Finding work in Portugal

If you do not find a job in your first 6 months in Portugal, you may be entitled to extend your stay. To do so you must demonstrate that:

  • you are actively looking for a job
  • you have a good chance of finding a job.

Keep copies of your applications for vacancies, potential employers’ responses and invitations for interviews.

Learn all the information about how to search for a job in Portugal.

Type of jobs available

Before deciding to travel to Portugal to find a job, contact the EURES services in your country; they will be able to give you up-to-date information on the job market in Portugal. If you are already in Portugal, you can look for a job on ePortugal in areas such as:

  • information and communications technologies (particularly IT engineers with very specific specialist profiles)
  • metallurgic and metalworking industries (skilled workers)
  • health (doctors with various specialisations)
  • tourism, hotel and restaurants sector (cooks, waiters and bar staff)
  • agriculture (seasonal employment, particularly fruit and vegetable picking)
  • construction (plumbers, electricians and other skilled workers)
  • Call/Contact Centres (Business Support Centres and Shared Service Centres*, involving duties in sales, administration, human resources, accounting and management control). This area needs professionals with very specific language skills.

* It may not be necessary to have a knowledge of Portuguese to work in Business Support Centres and Shared Service Centres. Generally speaking, the working language is the native language and/or English.

In other positions, Portuguese language skills are essential, particularly in positions requiring contact with the public. A knowledge of other languages such as English, Spanish, French or German may be an advantage, particularly in tourism.

Where to look for job offers

Temporary employment agencies

Taking a temporary job may be a first step towards finding a more stable job. For that purpose you can use temporary employment agencies, which assign their employees to other companies.

For further information, see the Temporary Work section of the IEFP website.

Employment services

You can register with an IEFP Job Centre or employment service to get information on job offers throughout the country. You will have to present your identity document to do this:

  • Citizen’s Card or Identity Card for nationals
  • Identification document or passport for foreign nationals

Consult the ePortugal portal to find out how to enrol at a Job Centre.

Find further information on the iefponline portal.

Assistance services

For more information or if you need help, please contact IEFP: