The globalization that has been felt in recent years has strongly “attacked” the world of work and, consequently, the search for opportunities by citizens outside their country of residence. Portugal is one of the most popular destinations for foreign citizens, which is why it is constantly changing regarding the ways in which a foreign citizen can enter the national territory. An example of this is the most recent conception of a new type of visa: the work search visa.
The Lei 18/2022, of August 25th, 2022, made the ninth amendment to Lei n.º 23/2007, of July 4th, which provides for the legal regime for the entry, stay, exit and removal of foreigners from the national territory . One of the changes introduced was the creation of a work search visa in the national territory. This legislative change, which came into force on August 26th, 2022, led to the creation and approval by the Government of a new type of visa, which enables foreign citizens to enter and stay in national territory for the purpose of looking for work. The work search visa allows foreign citizens to enter Portugal with the possibility of starting work even before they are granted a residence permit to carry out subordinate professional activities. This visa is granted for an initial period of 120 days, extendable for a further 60 days, for a total of 180 days (6 months) and includes an appointment date with the competent services for granting the authorization (thus avoiding any embarrassment with scheduling appointments with the SEF, which have been occurring in greater numbers after the pandemic). Furthermore, the foreign citizen holding the visa is authorized to carry out dependent work activities until the visa expires or until the residence permit is granted.
If at the end of the visa’s validity period – initial period or renewal – the foreign citizen holding the residence visa has not established an employment relationship and started the process of regularizing documents, he/she must leave the national territory, only being able to instruct a new visa application, one year after the expiration of the previous visa.
With the creation of this new type of visa, an attempt was made to speed up, simplify and reduce bureaucracy for the entry of foreign workers into national territory, aiming to respond to the shortage of human resources that haunts our country. This is also a way to boost the national economy. The Deputy Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Ana Catarina Mendes, defended that this new visa eliminates what they consider an “anachronism” referring to the quota regime for residence visas for subordinate work.
However, although this visa makes it possible to address the long-existing problem of labour shortages, it is expected that in the short and long term several constraints and problems will arise.
From the outset, it is worth highlighting the fact that this wave of migration that we are witnessing could cause an even greater spike in prices, especially with a greater rise in housing costs, which is one of the biggest problems in our country, given that the real estate market is extremely saturated.
According to the latest data from the Foreigners and Borders Services for the year 2022, the foreign population residing in Portugal increased for the seventh consecutive year, with it being estimated that more than 750 thousand foreigners reside in our country. It is also known that the Brazilian community represents 29.3% of the foreign population residing in Portugal. And despite Portugal having an active policy of attracting immigrants, Portuguese migration services are completely overloaded. It is estimated that around 200 thousand foreigners are on a “waiting list” to regularize their situation, often for more than two years.
These structural and somehow fundamental problems, considering human dignity, must be thought about and resolved with a view to ensuring attractive and safe immigration. This should be beneficial for both parties, contributing on the one hand to reducing the shortage of labour that is felt in our country, and on the other hand, ensuring security, certainty, speed, and decent conditions for those who with so much effort, they leave their country in search of better conditions.
