Hire Workers in Portugal Under the New Immigration Rules
Portugal closed its arrival-first routes in 2025. Everything now happens at the consulate before the worker travels. We recruit from India, Nepal and Bangladesh and build the file that way round.
- Consular-first, because nothing else works now
The routes that let workers arrive and regularise afterwards have been closed.
What You Need to Hire Workers in Portugal Now
Portugal used to be the most permissive market in Western Europe for this kind of hiring, and a great deal of advice online still describes that Portugal. It no longer exists. Two changes closed it. Law 61/2025 abolished the job-seeker visa, and appointments under it were cancelled in October 2025. Separately, the manifestação de interesse — the mechanism that let a worker already in Portugal regularise through a contract and social security record — was permanently discontinued at the end of December 2025.
Any proposal that involves a worker arriving in Portugal and sorting out status afterwards is describing a route that has been shut. That includes tourist-entry arrangements, which were never lawful for this purpose and are now not even survivable in practice.
What remains is the orthodox route, and it works. The worker applies at the Portuguese consulate in their country of residence for a residence visa for subordinate employment, on the strength of a signed employment contract or a formal promise of contract from you, together with evidence of accommodation and means. AIMA issues the residence permit after arrival. The whole assessment happens before travel, which makes the quality of the contract and the supporting file decisive.
Nationals of CPLP member states retain their own dedicated consular pathway, but that does not extend to Indian, Nepali, Bangladeshi or Pakistani nationals, so we use the standard employment residence visa for the workers we place.
Who We Are
Hire Across Euro is an independent international recruitment consultancy with an active sourcing network across India, Nepal and Bangladesh. The founder runs every engagement personally, so a Portuguese employer gets current law rather than the pre-2025 version that still fills the search results.
What We Handle for Portuguese Employers
Sourcing and Vetting
We shortlist workers whose training documents and work history stand up to consular scrutiny. Every file is checked for document completeness and practical competence before it reaches you.
- Document verification
- Trade competence check
Contract and Consular File
We draft the employment contract or promise of contract to the standard the consulate expects, assemble the accommodation and means evidence, and manage the visa application through to decision.
- Contract to consular standard
- Accommodation evidence pack
AIMA Residence Permit
After arrival we support the AIMA appointment and the issue of the residence permit, including the social security and tax registrations that sit alongside it.
Workplace Onboarding
Workers are briefed on Portuguese employment terms, working-time rules and site safety expectations before they travel.
Sectors Where We Hire Workers in Portugal
Four areas where Portuguese employers are hiring and the consular route is worth running.
Agriculture and Fruit
Field, orchard and glasshouse workers in the Alentejo, Oeste and Algarve growing regions, and packing-line staff.
Construction and Civil Works
Bricklayers, formwork carpenters, steel fixers and finishing trades for contractors and developers.
Hospitality and Tourism
Kitchen, housekeeping and service staff for hotels and resort operators through and beyond the season.
Logistics and Warehousing
Warehouse operatives, pickers and forklift drivers for distribution and third-party logistics.
The Portuguese Route at a Glance
What closed, what remains, and why old advice fails here.
| Closed in 2025 | Job-seeker visa, abolished by Law 61/2025; appointments cancelled in October 2025 |
|---|---|
| Also closed | Manifestação de interesse, permanently discontinued at the end of December 2025 |
| Open | Residence visa for subordinate employment, applied for at the consulate before travel |
| Who applies | The worker, at the consulate, on a signed contract or promise of contract from you |
| Also required | Evidence of accommodation and means |
| After arrival | AIMA issues the residence permit; social security and tax registrations follow |
| CPLP note | The CPLP pathway covers Portuguese-speaking member states and does not extend to South Asia |
How to Hire Workers in Portugal After the 2025 Reforms
For several years Portugal was the answer employers gave when other European markets said no. The manifestação de interesse allowed a worker who was already in the country to regularise on the strength of a contract and a social security record, and a job-seeker visa allowed entry to look for work. Both are gone. The job-seeker visa was abolished by Law 61/2025 with appointments cancelled in October 2025, and the manifestação de interesse closed permanently at the end of December 2025 with a backlog of hundreds of thousands of pending cases behind it.
This matters commercially because a lot of published advice, and a number of agencies, still work from the old model. If a proposal for Portugal involves getting a worker into the country first, it is describing something that cannot now be completed. Employers who act on it end up with people they cannot lawfully employ.
