Highly-qualified work — three procedures, not one

In plain termsStart with the filing channel, not the marketing label. Article 90, the EU Blue Card, and Tech Visa have different gates. A salary figure from one should not be pasted onto another.

Start here — three doors

Article 90. Highly-qualified activity under Portugal's ordinary residence route.
EU Blue Card. A separate skilled-employment title with contract and intra-EU mobility rules.
Tech Visa. Only through an employer certified by IAPMEI.

Article 90 — published figures with stale reference years

Portugal publishes a distinct Article 90 route (yes). AIMA displays 2157 EUR/month for the general test and 1725.6 EUR/month for listed shortage occupations.

Do not overstateThose euro figures use a 2023 national-average salary and 2024 IAS reference. They are the figures AIMA currently publishes, not proof that the underlying reference was refreshed for 2026.

EU Blue Card — its own contract and mobility rules

The Blue Card exists as a separate route (yes). The contract or binding offer must run at least 6 months. A holder in another Member State may move after 18 months, subject to the Portuguese application. AIMA states salary multipliers but does not give a safe current euro amount on that page, so this page does not invent one.

Tech Visa — the employer is the gate

Tech Visa requires an IAPMEI-certified employer (yes) and the programme responsibility term. Being a software engineer does not by itself create this route.

Evidence and sources24 dated facts for Portugal earn — subordinate work needs a contract-backed visa; the no-visa route was revoked 4 Jun 2024; highly-qualified floor ~€2,157/month

The readable briefing above uses these cells. Open a source only when you need to verify a number, date, or legal gate.

