The Insular Student Program, promoted by the Government of Madeira, reopened this Friday, 6th, on the electronic platform that processes the social mobility subsidy (SSM), guaranteeing air tickets at a face price of 59 euros, indicated the regional executive.
“This positive development results from the completion of the technical and operational work necessary to adapt the regional program to the changes introduced by the Government of the Republic in the social mobility subsidy, changes that temporarily conditioned its application”, says the Regional Finance Secretariat, in a statement.
The Insular Student Program, created by the Madeiran government (PSD/CDS-PP), ensures four return trips or eight separate trips per year for young people studying on the mainland or in the Azores for the face value of the subsidy – 59 euros –, with the executive responsible for the remainder, up to a maximum ceiling of 400 euros for trips to the mainland and 600 euros for the Azores.
“With the reactivation of the platform, students can once again purchase trips with access to support from the Insular Student Program, through participating travel agencies, under the usual terms, now adjusted to the new national SSM model”, indicates the Finance Secretariat.
The Regional Government emphasizes that it assumed, from the outset, that students could not be penalized for changes made at national level, having worked to “guarantee a legally secure, operationally effective solution aligned with the new legal framework”.
The executive, led by social democrat Miguel Albuquerque, emphasizes that the temporary suspension of the program was not the result of any choice on its part, but of the need to adapt to a new national model of the social mobility subsidy, which came into force on January 6th.
“Once the technical and legal constraints were overcome, it was possible to progressively resume access to support, with travel agencies already notified, returning predictability to families”, he highlights.
The Madeiran executive adds that this framework will be in force during the transitional period of the new national SSM model, until June 30, 2026, ensuring that “there is no interruption in support for Madeiran and Porto-Santense students”.
“Situations occurring during the period of temporary suspension will be monitored responsibly, ensuring that no student is harmed by external changes to the Program”, he assures.
Created in 2015, the social mobility subsidy provides for the granting of a refund to residents, equivalent residents and students of the two autonomous regions, which results from the difference between the eligible cost of the ticket, paid in full by the passenger, and the maximum fare supported by the resident, defined by ordinance.
On connections between Madeira and the mainland, the maximum fare for residents is 79 euros and for students is 59 euros, with an eligible ticket cost limit of 400 euros on the island of Madeira and 500 euros on Porto Santo.
In the Azores, the maximum fare borne by residents on trips (round trip) to the mainland is 119 euros and that borne by students is 89 euros, with a limit of 600 euros on the eligible cost of the ticket.
When traveling between the two archipelagos, the maximum fare for residents is 79 euros and for students 59 euros, with a maximum limit of 600 euros on the eligible cost of tickets.
The new SSM legal regime determines that beneficiaries must not owe any debts to Social Security and the Tax Authority, but the Government decided to extend the suspension of this rule until March 31, in order to avoid problems with payments.
The suspension had initially been set until January 31, 2026.
The diploma that introduced this obligation, dated January 6th, generated protests from regional governments and political parties in the Azores and Madeira, who accused the Government of discriminating against citizens of the autonomous regions.
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