Visas

It targets tech and innovative companies established in Portugal that seek to recruit talent outside EU/EEA countries or Switzerland.

Companies can apply online (in Portuguese only) for a Tech Visa certificate.

Certified companies benefit from access to fast-track procedures to obtain residency visas for employees recruited abroad, which they can use to recruit up to 50% of their workforce.

Please visit IAPMEI’s website to learn more about Tech Visa benefits and requirements.

Foreign individuals become eligible to apply for a residence permit for investment purposes (Portuguese acronym "ARI”) by conducting real estate purchases, capital transfers or creating jobs in Portugal. 

ARI holders are entitled to:

Read more about "Golden visa” benefits, requirements and application process at the Portuguese Immigration and Borders Service (SEF)’s website.

Entrepreneurs accepted into the program will benefit from quick access to the necessary residency visas or permits to move to Portugal, plus other StartUP Visa perks designed to ensure they thrive within the local startup community.

Entrepreneurs can apply online through the StartUP Visa platform. Applications go through a two-stage approval process.

In the first approval stage, entrepreneurs select and apply for a certified incubator to physically host their startup. Within Porto there are 7 certified incubators entrepreneurs can choose from:

In the second approval stage, entrepreneurs and their business project will be assessed by the Portuguese Public Agency for Competitiveness and Innovation (IAPMEI), which will decide whether to accept them into the StartUP Visa program. In order to get to the last approval stage, entrepreneurs must first be accepted by the incubator they previously selected and applied for.

To learn more about StartUP Visa benefits, requirements and its application process please visit IAPMEI’s website.