Local hire needs a lawful work-purpose immigration route, not stay alone
MNE Vistos + AIMA working information architecture — long-stay residency visas exist for work and skilled job-seeking purposes; a stay purpose that is not work (and a tax-residence election) is not by itself authority to take local employment
yeschecked Aug 2026
Portugal publishes distinct long-stay visa purposes that include work
MNE Vistos type-of-visa page — long-stay visas may be temporary or for residency authorisation depending on purpose, including study, internship, work, medical treatment, among others, plus a skilled job-seeker visa
yeschecked Aug 2026
A subordinate-work visa needs a work contract or promise, filed from the origin country
gov.pt migrantes 'trabalhar e criar um negócio' + MNE Vistos — the residence visa for subordinate professional activity depends on an existing work contract or written promise of a contract, which must be filed with the visa request while still in the country of origin
yeschecked Aug 2026
The no-visa 'expression of interest' work route was revoked from 4 June 2024
AIMA Art. 88.º, n.º 2 — the residence permit for subordinate work WITHOUT a residence visa (the 'manifestação de interesse' regularise-from-inside route) was revoked from 4 June 2024 by Decreto-Lei n.º 37-A/2024, de 3 de junho; it still applies only to procedures started up to 3 June 2024
2024-06-04checked Aug 2026
IEFP is job-search support once you hold a work title — not a publicity gate you satisfy
gov.pt migrantes — the IEFP (Instituto do Emprego e Formação Profissional) publishes job, traineeship and training offers; you register at a Centro de Emprego once you already hold a title that permits subordinate work. IEFP is employment support, not a personal vacancy-publicity gate the worker must clear
yeschecked Aug 2026
Highly-qualified subordinate floor: ~€2,157/month (shortage roles ~€1,725.60)
AIMA Art. 90.º highly-qualified activity — subordinate hire needs an employer declaration of a contract paying at least 1.5× the national average gross annual salary (€2,157/month) or 3× the IAS; for shortage occupations in ISCO major groups 1 and 2 the floor is at least 1.2× the average gross salary (€1,725.60/month) or 2× the IAS (€1,018.52/month). Reference years: 2023 (average salary), 2024 (IAS)
2157 EUR/monthchecked Aug 2026
ARI holders may reside and work, but ARI does not itself grant IFICI tax status
AIMA ARI / Art. 90.º-A says an investment-residence holder may reside and work in Portugal; IFICI is a separate tax incentive with its own eligibility test, so ARI must not be described as an IFICI grant
yeschecked Aug 2026
Article 88(1) is the contract-backed local-hire residence route
AIMA — Art. 88.º(1): a subordinate-work residence permit application requires a valid subordinate-work residence visa and an employer declaration attesting the employment relationship
yeschecked Aug 2026
Initial Article 88 work residence permit validity
AIMA Art. 88.º(1) notes — the temporary residence permit for professional activity is valid for two years from issue and renewable for successive three-year periods
2 yearschecked Aug 2026
Switching from subordinate to independent activity requires an AIMA title change
AIMA Art. 88.º(1) notes — a subordinate-work permit holder may carry on independent activity only after asking AIMA to substitute the residence title
yeschecked Aug 2026
Portugal has a residence route for remote work delivered outside Portugal
AIMA — Art. 88.º(1) digital-nomad residence route: the work or services must be provided remotely to a natural or legal person domiciled or headquartered outside Portugal
yeschecked Aug 2026
Remote-work income test is four times the Portuguese minimum wage
Decreto Regulamentar n.º 4/2022, Arts. 18.º-B and 31.º-A — proof of average monthly income over the previous three months must equal at least four guaranteed minimum monthly wages (RMMG)
4 × RMMGchecked Aug 2026
Income lookback for the remote-work route
Decreto Regulamentar n.º 4/2022, Arts. 18.º-B and 31.º-A — the four-times-RMMG test uses average monthly income earned in the last three months
3 monthschecked Aug 2026
2026 remote-work income floor
Arithmetic from Decreto Regulamentar n.º 4/2022 (4× RMMG) and Decreto-Lei n.º 139/2025 (€920 RMMG for 2026): 4 × €920 = €3,680 average monthly income; this moves when RMMG changes
3680 EUR/monthchecked Aug 2026
Initial remote-work residence permit validity
AIMA digital-nomad route notes — the temporary residence permit is valid for two years from issue and renewable for successive three-year periods
2 yearschecked Aug 2026
Article 90 is a distinct highly-qualified activity route
AIMA — Art. 90.º residence permit for highly-qualified activity; this procedure is distinct from the EU Blue Card and Tech Visa procedures
yeschecked Aug 2026
Published shortage-occupation floor (AIMA uses 2023 salary reference)
AIMA Art. 90.º — for shortage occupations in ISCO major groups 1 and 2 the published floor is 1.2× the 2023 national average gross salary (€1,725.60/month), or 2× the 2024 IAS; the reference years are stale and must not be presented as a refreshed 2026 threshold
1725.6 EUR/monthchecked Aug 2026
Portugal has a separate EU Blue Card route for highly-qualified employment
AIMA — EU Blue Card under Arts. 121.º-A and following is a residence title for highly-qualified employment, separate from the ordinary Art. 90 route
yeschecked Aug 2026
Minimum EU Blue Card contract or binding offer term
AIMA EU Blue Card document list — the work contract or binding promise must cover at least six months; the page states salary multipliers but no safe current euro floor
6 monthschecked Aug 2026
Blue Card mobility into Portugal after time in another Member State
AIMA EU Blue Card page — after at least 18 months holding a Blue Card in another EU Member State, the holder and family may move to Portugal for highly-qualified work, subject to the Portuguese application
18 monthschecked Aug 2026
Tech Visa requires an IAPMEI-certified employer
AIMA Tech Visa (Art. 90.º) and Portaria n.º 328/2018 — the employing company must be certified by IAPMEI and issue the programme responsibility term
yeschecked Aug 2026
Article 89(1) is the visa-backed independent-activity route
AIMA — Art. 89.º(1) independent-activity residence route requires the matching residence visa plus evidence of tax/social-security start and a services contract, company permanent certificate, or recent invoices
yeschecked Aug 2026
The no-visa independent-activity route was revoked from 4 June 2024
AIMA Art. 89.º(2) and Decreto-Lei n.º 37-A/2024 — the independent-activity residence route without a residence visa was revoked from 4 June 2024, preserving only procedures started by 3 June 2024
2024-06-04checked Aug 2026
StartUP Visa is an IAPMEI-certified incubator route, not a general founder pass
AIMA StartUP Visa, Art. 89.º(4) — the entrepreneur needs an IAPMEI declaration showing admission to a certified incubator for an innovative company; this is not a general company-formation shortcut
yeschecked Aug 2026

Common questions

Are Article 90, the EU Blue Card and Tech Visa the same route?

No. AIMA publishes them as distinct procedures. Article 90 is the ordinary highly-qualified activity permit; the EU Blue Card has its own contract and mobility rules; Tech Visa requires an IAPMEI-certified employer.

What salary floor does Article 90 use?

AIMA currently displays €2,157 per month for the general route and €1,725.60 for listed shortage occupations, but those figures use 2023 average-salary and 2024 IAS references. Treat them as the authority's published reference, not a independently refreshed 2026 threshold.

How long must an EU Blue Card contract run?

At least six months. AIMA states salary multipliers, but the page does not provide a safe current euro figure; this page does not invent one.

Can I move a Blue Card from another EU country to Portugal?

AIMA states that after at least 18 months holding a Blue Card in another Member State, the holder and family may move for highly-qualified work, subject to the Portuguese application.

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