Portugal Tech Visa

The Portugal Tech Visa programme is a specific certification programme meant for innovative and technological companies, enabling the granting of visas and residence permits to those who are highly qualified from third countries and wish to develop business activity in Portugal.

This visa aims to make sure that these qualified professionals, in the technological area especially, who are foreign to the EU will still be able to access employment and jobs that have been created by Portuguese companies more simplistically.

This programme is aimed at innovative and technological companies that are inserted into the global market and who wish to attract more qualified and specialised staff into the country.

Page Contents

• Tech Visa Portugal: Overview And Introduction
• Eligibility For Portugal Tech Visa
• Portugal Tech Visa Requirements
• Applying For The Tech Visa Portugal Programme
• Costs Of The Tech Visa Portugal Programme
• Difference Between Tech Visa And Portugal D3 Visa
• Can A Tech Visa In Portugal Lead To Permanent Residency Or Citizenship?
• How Can Total Law Help?
• FAQs

The Tech Visa is aimed at those considered to be technology professionals outside of the European Union who are seeking employment or have agreed to employment with a company inside Portugal and are certified to receive these profiles.

Each individual who applies for the Portugal tech visa will need to meet certain criteria to make it applicable. These criteria include the following:

• The applicant needs to be a citizen of a state from outside of European Union territories and cannot reside permanently inside this territory.
• The applicant must be up-to-date with their tax and social security obligations.
• The applicant must be over 18 years old.
• The applicant must not have any criminal record.

As well as meeting these four basic conditions, the candidate must also fit into one of the five following categories:

• The applicant needs to have at least a minimum level 6 qualification, i.e., graduation.
• If the applicant has a qualification at level 5, such as a professional technical course, then technical skills need to be presented with a minimum of 5 years of experience.
• The applicant must have a promise or a contract that has a duration of at least twelve months.
• The applicant must have at least a minimum annual salary that is equivalent to 2.5 times the IAS, which is €1,097.
• The applicant required proficiency in Portuguese, French, English, or Spanish appropriate to the duties that would need to be performed.

Since this visa programme allows overseas startup companies registered in Portugal to bring employees to Portugal from other countries, it is important to ensure that the company is certified and is allowed to do this.

For an individual to apply for the Portugal Tech Visa, they need to adhere to all of the highly skilled worker requirements. These requirements include the following:

• The applicant needs to be a third-country national not living permanently in EU territories.
• The applicant cannot have a criminal record.
• The application must have fulfilled all tax requirements, where applicable.
• The applicant must be at least 18 years old.
• The applicant must have proficiency in Portuguese, English, French, or Spanish where necessary and have dependent responsibilities to be fulfilled.
• The applicant must have completed a BA degree or Level 6, in accordance with ISCED-2011, or have a Level 5 (tertiary level education) with five years of experience in technical roles as specified.

The necessary documents that an applicant will need to apply for include the following:

• Two identical photographs that are passport-sized, in colour, and with a plain background. These must be updated with good ID conditions.
• A passport or another valid document for travel.
• Proof that the applicant has available accommodation in Portugal.
• A valid residence visa as issued per the terms of article 61 of REPSAW, except for requests made under terms of no. 2 of article 90, has an exemption from a residence visa.
• Authorisation to conduct a Portuguese criminal record via SEF (this does not include children under 16 years of age).

Before the applicant can apply for this visa, the company hiring them will need to apply online to get a Tech Visa certificate. To apply for this, a company will need to follow a set of requirements, and their employees will need to meet eligibility criteria.

Each employee will be handed a term of responsibility; this is an essential document in the visa process and is also pivotal in gaining a residence permit.

The company’s certificate process is managed by IAPMEI, and they also have consular services, offering visas, as well as the Aliens and Borders Service, which issues residence permits. A company’s certificate will be valid for two years, and it can then be renewed for two more years and henceforth.

Individuals can apply for the Tech Visa programme by following these steps:

1. An individual must first find a job at a certified company. These jobs can be searched for using company websites or job search engines.
2. After the selection process, the individual will need to acquire all the documentation necessary for their visa application. These should all be gathered before applying for the visa to ensure there is no delay.
3. Apply for the visa online.
4. During the visa process, a Term of Responsibility will be generated with a validation code. This is then registered on IAPMEI and will be consulted by SEF as the application is processed.
5. This is considered a priority visa with already-certified companies; thus, the processes are generally seen as being faster than traditional processing.
6. After the visa has been issued, the individual can then travel to Portugal and begin to work at the company that hired them.

Both of these visas are quite similar. The Portugal D3 visa is aimed at highly qualified professionals who intend on working in Portugal in a highly qualified role.

However, if you are a highly qualified worker in the IT industry and you intend to work in Portugal, the Tech visa is more appropriate.

While the D3 visa is an ideal visa for highly qualified workers, the tech visa was made to facilitate visas being granted to qualified workers from third countries in the tech industry.

More and more Portuguese innovative and tech companies are actively looking for employees who are highly qualified outside of the EU.

The Tech Visa certification is not mandatory; however, if a company has this certificate, they can grant a Terms of Responsibility, speeding up the process of obtaining a residence permit and visa for their future employees.

The D3 visa is essentially a visa that targets highly qualified professionals, allowing them a chance at finding employment in Portugal and gaining a visa through their employment.

On the other hand, the Portugal Tech Visa is a programme specifically tailored to those working in the tech industry. It is specially tailored to the technological area and involves companies that specialise in innovation and technology.

The tech visa is easier to acquire and does have a faster processing process than the D3 visa does; however, it is much more specialised.

It is important for those who are highly qualified tech workers who seek employment in Portugal to ensure that the company hiring them is indeed certified for Tech Visas.