6 de December, 2022
The IT market is very heated in Portugal and this has been drawing the attention of foreign professionals for some time now. Not a few have moved to Portugal to work in the area. With that in mind, we prepared this article to explain if there is an IT visa for Portugal.
Understand what the visa possibilities are, the necessary requirements, costs, and learn which visa is most suitable for working in IT in the country.
There is no specific IT visa for Portugal, but IT professionals can basically apply for three types of visas, depending on their work situation.
The Tech Visa can be used by highly qualified professionals who are hired by companies in the technology sector. However, in order to apply for this visa, the company must be certified to participate in the program.
For other cases, the professional can apply for the D3 visa (for highly qualified professionals). The application is made based on an employment contract or a promise (proposal) of an employment contract obtained by the worker.
There is also the possibility of the D2 visa (for self-employed professionals), which may be applicable in some specific situations, depending mainly on the professional’s area of work.
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The Tech Visa program was created especially to meet the demand for technology professionals who are hired by certified companies.
It was created in 2018 with the aim of speeding up the granting of visas for professionals in the area, making it easier and faster to obtain a visa. The Tech Visa is in charge of the Agency for Competitiveness and Innovation(IAPMEI).
Currently, in November 2022, the cost of the Tech Visa application is $606.23.
The essential requirements to be eligible to apply for a Tech Visa are:
Regarding work, not yet required:
You must also prove that you perform a highly skilled activity in the industry by fulfilling one of these requirements:
Before enrolling in the Tech Visa program to get your IT visa to Portugal, the professional must get a job position in one of the companies that are certified to participate in the program.
Next, it is time to gather the necessary documentation cited above to begin the visa application process.
The request must be forwarded through the company VFS Global, which has several offices in Brazil. After the visa is issued, the professional can embark for Portugal.
When you arrive in the country, you will have to go to the SEF (Foreigners and Borders Service) to have an interview and apply for a residence permit.
As the Tech Visa was created to facilitate the issuance of visas for these professionals, it is common for companies to assist the new employee in all steps of the process. In addition, the issuance of the visa should be faster than the other types.
The documents required to apply for a visa are:
The D3 visa is intended especially for workers classified as highly skilled, such as IT professionals.
In order to apply for this type of visa, besides being highly qualified, you also need (as with the Tech Visa) a work contract with a Portuguese company (or a formal promise of contract).
The D3 visa also costs R$606.23 (value consulted on the VFS website in November 2022).
The visa application must be done in Brazil, also through VFS Global. It is necessary to gather the required documentation, pay the fee and forward the request.
After receiving the visa, it is already possible to embark for Portugal. And, likewise, when you arrive in the country you need to go to SEF to request a residence permit. To be seen at SEF, it is necessary to make a prior appointment.
Note: It is important to clarify that as a highly skilled worker, the visa holder will also be entitled to apply for the EU Blue Card.
The documents required are:
For the employment contract to be accepted in the D3 visa application, the minimum salary of the position must be:
For occupations in major groups 1 and 2 (areas that need workers from states outside the European Union), the amount of remuneration must be at least 1.2 times the national average gross annual salary.
As said before, in some situations the D2 visa can also be required by IT professionals.
Remember that this modality is only indicated for autonomous professionals, not for professionals with an employment contract – as in the previous cases.
As for the amount, just like the other visas mentioned, the value of the D2 visa (in November 2022) is R$ 606.23.
The application must also be submitted through VFS Global. The application must be accompanied by the required documentation and payment of the corresponding fee.
After approval and receipt of the visa and arrival in Portugal, the D2 visa holder must go in person to SEF to request the residence permit.
The documents for the D2 visa are as follows:
If you are not sure which visa is the most appropriate for your category, we recommend that you seek the assistance of a specialized lawyer.
Since there is no specific visa for the IT public and each of the above visas has specificities that need to be respected, having a lawyer will prevent you from forwarding the request to the wrong type and having your process delayed or denied.
Finding good IT jobs in Portugal is not that difficult, since the sector is booming in the country. In fact, it is one of the sectors that offers the most vacancies and that constantly “imports” professionals from Brazil.
The best way to find an IT position in Portugal is to search on websites that offer jobs. IT Jobs, for example, specializes in IT job positions.
Other sites to search for jobs in Portugal are:
It is also possible to search for job openings in the area by going directly to the IT companies’ websites for a more targeted search.
To begin with, it is quite common for companies that hire foreigners to help in the whole process of documentation and even of moving – which already makes the arrival in the country more relaxed.
Regarding work specifically, working in IT in Portugal is not very different from Brazil. And of course, it all depends on the company and the local work format.
Depending on the company, it will even be possible to work in home office or in hybrid regime, a reality that has been increasingly common all over the world – and in Portugal it is no different.
Luís, who is an IT professional, told us details about his experience working as an IT professional in Portugal. Check out his account.
The salary of an IT professional in Portugal will vary depending on the company, the position and the level of experience. But on average, salaries are between 1,500€ and 3,000€.
It is worth pointing out that as you get older and progress in your career and in your company, these figures can be even higher. And of course, this also depends on the area in which you will be working.
Taking into account that the minimum wage in Portugal is 705€ (in 2022), the sector’s salaries are well above this level. They are even above the country’s average wage, which in the third quarter of 2022 was €1,353, according to data published by the National Statistics Institute (INE).
If you are interested in living in Portugal and want to work in the IT area, it is definitely worthwhile. The sector has grown a lot in the last few years and Brazilian professionals are very well accepted in Portugal.
There are even many companies that recruit especially for professionals from Brazil.
So, if you want to work as an IT, prepare a good resume, look for vacancies, participate in the selection processes and, if you are approved, apply for your IT visa to Portugal.
Article originally published on our partner site Euro Dicas.
Author:
Atlantic Bridge
