You’ve Found a CIPLE Specialist!

To obtain the permanent residency in Portugal or to obtain the Portuguese Nationality, one of the requirements stated by the Law is and that needs to be fulfilled is the proof of basic and sufficient knowledge of the Portuguese language.

In Portugal, this knowledge is equivalent to the A2 level, based on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) scale. In Portugal the A2 level in Portuguese exam is called CIPLE.

THE CENTRE OF ASSESSMENT AND CERTIFICATION OF PORTUGUESE AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE (CAPLE) is a unit of the School of Arts and Humanities of the University of Lisbon. CAPLE is the only Portuguese entity that evaluates and certifies written and oral skills of Portuguese as a foreign language.

According to the Portuguese legislation, the CIPLE exam (level A2) is the minimum level for the acquisition of Portuguese nationality or Permanent Residency.

The exams can be taken by people, who have Portuguese as a foreign language, aged 16 or over and there’s no age limit.

The sooner, the better!
The exam does not have an expiry date. When you pass the exam, you will have your lifetime certificate/diploma.

Once you have your first golden visa card, the clock starts ticking. In five years’ time, you become eligible to request the permanent residency or Portuguese nationality.

If you already have the Certificate CIPLE, immediately after completing the 5 years with the golden visa the process of obtaining permanent and/or Portuguese nationality may begin; otherwise, you’ll have to wait to get that approval on the CIPLE exam.

Registrations take place on CAPLE’s website all year round, up to 21 days before the day of the first exam.

To register for a CIPLE Portuguese exam, you need to find an authorised Exam Centre. There are around 100 centres in 35 countries around the world.

The exams are held abroad and in Portugal during the international season at three different times: May, July and November, and in Portugal during the national seasons of February, March, June and October. There are four more options in Portugal.

The A2 Portuguese language test – CIPLE is about 2 hours long and is divided into 4 components:

READING AND WRITTEN PRODUCTION AND INTERACTION
Component’s format:
Section I: This part includes Reading of warning signs posted on public spaces, and short texts. And completing items of multiple-choice, correspondence and true or false.
Section II: You will be asked to write a short message/postcard for a friend (25-35 words) and the production of a letter (60-80 words).
Duration: 1 hour 15 minutes.
Score: This component is worth 45% of the exam’s total grade.

LISTENING
You will listen to informal speeches, which is typical of communication in public, professional settings, or educational domains. The clips may include background noise. You’ll complete items of a multiple-choice, correspondence, true or false based on the audio.
Duration: 30 minutes.
Score: This component is worth 30% of the exam’s total grade.

ORAL PRODUCTION AND INTERACTION
This component takes place, whenever possible, with two candidates at the same time.
Section I: Interaction between the examiner and the candidates on personal identification.
Section II: Simulation of communication situations in public or personal domains.
Section III: Interaction between the examiner and candidates on a topic relating to current events.
Duration: 15 minutes for each pair of candidates.
Score: This component is worth 25% of the exam’s total grade.

FINAL SCORE
The grade Very Good is given to the candidates who scored between 85% and 100%.
The grade Good is given to the candidates who scored between 70% and 84%.
The grade Sufficient is given to the candidates who scored between 55% and 69%.

As the exam does not have an expiry date, you can do the exam anytime during the process. To pass, you must score at least a 55% to show that you have reached a “suficiente” level on the A2 Portuguese language test.

If you succeed in the exam, you can pick up the respective certificate/diploma at the centre where you took the exam, 21 days after the publications of the exams’ results.
If you have failed the exam, you can take the exam again. It can be taken multiple times if needed. But it is not possible to do more than one exam per season.

The certificate is issued on special paper with an unique code and with it
Portugal welcomes you.