The route that does work is the one Portugal now insists on: the worker applies at the consulate in their country of residence for a residence visa for subordinate employment, supported by a signed contract or formal promise of contract, accommodation and means. Because everything is assessed before travel, the file has to be right first time — there is no longer a forgiving second stage in Portugal to fix it in.
That is a slower model than employers remember, and it is a more reliable one. It also puts real weight on the employer paperwork, which is where we do most of our work on a Portuguese file. Our live roles are on the vacancies board, our fee and treatment standards are in ethical recruitment compliant with EU labour law, and employers comparing the Iberian and Mediterranean markets usually also read hiring workers in Spain and Greece.
How the Process Works
Six steps, all of which happen before the worker boards a plane.
Requirement Call
We go through headcount, roles, worksite location, contract length and the start date you are working back from.
Shortlist
We present vetted workers from India, Nepal, Bangladesh or Pakistan with their training and work-history evidence attached.
Permit Filing
We prepare the contract and supporting file and lodge the residence visa application at the Portuguese consulate.
Visa Application
We prepare the consular file and the employer-side documents your HR team is asked to produce, and track it to decision.
Arrival
We coordinate travel and the first days in Portugal, including the AIMA appointment and registrations.
Onboarding
We support induction at the worksite and stay reachable through the first weeks of the placement.
Quick Answers
What is the manifestação de interesse and can we still use it?
It was the mechanism that let a worker already in Portugal regularise on the strength of a contract and a social security record. It was permanently discontinued at the end of December 2025, so it cannot be used. Any proposal that involves getting a worker into the country first is describing a closed route.
Why does the employer paperwork matter more in Portugal now?
Because the entire assessment happens at the consulate before travel, there is no longer a forgiving second stage inside Portugal in which to correct a weak file. The contract, the accommodation evidence and the means evidence have to be right at the point of application.
How to hire workers in Portugal legally in 2026?
Issue a signed employment contract or a formal promise of contract, assemble accommodation and means evidence, and have the worker lodge a residence visa application for subordinate employment at the Portuguese consulate in their country of residence. AIMA issues the residence permit after arrival.
Official Sources and Further Reading
A great deal of published advice still describes pre-2025 Portugal. These are the current administering bodies and the official record of the law that changed it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a worker come to Portugal and regularise their status afterwards?
No. The manifestação de interesse that allowed exactly that was permanently discontinued at the end of December 2025, and the job-seeker visa was abolished by Law 61/2025. Any proposal built on arriving first is describing a closed route.
What is the correct route now?
A residence visa for subordinate employment, applied for at the Portuguese consulate in the worker’s country of residence, supported by a signed contract or promise of contract from you, plus accommodation and means evidence. AIMA issues the residence permit after arrival.
Does the CPLP pathway help with Indian or Nepali workers?
No. The CPLP arrangements apply to nationals of Portuguese-speaking member states and do not extend to the South Asian nationalities we source. We use the standard employment residence visa.
How much does the employer paperwork matter?
More than it used to. Because the whole assessment now happens before travel, there is no second stage in Portugal in which to correct a weak file. The contract and supporting evidence have to be right at the point of application.
Is Portugal still faster than other EU markets?
Not in the way it once was. The reforms traded speed for order. It remains a genuinely open market for employer-sponsored hiring, but it should now be planned on the same horizon as its neighbours rather than treated as the quick option.
Is Portugal still the fast option it used to be?
No, and employers should reset their expectations rather than their agency. The 2025 reforms traded speed for order. Portugal remains genuinely open to employer-sponsored hiring, but it should now be planned on the same horizon as Spain or France rather than treated as the shortcut it was for several years.
What happens if a worker travels to Portugal on a tourist visa and we employ them?
You are employing someone unlawfully, and the route that used to fix that afterwards no longer exists. With the manifestação de interesse closed there is no regularisation path to fall back on, which means the exposure sits with you as employer and cannot be resolved retrospectively.
Request Workers for Portugal
Tell us the roles, the headcount and the date you are working back from. A consultant replies within one business day with the consular route and what the file will take.
Talk to Us
If your operation in Portugal needs workers from India, Nepal or Bangladesh, send us the requirement and a consultant replies within one business day with the current route, the timeline and a quote.