinics that perform minor surgery. No fresh legislation has cleared parliament in 2025, yet pressure is mounting from professional bodies to criminalise certain acts outright when performed outside a licensed medical setting. Until that happens, regulators say they will keep relying on tip-offs from patients and whistle-blower staff.

Bottom Line for Expats

Affordable aesthetics were once part of Portugal’s draw, but the market’s expansion has outpaced oversight. Do your homework, demand to see credentials and recognise that a heavily discounted filler session may signal a regulatory shortcut. The country’s watchdogs are stepping up patrols, but the quickest defence of your health—and of your right to a refund—still starts the moment you walk through the clinic door.