Citizens of the European Union and the European Economic Area (which also includes Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein), as well as Switzerland, have the same rights and duties as Portuguese citizens when it comes to working in Portugal, and need no work permit. Citizens of other countries, including the UK since Brexit, need a visa and residence permit, with several routes available, from work visas to the digital nomad visa.
In recent years Portugal has become one of Europe's most sought-after destinations for people looking for work experience, seasonal or permanent, study such as Erasmus+, or a new life, including as remote workers. It has it all: history, culture, lively cities such as Lisbon and Porto, a mild climate, safety and some of Europe's most beautiful landscapes. Be aware, though, that salaries are lower than in much of Western Europe, while rents in the big cities have risen sharply: before leaving, read the page on the cost of living.
Documents
To work you first need two numbers:
- the NIF (Número de Identificação Fiscal), the Portuguese tax number, also essential to open a bank account, sign a rental contract or get a phone number. You apply at a Finanças office or via the Tax Portal, even before moving;
- the NISS (Número de Identificação da Segurança Social), the social security number, requested from Segurança Social or by your employer.
EU citizens may stay freely in Portugal for up to three months. Those staying longer must apply for the Certificado de Registo de Cidadão da União Europeia (CRUE), the residence certificate, at the Câmara Municipal, the town hall, where they live, showing an ID document and proof of work or means of support. Since 2023 the old SEF, the immigration and borders service, has been replaced for residence matters by AIMA (Agência para a Integração, Migrações e Asilo), which handles permanent residence after five years. Once resident you also register with the local health centre to get your health service user number: see the page on healthcare.
Contracts, hours and pay
Portugal has a national minimum wage, which in 2026 is 920 euros gross a month; salaries are paid in fourteen instalments, with an extra month at Christmas and another before the summer holidays (the subsídios). Normal working hours may not exceed 8 a day and 40 a week, and annual leave is at least 22 working days, plus public holidays. Contracts can be permanent (sem termo) or fixed-term (a termo), with limits on length and renewals. Very common among young people and professionals is self-employment on recibos verdes, electronic tax receipts, which means paying your own contributions and taxes.
Employees pay 11% of gross salary to Segurança Social plus income tax (IRS), withheld from pay at progressive rates. In recent years incentives have been introduced such as IRS Jovem, a tax reduction for young people in their first years of work, and a special tax regime for certain qualified professions moving to Portugal, which replaced the old non-habitual resident regime from 2024: rules change often, so check with an accountant.
Where the jobs are
The sectors offering most opportunities to foreigners are tourism and hospitality, especially in the Algarve, Lisbon, Porto and Madeira, often seasonal; call centres and the multilingual service centres of multinationals, which recruit native speakers of many languages; IT and digital, with many start-ups and tech companies; language teaching and, for qualified profiles, healthcare, engineering and finance.
Those looking for a skilled job can send their CV from abroad, while many tourism jobs are easier to find locally. The public employment service is IEFP (Instituto do Emprego e Formação Profissional), with centros de emprego across the country providing information on vacancies and training courses. At European level the European Commission's EURES portal lists vacancies and explains how to live and work in Portugal.
Websites and newspapers
- IEFP: iefp.pt, the public employment service.
- EURES: eures.europa.eu, the European job mobility portal.
- Net-Empregos: net-empregos.com, one of the most used job sites.
- Expresso Emprego: expressoemprego.pt, vacancies from the weekly Expresso.
- Big international portals such as LinkedIn and Indeed, widely used in Portugal too.
Job ads also appear in national dailies such as Público, Diário de Notícias, Correio da Manhã and, in the north, Jornal de Notícias. For news in English there are the weeklies The Portugal News and Portugal Resident, widely read by foreign communities, especially in the Algarve.
Useful addresses
- ePortugal public services portal: eportugal.gov.pt, with guides on residence, work and documents.
- Segurança Social: seg-social.pt, social security.
- Tax Portal: portaldasfinancas.gov.pt, for NIF and taxes.
- ACT, the labour inspectorate: act.gov.pt, with information on workers' rights.
- AIMA: aima.gov.pt, for residence.
- CGTP: cgtp.pt, the main trade union confederation.
If you are thinking of starting a business, see also the page on doing business in Portugal.
See also our practical guide to moving to Portugal, covering residence, taxes, the IFICI regime and pensions, and studying in Portugal.