Minimum Salary Level Increased

The situation

Effective January 1, 2019, the minimum monthly salary for foreign workers in Portugal has increased as follows, up 3.4 percent from last year:

Note that Residence Visa for Highly-Qualified Staff applicants must receive a salary at 1.2-1.5 times the average gross salary, in addition to the above salary requirement. The average gross salary amounts are however rarely published. Fragomen advises that the salary amount is set at least to EUR 1,700 to maintain a safe margin above the EUR 1,307.28 amount.

A closer look

• Existing employees. Employers of foreign nationals must increase the foreign national’s salary to comply with the new rule if required.
• Initial and renewal applications. Employers of foreign nationals seeking to obtain or renew a visa on or after January 1, 2019 must increase the foreign national’s salary to comply with the new rule. Immigration applications that do not meet the minimum salary will be refused.
• Pending applications. Employers of foreign nationals with pending visa applications as of January 1, 2019 must increase the foreign national’s salary to comply with the new rule. Immigration applications that do not meet the minimum salary will be refused.

Reminders on other requirements

• Benefits and allowances. As before, benefits and allowances can only be included for foreign workers on home contract. For those applicants, cost of living and housing allowances can be included in the calculation, provided that these are transferred to the foreign national’s bank account, paid monthly, taxable, processed via payroll, guaranteed and fixed.
• Salary prorating. As before, salary cannot be prorated except in the first and last month of employment or assignment.
• Currency. As before, employers are required to guarantee the salary in EUR regardless of payroll location and/or exchange rate fluctuations.

Background

Portugal increased salary requirements by 5.1 percent for 2017 and 4.1 percent for 2018. Salary increases between one and five percent are typical in the region and are implemented annually.

Looking ahead

Croatia, Israel, Latvia and Slovenia are expected to announce new salary thresholds in the coming weeks.

This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact the global immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen or send an email to [email protected].