Protocol signed this week promises visas within 20 days
Portuguese businesses are said to be champing at the bit following the signing earlier this week of the government’s new protocol for ‘controlled labour migration’.
Employers need 110,000 immigrants to fill jobs, with areas most in need of labour being agriculture, construction and tourism, say reports.
As was clearly explained during the press conference outlining the protocol, it does not apply to immigrants already here, who may be looking for work. This new regulation allows employers to hire people via consulates abroad, assuring them of a work contract, accommodation, training and Portuguese language lessons.
But with summer approaching, the understanding is that employers ‘need speed’. The protocol has been in force for four days, and the clock is running.
According to Expresso, tourism is desperate for 50,000 professionals – a third of whom are likely to be foreigners; c is looking for 90,000 (for projects that in many cases are time-constrained) and agriculture “needs to hire 5,000 people quickly”.
Tourism companies have already begun to identify who they need to benefit from the protocol, says the paper. ND
