Almeida, Dias & Associados provides legal advice to companies in the relocation of their employees in Portugal.
Hiring employees is a decision that has an impact on the business of all companies, insofar as it is necessary to find workers with the appropriate profile, comply with and respect Portuguese legislation and consider the monthly fixed cost that will imply said hiring.
To this end, companies that want their employees to perform functions and reside in Portugal may, depending on the objectives of the hiring and the working conditions of their employees, opt for the following modalities of visa application:
- D1 Visa
The D1 Visa is the Residence Visa for the exercise of subordinate professional activity – for this type of Visa, the company must provide workers with an invitation letter, hire their workers for a minimum period equal to or greater than 1 year and with a monthly salary equal to or greater than the corresponding national minimum wage in Portugal.
- Remote Work Visa/Digital Nomad
For the Digital Nomads Visa, it is necessary that the contracting company is headquartered outside of Portugal, hires its employee for a minimum period equal to or greater than one year, declares to allow the possibility of remote work and the employee earns a monthly minimum wage in the amount equal to or greater than €3,040.00 (three thousand and forty euros).
- D2 Visa
The D2 Visa is the Residence Visa for the exercise of independent professional activity, and it is necessary for the contracting company to conclude with the service provider a contract for the provision of services within the scope of liberal professions and, if applicable, a declaration issued by the competent entity in which it is qualified to carry out the activity in Portugal.
- D3 Visa
The D3 visa is the residence visa for highly qualified activities, the exercise of which requires specialized technical skills, of an exceptional nature or an appropriate qualification for the respective exercise.
For this type of Visa, the company must provide workers with an invitation letter, hire its workers for a minimum period equal to or greater than 1 year and with a monthly salary equal to or greater than €1,600.00 (one thousand and six hundred euros).
The D3 Visa also includes the possibility of the so-called Tech Visa – Tech Visa aims to ensure that highly qualified staff, foreign to the European Union, can access the jobs created by Portuguese companies in a simplified way. The program is aimed at companies inserted in the global market, with headquarters or permanent establishment in national territory, who intend to attract to Portugal qualified and specialized technical staff, from third states and residents outside the European Union. Companies wishing to be certified to hire foreign nationals will have to submit an application through the IAPMEI electronic platform, which is the entity responsible for certifying candidate companies, involving several entities, such as the Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF) and the Directorate-General for Consular Affairs, in the process of granting residence visas for professionals hired by certified companies. After a favorable decision, the certified company has access to the issuance of Terms of Responsibility for foreign workers hired or who intend to hire, through a form made available electronically by IAPMEI. Thus, the Tech Visa certification simplifies the procedures for obtaining a visa and residence permit from the Consular Offices, with the possibility of waiving face-to-face scheduling and without obligation to present a contract or promissory contract and with the Foreigners and Borders Service, without obligation to present a contract.
