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Corporate Immigration Support in Portugal

Corporate immigration support in Portugal covers the employer-side work behind hiring a non-EU candidate or transferring a manager to a Portuguese entity. We prepare the employer's document file, organise Tech Visa certification records and book appointments, and the employer or applicant submits the application.

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Who Needs Corporate Immigration Support in Portugal

  • Your company plans to hire a non-EU candidate for a role in Portugal.
  • Your group wants to transfer a manager, specialist or trainee to a Portuguese entity.
  • Your employer is considering a highly qualified activity or EU Blue Card route.
  • Your certified company needs the Tech Visa certification records and the residence application documents prepared together.

You need an individual residence route unrelated to an employer or work assignment. The service covers employer-side immigration.

What's Included in Employer-Side Immigration Support

You get a quote in writing before any work starts.

  • Employer document checklist. The checklist covers the employer records, role details and work-arrangement documents that the selected route asks for.
  • Candidate document checklist. A specialist lists the identity, status, qualification and experience evidence that the selected route asks for.
  • Intra-company transfer records. The group relationship, assignment and candidate records for an ICT file are gathered.
  • Tech Visa certification records. The employer's IAPMEI certification records are organised.
  • Residence application file. A specialist prepares the document file and books appointments. The employer or the applicant submits the application.

What Your Company Needs to Provide

Employer records
The Portuguese entity, group structure, activity, registrations and person authorised to instruct the case.
Role and work arrangement
The job description, work location, proposed start, contract or assignment terms and reporting line.
Candidate documents
The candidate's identity, nationality, residence history and current immigration status.
Qualifications and experience
Degrees, professional qualifications, employment history and other evidence relevant to the proposed route.
Group-transfer evidence
The sending and host entities, corporate relationship, prior employment and assignment records for an ICT application file.
Family and Tech Visa facts
Accompanying-family details and the employer's IAPMEI certification records where either issue is part of the engagement.

How Corporate Immigration in Portugal Works

The employer and candidate document checklists and the Tech Visa records the employer holds are prepared. The employer or the applicant submits the application to the competent authority.

  1. Employer, candidate and role intake

    The details of the Portuguese employer, candidate, proposed work and available supporting records are collected.

  2. Employer-evidence preparation

    Your company provides the entity, role, contract, group and certification records required for the selected route.

  3. Candidate-document preparation

    Your candidate provides the identity, status, qualification and experience evidence required for the selected route.

  4. IAPMEI certification records

    The employer's certification records are organised when Tech Visa applies.

  5. Document file and appointment booking

    A specialist prepares the document file and books appointments. The employer or the applicant submits the application.

Timing and Possible Delays

Set by the route and case facts

What delays it

The work takes longer when qualifications, contracts, group records, immigration history, certifications or family documents are incomplete.

What to prepare now

Your company gathers the employer, role, candidate, qualification, group-transfer, family and certification records before the work begins.

Employer Evidence, Candidate Records and Submission

Separate employer and candidate records

Your company keeps the entity, role, contract and group evidence apart from the candidate’s identity, status and qualifications. This separation shows which missing document belongs to the employer and which belongs to the candidate before the application file is prepared.

Who submits the application

A residence application is submitted by the applicant. An employer may submit it for work routes (Decreto Regulamentar 84/2007, art. 51(3)(c)), and a lawyer or solicitador may also submit it (art. 51). A specialist prepares the employer’s document file. The specialist does not submit the application.

Set out your company's hiring plan

Describe the employer, candidate, role, qualifications, proposed start and any intra-group transfer or Tech Visa issue.

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Common questions

Which work-residence route applies to an international hire?
The route and documents depend on the employer, candidate, role and work arrangement. The MNE visa portal lists separate residence-visa categories for the relevant work routes.
What is Portugal's highly qualified activity route?
It is a route for highly qualified work. The current Portuguese requirements are set out in the MNE visa guidance.
What is an intra-company transfer?
ICT is a separate route for an intra-corporate transfer. Its conditions depend on the group relationship, the assignment and the candidate.
Is the EU Blue Card the same as every highly qualified route?
No. Directive (EU) 2021/1883 defines the EU Blue Card as a distinct highly qualified employment route; Portugal's implementation requirements are set out in current guidance.
What is Tech Visa in Portugal?
Tech Visa is linked to employer certification by IAPMEI. Eligibility and the certification position are confirmed with IAPMEI.
Does IAPMEI certification decide the candidate's residence case?
No. The employer's certification and the candidate's residence case are separate procedures.
Does a corporate immigration case include family members?
Family procedures depend on the principal holder's residence authorisation. Accompanying-family documents are listed with the principal applicant's file when the family is part of the case.
Which documents does the employer provide?
Your company provides its entity, role, contract, work-location and group records, plus its IAPMEI certification records when Tech Visa is relevant.
When should an employer prepare the immigration file?
Your company should prepare the employer and candidate records once the proposed role, contract or assignment and selected route are clear.
Who submits my company's corporate immigration application?
The employer or the applicant submits the application to the competent authority. A specialist prepares the document file and stays your contact through the case.

What to Expect From the Service

  • One point of contact for the whole case

    The document file has one contact from intake to submission.

  • English or Portuguese.

    English or Portuguese, whichever you are most comfortable in.

  • A quote in writing before work starts.

    You get a quote in writing before any work starts. You are told plainly if your case is outside the service.

Contact us

Your request is in

Every request is read in house. The requirements are assessed, and a reply by email sets out the appropriate next steps.

Every enquiry is read in house, and the aim is a reply within one business day.

Start with your international hire

Every case starts with the form below. Describe the employer, role, candidate and proposed work arrangement, and a specialist reviews the enquiry and confirms what can be prepared, in English or Portuguese.

Describe the employer, role, candidate, qualifications, start plans and any group transfer. Enquiries receive a reply within one business day, and the first conversation is free.

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The information on this page is checked against official sources and reviewed regularly. It is corrected when the law or official guidance changes, as the Editorial Standards describe.