The Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement this Wednesday (22) in which it informed that all Portuguese consulates in Brazil and in other parts of the world where services are intermediated by the outsourced company VFS Global will stop issuing work search visas from Thursday (23).
“In accordance [com as mudanças na lei]from October 23, 2025, Portuguese consular posts in Brazil and/or VFS Global visa application centers will no longer be able to process visa applications for job search, as this type of visa no longer exists in the manner previously defined by law”, the ministry said in a statement, according to information from the Público newspaper.
The law that the ministry refers to is the new Foreigners Law, promulgated last week by the president of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, and which, among other points, seeks to encourage the issuance of work visas for people who dedicate themselves to “highly qualified activities”.
The Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed that, when the issuance of these visas resumes, they will only be aimed at professionals considered “highly qualified”, with activities to be listed in the ordinance and which must address the “needs of the country”.
Brazil is the country that most demands job search visas in Portugal and, according to data from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs published by the BBC, of the 32 thousand work visas granted by the Portuguese consular network last year, 40% were issued to Brazilian citizens.
