Published: 25.09.2026
Portugal has moved away from the general system that allowed foreigners to enter, find work and then regularise their status in-country through manifestação de interesse. For most long-term residence routes, applicants must first obtain the appropriate visa at a Portuguese consulate and apply for a residence permit after entering Portugal.
According to sources, a relocation plan must now generally begin with selecting the correct basis and applying for a visa outside Portugal, rather than entering as a visitor and regularising status in-country. This makes the visa category more important and shifts part of the timeline to the consular stage. The change is particularly relevant to workers, self-employed applicants, remote workers and families who expected to resolve their status after arrival. Anyone from a third country planning a long-term move should treat this as a core planning issue.