Residence permit for the exercise of subordinate professional activity
Residency route facts
Identity
| Official name (local) | Autorização de residência para exercício de atividade profissional subordinada as of 2026-08-07[2][5] |
|---|---|
| Official name (English) | Residence permit for the exercise of subordinate professional activity as of 2026-08-07[2] Working translation of the official Portuguese title; the cited sources state no official English title. |
| Legal basis | Lei n.º 23/2007 (REPSAE), art. 88.º, read with art. 59.º (residence visa for subordinate professional activity) and art. 77.º (general conditions), and Decreto Regulamentar n.º 84/2007 arts. 51.º, 53.º and 54.º/1 as of 2026-08-07[2][5] AIMA states the same combination on its own procedure page and adds Portaria n.º 1563/2007 for the means-of-subsistence criterion. |
| Instrument type | residence permit as of 2026-08-07[2][5] |
Who can apply
| Nationals not served by this route | EU, EEA as of 2025-10-22[5] |
|---|---|
| Criminal-record condition | Yes as of 2026-08-07[2][5] REPSAE art. 77.º/1/b) and /1/d); AIMA's procedure page repeats the absence of a conviction for a crime punishable in Portugal with more than one year's imprisonment. |
Permit terms
| Initial duration | 2 years as of 2026-08-07[2][5] REPSAE art. 75.º/1; AIMA states the temporary residence permit for professional activity is valid for two years from the date the title is issued. |
|---|---|
| How the initial term is set | fixed |
| Renewable | Yes as of 2026-08-07[2][5] |
| Renewal duration | 3 years as of 2026-08-07[2][5] Successive three-year periods. |
| Work rights | full as of 2026-08-07[2][5] REPSAE art. 83.º/1/b) and c) give every residence-permit holder employed and self-employed rights; art. 88.º/5 lets the holder move to independent activity on substitution of the residence title, and AIMA describes that substitution procedure. |
Permanent residence and citizenship
Requirements
| Job offer required | Yes as of 2026-08-07[2][5] REPSAE art. 88.º/1 grants the permit only to third-country nationals who hold an employment contract concluded under the law and are registered with social security; AIMA requires an employer declaration on honour attesting the employment relationship plus proof of tax and social-security registration. |
|---|---|
| Labour-market test | No as of 2025-10-22[5] |
| Qualification requirement | none as of 2025-10-22[5] |
| Employer sponsorship | Yes as of 2026-08-07[2][5] The employer's declaration attesting the employment relationship is a required document, and art. 88.º/4 requires AIMA to notify the labour inspectorate, the tax administration and social security so that the employer's obligations can be supervised. |
| Paid in-country | Yes as of 2025-10-22[5] |
| Job-search route | No as of 2025-10-22[5] |
Process
| Where to apply from | either as of 2026-08-07[2][5] The ordinary path is a residence visa obtained abroad under art. 59.º/5, on the strength of an employment contract or a promise of one, or of recognised qualifications plus an individualised expression of interest from the employer. REPSAE art. 88.º/7 additionally allows a holder of the art. 57.º-A job-search visa who has formed and formalised an employment relationship within that visa's period to apply for the permit in-country at the appointment date carried in the visa. |
|---|---|
| Statutory processing time | Not established from a qualifying source |
| Fees |
|
Family inclusion
| Family members may be included | Yes as of 2025-10-22[5] |
|---|---|
| Eligible relations | spouse, unmarried partner, minor child, adult dependent child, parent, sibling as of 2025-10-22[5] |
| Family may apply at the same time | Yes as of 2025-10-22[5] |
| Family members' work rights | full as of 2025-10-22[5] |
| Additional means per family member |
Your next step
Read the requirements above considering your own situation: the income multiple, the absence limits, who you can bring. Check the country record for the reference figure those amounts are calculated from, and for anything that has changed recently.
The next step is your own case. That assessment is legal work. Create profile for our assistance in this.
Profile benefits
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Verification
| Sources cited | 5 |
|---|---|
| of which official (tier 1) | 5 |
| Oldest as-of date | 2025-10-22 |
| Newest as-of date | 2026-08-07 |
| Reviewed on | 2026-08-11 |
| Schema version | 1.1 |
Sources
- [1] Autorização de Residência Permanente – Art. 80.º
AIMA, I.P. – Agência para a Integração, Migrações e Asilo · official portal · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-06 - [2] Autorização de Residência para Exercício de Atividade Profissional Subordinada, com Visto de Residência – Art. 88.º, n.º 1
AIMA, I. P. · official portal · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-07 - [3] Meios de subsistência – Documentação instrutória – Vistos Nacionais
Ministério dos Negócios Estrangeiros (Portal dos Vistos) · official portal · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-07 - [4] Portaria n.º 1563/2007, de 11 de dezembro – meios de subsistência
Diário da República, 1.ª série, n.º 238 · gazette · Tier 1 · Published 2007-12-11 · Accessed 2026-08-06 - [5] Lei n.º 23/2007, de 4 de julho (REPSAE – regime de entrada, permanência, saída e afastamento de estrangeiros), texto consolidado, 19.ª versão
Procuradoria-Geral Distrital de Lisboa – base de dados de legislação consolidada · statute · Tier 1 · Published 2025-10-22 · Accessed 2026-08-06