Work & Career in Portugal - Study in Portugal

Work & Career in Portugal

Portugal lets you work during your studies and offers a real path to stay on afterward. The honest caveat is that local wages are modest, so part-time work is pocket money rather than full funding. But the post-study options are solid, and Lisbon and Porto have turned into genuine tech and startup hubs. This guide covers working during your degree, finding a job, and staying after graduation.

Working During Your Studies

The rules

• EU/EEA students — work freely, no restrictions.
• Non-EU students — may work part-time during term and typically more during holidays, provided your residence permit allows it.

Always confirm the conditions attached to your specific permit, and make sure any job is properly contracted so it is legal and counts toward future permits. Most students work 10-20 hours a week — keep studies the priority, since maintaining good academic standing is a condition of your residence permit.

Where students find work

• Hospitality — cafés, restaurants, bars (especially in tourist areas)
• Tourism — a huge sector in Portugal
• Shared service and call centres — Lisbon and Porto host many that hire for English and other languages
• Retail, tutoring, and on-campus roles

Speaking Portuguese widens your options a lot, but English-language roles exist, particularly in tech, tourism, and customer support.

What you will earn

Wages are modest. The Portuguese minimum wage is around EUR 760/month for full-time work, so part-time student jobs bring in supplementary income, not a full living. This is exactly why proof of funds for the visa assumes you have savings or a sponsor. Our costs and funding guide covers the proof-of-funds requirement.

Building Your Career While You Study

The students who land good jobs after graduation start early:

• Internships — many programs include or encourage them; they are the best route into the local market
• University career services — use them for CV help, job fairs, and employer links
• Student associations and events — Lisbon's Web Summit and local meetups are great for networking
• Portuguese classes — even conversational Portuguese makes you far more employable

Staying After Graduation

A Portuguese degree is a real foundation for staying on.

EU/EEA graduates

Stay and work with no restrictions.

Non-EU graduates

You can apply through AIMA (Agência para a Integração, Migrações e Asilo, which replaced SEF in 2023) to convert your student residence into:

• A job-search residence permit — to stay and look for qualified work, or
• A work residence permit — once you have a qualifying job offer

Portugal actively wants skilled graduates, and the post-study pathway has improved in recent years. Start the conversion process before your student permit expires, and keep your documents in order. See our visa and arrival guide for how AIMA works.

The Job Market by Sector

Portugal's strongest opportunities for graduates:

• Tech and startups — Lisbon is a major European tech hub (host of the Web Summit), and Porto's ecosystem is growing fast. International firms have engineering and service centres in both cities, often working in English.
• Engineering — strong demand, especially for IST, FEUP, and Minho graduates.
• Tourism and hospitality — a huge, year-round sector.
• Shared services and customer support — multilingual centres hire foreign-language speakers.

Salaries are lower than in Northern Europe, but so is the cost of living, and the lifestyle is a major draw — which is exactly why so many graduates and remote workers choose to stay.

The Language Reality

You can work in English in tech, international service centres, tourism, and startups. For most other sectors — and for real career growth and integration — Portuguese matters. Use your student years to reach a functional level; it directly widens both your part-time options now and your career options later.

Career Checklist

• Confirm your residence permit's work conditions (non-EU)
• Make sure any job is properly contracted
• Do an internship during your degree if you can
• Use your university's career service and job fairs
• Learn Portuguese to a functional level
• Network through associations, meetups, and events
• Start the AIMA conversion before your student permit expires (non-EU)

Next Steps

1. Living in Portugal — settle in, get your NIF, and build a routine
2. Visa and arrival — residence permits and the AIMA process
3. Costs and funding — budget realistically with modest local wages
4. The 10-step guide — the whole journey in order