Law No. 61/2025 of 22 October came into force on 23 October, reformulating the legal regime governing the entry, stay, departure and removal of foreigners from national territory.
The following are among the main changes relevant to employers:
A) Visa for seeking skilled employment:
• The visa for seeking employment is now exclusively for highly skilled activities. This visa is therefore applicable to third-country nationals with specialised technical skills.
• It allows entry and stay in Portugal for the purpose of seeking work and performing highly skilled activities until the visa expires or a residence permit is granted.
• If the highly skilled professional activity does not commence within the period referred to in the previous point, the citizen must leave the country and may only reapply for a visa for the same purpose one year after the expiry of the previous visa.
• Valid only for Portuguese territory.
• In order to be granted this visa, the citizen must present a ticket ensuring their return to their country of origin if they are unable to obtain qualified work. This requirement also applies to temporary and short-stay visas.
B) Entrepreneurship and innovation
• Creation of a residence permit scheme for third-country nationals who develop entrepreneurial projects, including the creation of innovative start-ups, integrated into a certified incubator.
C) National citizens of States covered by the CPLP Agreement
• Repeal of residence authorisation procedures based on expressions of interest.
• It is now mandatory to have a valid residence visa in order to be granted a CPLP residence permit and temporary residence permit.
• The law waives the prior opinion of AIMA for the granting of residence visas requested by these citizens.
D) Family reunification
• The applicant must have held a valid residence permit for at least two years.
• The period is reduced to 15 months if the reunification involves a spouse or civil partner who has been cohabiting with the applicant for at least 18 months prior to the applicant’s entry into the country. No time requirement applies in situations involving dependent minors or incapacitated persons.
• These periods may also be waived or reduced in exceptional cases, taking into account the nature and strength of the person’s family ties and the effectiveness of their integration in Portugal, in light of the principles of human dignity and proportionality.
• The marriage or civil partnership must be valid and recognised by Portuguese law, and both members of the couple must be at least 18 years of age at the time of application.
• The applicant must prove that they have adequate accommodation, either owned or rented, considered normal for a comparable family in the same region within the national territory and which meets general safety and health standards, and must have sufficient means of subsistence to support all members of the family group without recourse to social assistance.
• Reasons of public order, security or public health are grounds for rejection.
• After the residence permit has been granted, family members are subject to compulsory integration measures, namely training in the Portuguese language, training in Portuguese constitutional principles and values, and compulsory education in the case of minors.
• The deadline for AIMA to decide on applications is extended from 3 to 9 months and may be extended once in exceptional cases.
E) Refusal to grant a visa:
• Grounds for refusal of a residence visa, visa for skilled work or temporary stay include situations where the applicant has entered or remained illegally in the national territory and has been subject to a removal order for up to 5 years, which may be extended to 7 years where there is a serious threat to public order, public safety or national security.