Family in São Tomé and Príncipe

The main legal framework is Lei 19/2018, the Código de Família, together with Lei 20/2018, the Código de Organização Tutelar de Menores. Civil marriage takes place before the Conservador do Registo Civil, requires personal consent and cannot normally be concluded before the age of 18. The application generally requires proof of residence, birth certificates, valid identity cards and other prescribed papers. National fees listed for marriage registration are 2,000 Db for normal processing and 2,600 Db for urgent processing; fees can be higher outside opening hours or outside the registry office. The exact amount should be confirmed with the responsible registry office before payment. A união de facto is a legally recognized stable and exclusive cohabitation relationship between a man and a woman when both partners are legally able to marry and have lived together continuously for at least two years. Recognition is requested from the Conservador at the place of residence using a joint declaration made under oath and two witnesses. The decision should be issued within a maximum of 45 days, and its legal effects normally reach back to the beginning of the relationship. The default property regime is comunhão de bens adquiridos, meaning property acquired during the relationship is shared under the legal rules. The national framework defines civil marriage and união de facto as relationships between a man and a woman; it does not establish same-sex family recognition. Parentage determines parental rights and duties. Motherhood follows from birth. A husband is presumed to be the father of a child born in marriage, while paternity outside marriage generally requires formal recognition. Once legally established, parentage has retroactive effect. Parents are responsible for the child's safety, health, maintenance, education, representation and property until adulthood or emancipation. Maintenance normally continues until age 18 and can continue longer when the child is completing vocational training. Birth registration is free during the first year. Registration later carries listed fees that vary by the child's age, and registration is available through maternity facilities, Conservatórias and registration posts. The parents choose the child's name; when they disagree, a judge decides according to the child's welfare. Parents normally exercise parental responsibility jointly during marriage. After separation, they can continue joint responsibility by agreement; otherwise, a court may entrust custody to one parent while the other retains a right to supervise the child's situation. When both parents are legally established but are not in a união de facto, the mother is legally presumed to have custody. A suitable adult third party can receive delegated care through a written agreement approved by a court. Child maintenance, called alimentos, can cover food, housing, clothing, education for minors, pregnancy and childbirth-related needs. The amount depends on the child's needs and the payer's ability to contribute. Monthly money payments are usual, although a court can exceptionally order support in another form. Courts can grant provisional maintenance, and the Ministério Público may seek provisional support for a minor. After ten days of non-payment, enforcement can include deduction from wages. Deliberate non-payment of legally ordered support can constitute a criminal offence, with higher penalties when the affected child is a minor or the claimant is a pregnant wife. Lei 9/2012 provides a framework for access to justice and legal aid, and the family and minors service of the Ministério Público receives complaints and requests. Many children live with relatives rather than both biological parents. Around 13% of children aged 0 to 17 live without a biological parent in the household; among them, 52% live with grandparents, 23% with siblings and 10% with other relatives. Around 42% have at least one parent living elsewhere or abroad, and around 6% have lost at least one parent. Informal care by grandparents and relatives is therefore widespread. Formal alternatives include tutela, support with another family member, acolhimento familiar, meaning foster care arranged by the child-protection service, and placement with a suitable adult. A person who knows that a child faces danger should report the situation to the responsible child-protection service, police or justice authorities. Public authorities, police and judicial bodies also have reporting duties. The Serviço de Protecção can act after a request from the child, a representative or de facto caregiver, through its own knowledge or after a public report. Measures range from support with the parents to placement with another relative, independent living, a suitable person, a foster family or an institution, with adoption considered separately when appropriate. The child's welfare, family continuity, early intervention and proportionality guide the response. The child and parents should receive information and an opportunity to be heard. Foster families are recruited and selected by the Serviço de Protecção. They receive a contract, training and technical support, and may receive remuneration or a maintenance contribution. Selection considers the child's age and profile, keeps siblings together where possible and considers proximity to the family of origin. A foster family normally receives no more than two children and has no more than four children living together in total, subject to exceptions such as sibling groups. Short-term foster care is expected to last up to six months when return is foreseeable, and departure should usually be prepared at least one month in advance. Monitoring continues for at least six months after reunification. Adoption requires a final court judgment. The court considers the child's welfare, real advantages, legitimate reasons and the effect on other children. A married couple generally must be over 25; a couple in a união de facto must have lived together for more than three years and both partners must be over 25. A single adopter generally must be over 30, or over 25 when adopting a stepchild. The normal age difference must exceed 15 years. A child over 12 generally gives consent, while children from age seven are heard. Adoption proceedings are confidential and adoption is irrevocable. São Tomé and Príncipe is not a party to the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption, and no standardized current international procedure is established in the national framework described here. Divórcio por mútuo consentimento, meaning divorce by mutual agreement, is available at any time when the required agreements cover spousal maintenance, responsibility for minor children, jointly owned property and division, and the family home. A contested divorce takes place before a Tribunal and includes a mandatory reconciliation attempt; the contested conference can last up to 60 days. Judicial separation can be converted into divorce after two years without reconciliation. A união de facto is not dissolved through the same divorce procedure, but after separation or death a partner may have claims concerning maintenance, a share of jointly acquired property and the family home. Such claims generally have a three-year limitation period. Death ends a marriage, and the surviving spouse may receive apanágio, a support claim paid from income of the deceased's estate. After the death of a partner in a união de facto, the survivor may have rights to a share of jointly acquired property, applicable social benefits and, in some cases, maintenance or housing. A death registration generally requires a medical death certificate and identification documents. Current DGRN information lists 100 Db for the death record and 75 Db normal or 97.50 Db urgent for a death certificate, while an older fee table lists the death record as free; the current fee should therefore be confirmed before application. The Direção da Proteção Social, Solidariedade e Família, known as DPSSF, provides national social services linked to social assistance, child protection and administrative or financial support. Access is available through DPSSF offices and district or regional delegations. Support includes targeted measures such as Programa Família, Bolsa Social, Apoio a Mães Solteiras, Programa Famílias Vulneráveis and PEP+. The Cadastro Social Único was updated in 2023 and 2024 and covered about 8,000 households, or more than 39,000 people, in July 2024. No universal family allowance is established in the available national framework; support is targeted and coverage is fragmented. Family violence is addressed by Lei 11/2008. The Centro de Aconselhamento Contra Violência Doméstica, SOS Mulher and INPG/REDE-VIDA are documented support actors. The 2025 national referral flowcharts connect social services, health services, police, the Ministério Público and courts. A uniform nationwide shelter capacity or emergency hotline cannot be assumed, so the available local authority or service should confirm the current protection option. Child vulnerability remains high: 67% of children lived below the national poverty line in 2017, 55% experienced multidimensional poverty in 2019, and child social-protection coverage was 1% in 2021. In the month before the 2019 survey, 84% of children aged 1 to 14 experienced violent discipline. These conditions can affect housing, safety, care, maintenance and access to protection.