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Portugal Introduces the Job-Seeker Visa: A New Pathway to Employment
Law 18/2022 introduced the job-seeker visa, allowing foreign nationals to enter Portugal for up to 180 days to search for employment, reversing the previous requirement to secure a job offer from abroad.
On 25 August 2022, Portugal enacted Law no. 18/2022, introducing the job-seeker visa—a visa category allowing foreign nationals to enter Portugal for up to 120 days (extendable to 180) to search for employment. The legislative text was published in the Diário da República and marked a major shift in Portugal’s labour immigration strategy.
Before this reform, securing a work visa required obtaining a job offer from abroad, a process that often proved difficult for applicants and employers. The job-seeker visa reverses that logic, allowing candidates to be physically present in Portugal while interviewing and negotiating working conditions.
For foreign citizens from Brazil, the US, the UK, Canada and Israel, this provides a practical pathway to employment without the need to rely on remote job applications. Portuguese employers also benefit from being able to recruit more efficiently.
The reform was designed to address labour shortages in key sectors, including hospitality, IT, health and construction.
Official source: Diário da República, Law no. 18/2022, 25 August 2022 (https://dre.pt)