Between October 2022 and March 2023, Portugal issued around 550 visas to digital nomads with citizens of the United States, United Kingdom and Brazil and led the table of nationalities who chose Portugal to work remotely.
Between October 2022 – date of entry into force of the amendments to the Foreigners’ Law – and March 10, 2023, according to data released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Portugal issued around 550 Residence Permits for remote workers. Citizens of the United States, United Kingdom and Brazil lead the ranking of nationalities who chose Portugal to live. Based on March 2023, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, quoted by the digital newspaper Eco, revealed that most of these citizens are IT professionals, liberal professionals and from different activities.
Amendments to Law 23/2007, known as the Foreigners’ Law, came into force at the end of October, simplifying Residence Permits for remote workers, namely citizens from outside the European Union and the European Economic Area (Citizens of the European Union and Schengen nationalities do not need a visa to enter or reside in Portugal in a remote work regime).
In practical terms, Portuguese legislation allows these citizens to live and work abroad, from Portugal, for a period of one year. After these 12 months, remote workers who want to remain in the country can apply for a Residence Permit that can last up to 5 years.
Portugal has been a favorite destination for digital nomads from the most diverse parts of the globe and the national municipalities are attentive to these citizens. At the beginning of March, the Portuguese Government announced the attribution of a subsidy for remote workers who moved or chose the interior of the country; a measure that is applicable to Portuguese and foreign workers and regardless of whether the company is national or international or whether they are self-employed (Remote workers who move to the interior of the country now receive financial support)
In addition to the interior of the country, which is interested in welcoming digital nomads, urban centers are also joining efforts to welcome remote workers, namely Cascais, which launched an international campaign and Odivelas, which created an agency dedicated to attracting remote workers, in addition to the Autonomous Region of Madeira, a destination that appears on the route of digital nomads.
The issue of mandatory visas for citizens who are from outside the European Union and the European Economic Area, makes it difficult for the competent bodies to have real numbers on how many foreigners live in Portugal and work remotely, simply because citizens of the European Union and from the Schengen Area do not need this visa but the trend is growing.
According to official data, in Portugal, remote workers are not necessarily in cowork spaces. There are those who prefer to work at home, in public spaces, in cafes, on terraces and in companies.
Why Portugal?
The reasons why remote workers of other nationalities choose Portugal to live are varied, but the following stand out:
- Climate
- Welcoming people
- Security
- Affordable cost of living
- Infrastructure
- Public transport network
- Ease of air connections
- Relatively easy access to healthcare
