Professional qualifications

Some professions are regulated in the European Union (EU) Member States, European Economic Area (EEA) countries and Switzerland. If you want to work in Portugal in a regulated profession, and you obtained your professional qualifications in another EU Member State, EEA country or Switzerland, you will need to apply for recognition of your professional qualifications before you start working.
If you obtained your professional qualifications in a country outside the EU, EEA or Switzerland, you should contact the competent authority for that profession to request recognition of your qualifications.
Check the Generic Names of Professions database to find out whether your profession is regulated.
The coordinating body for the recognition of professional qualifications in Portugal is the Directorate-General for Employment and Industrial Relations.

All regulated professions are the responsibility of a competent authority in each country. It is the competent authorities who will assess your application and grant you authorisation to work.
For example, if you want to work as a pharmacist in Portugal, you will have to contact the Pharmacists’ Association.

The procedure you will need to follow depends on what basis you will be exercising the profession or professional activity:

• if you want to set up in your profession on a permanent basis in Portugal, you must apply to the competent authority for recognition of your professional qualifications;
• if you want to provide temporary or occasional services, you must submit a written declaration to the competent authority before starting to provide services (prior declaration). This declaration is valid for 1 year from the date it was submitted.

In the case of a regulated profession that has an impact on public health or safety, the competent authority will carry out a prior check of the professional’s qualifications to ensure that they have the necessary qualifications to work safely.
You can confirm whether your profession has an impact on public health or safety or not by checking the Generic Names of Professions database as follows:

1. Click on the ‘Professions’ tab and select the option ‘Generic Names of Professions’.
2. Use the search fields to look for your profession.
3. Once you have selected your profession, check whether the field ‘Prior Check of Qualifications Under Article 7(4)’ is marked with ‘Yes’.

The process for the recognition of professional qualifications may take between 1 and 4 months. You should apply early enough to complete the process before the date you want to start working in Portugal.

If your qualifications are not sufficient, the competent authority may stipulate that you take compensatory measures, such as an adaptation period or an aptitude test. After you have complied with these measures, you may be authorised to work in Portugal. Only the national competent authority will be able to assess whether your professional qualifications are sufficient to work in Portugal.
If you live in Portugal and want to work elsewhere in the EU or EEA or in Switzerland, where your profession is regulated, you need to follow one of the following options:
●    if you want to set up in your profession on a permanent basis, you must apply for recognition of your professional qualifications to the competent authority for the profession in the country to which you are moving
●    if you want to provide temporary or occasional services, you must submit a written declaration to the competent authority of the country to which you are moving before you start providing services.

Evidence of carrying out a professional activity may be used to prove to a competent authority or a company in the European Union that you have professional experience.
Find out more and request evidence on the ePortugal portal.

The European Professional Card (EPC) is an electronic procedure that allows you to obtain recognition of your regulated profession in another EU country.

In the European Union, this procedure is available for the following professions:

• nurse
• pharmacist
• physiotherapist
• mountain guide
• estate agent.

In Portugal, the European Professional Card is available for the following professions:

• nurse
• pharmacist
• physiotherapist.

To apply for the European Professional Card and for further information, consult the European Commission’s web page.

The mission of the support centres is to provide citizens with the information they need on the recognition of professional qualifications. Contact the support centre in Portugal.

The SOLVIT network is a free service provided in all EU countries, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, to help solve legal problems. You can get advice from SOLVIT when your rights as an EU citizen or business are violated by the public administration of another EU country.

The recognition of the professional qualifications of persons with qualifications obtained in other EU Member States, in order to work in a regulated profession, is subject to the legal framework adopted by Law No 9/2009 of 4 March, as amended, which transposed Directive 2005/36/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 September 2005 on the recognition of professional qualifications, as amended by Directive 2013/55/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 November 2013.