Working in Portugal or Spain as an EU citizen: what to sort out first

A citizen of any EU country, and of Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein or Switzerland, can work in Portugal or Spain without a visa or a work permit. That part is settled by citizenship. What is not settled is the paperwork on arrival, and that is what delays your first payslip if you leave it until you land.

Here is what to sort out, and when.

Before you apply

Check whether your profession is regulated. Nursing, electrical work, private security, childcare, some construction trades: in Portugal and Spain you may need your qualification recognised before you can practise. The European Commission keeps a database of regulated professions by country. If yours is listed, start the recognition request now; it can take months.

Get a European Health Insurance Card from your home country’s health service. It is free and covers you in the public system in the first weeks, until you are registered locally.

Price the city, not the country. Lisbon and Barcelona rents are close to northern European levels while wages are not. Look up the cost of a room and a monthly transport pass in the exact city, and subtract them before you get excited about a salary.

Sort out the language at the right level. For warehouse, factory, cleaning and hotel housekeeping work, many employers accept basic English or none, especially around Lisbon, the Algarve, Madrid and the Mediterranean coast. For front-of-house, retail, care and anything with customers, they want Portuguese or Spanish. Three months of an online course before you arrive is worth six months of picking it up on the job.

Once you have an offer

Read the contract before you accept. In the EU you are entitled to written information on the essential terms: role, place of work, hours, pay, duration. If the agency or employer will not give it to you before you travel, that tells you something.

Agency housing. Many factory, farm and hospitality offers, especially seasonal ones, come with accommodation arranged by the agency. Ask in writing how much is deducted from your pay, how many people share a room, and what happens to the housing if the contract ends. It is not illegal, but it is where the bad surprises hide.

Never pay to be hired. Charging the candidate a fee for finding them a job is prohibited. A “registration fee” or “processing fee” is your cue to walk away.

In your first weeks

In the order they are usually needed:

1. An address. You need it for nearly everything else. If the agency provides housing, ask for written proof of the address.
2. A tax number. In Portugal the NIF, from any tax office (Finanças) or through a representative; in Spain the NIE, from the police or immigration office, usually by appointment. Without it, the employer cannot register your contract or pay you.
3. A social security number. Portugal: the NISS, from Segurança Social; Spain: the número de afiliación, from the Seguridad Social. Some employers apply for it on your behalf; confirm who does.
4. Registration as a resident. As an EU citizen you can stay for three months without formalities. To stay longer, you register: in Portugal the Certificado de Registo de Cidadão da UE at the local council (câmara municipal); in Spain the Certificado de Registro de Ciudadano de la Unión at the police or immigration office. Appointments can take weeks; book early.
5. A bank account. Most employers pay only into a local or SEPA account. Some banks open accounts with just a passport and a NIF/NIE; an online bank with a local IBAN also works.
6. The public health service. Once you have a social security number and an address, register at the local health centre. The European card covers you until then.

What to bring

• A valid passport or national identity card.
• Your European Health Insurance Card.
• Training certificates and driving licences, with a translation if they are not in English, Portuguese or Spanish.
• A criminal record certificate, if the job requires one (care, schools, security). It is faster to get before you leave.
• Recent payslips and a proof of address from home: some landlords and banks ask.

Unemployment benefit from home

If you are receiving unemployment benefit in your home country, you can usually export it for three months while you look for work in another EU country. You have to apply before you leave and register with the employment service in Portugal or Spain within days of arriving. It is not automatic and not easily extended; but it is three months of a safety net.

Where Farol comes in

If you set Portugal or Spain as countries you will work in, openings from there come into your list with the location and eligibility check already done: “EU citizen, no work permit needed”. What Farol does not do is the paperwork; that is yours, and it is the list above.