Portugal · Work authorisation

Tech Visa — certified-employer track feeding into the highly qualified activity visa (D3)

Issued by IAPMEI, I.P., for certifying the employer; AIMA and the Directorate-General for Consular Affairs, for the visa and residence permit that follow. It is checked against conditions rather than scored, so the question is whether you meet each one, not how many points you gather.

Basis
Checklist
Steps
4
Possible outcomes
3
Last checked
2026-08-09

Conditions

What this permit
asks of you.

Which desk decides

The authority, exactly

Tech Visa is not a separate legal visa: it certifies an employer, and a certified employer's letter of responsibility (Termo de Responsabilidade) then supports the same D3 highly-qualified-activity visa described elsewhere on this page. IAPMEI does not keep certification open year-round — it runs periodic application windows announced on its own site, so confirm one is open before assuming a prospective employer can apply.

Qualification

What it wants from your degree

No requirement beyond the D3 route's own: Tech Visa changes which employer can sponsor you and how the paperwork moves, not what your qualifications or contract have to show.

The procedure

4 steps,
in the order they happen.

Prepare your documents

  1. Confirm that your prospective employer holds a current Tech Visa certification from IAPMEI, or ask them to apply within an open certification window.Certification is free for the employer, reviewed within a maximum of 20 working days (25 for a renewal), and valid for five years, renewable for a further five.
  2. Ask the certified employer to issue you a Termo de Responsabilidade. It replaces some of the standard D3 route's supporting documents and is valid for six months from the date it is issued.

Register and start working

  1. Apply for the national visa at the Portuguese consulate or embassy responsible for where you live, using the Termo de Responsabilidade, if you are outside Portugal.
  2. Once in Portugal, request the residence permit from AIMA within the visa's validity — the same authority and the same legal maximum decision time apply as for the standard D3 route.

Cost and time

What it costs,
and how long the authority says it takes.

Fees

Employer certification by IAPMEI
No cost to the employer
National visa, standard fee
€110 — the same fee as the standard D3 route
AIMA reception and review of the temporary residence permit application
€133.00, or €99.80 for in-person and digital service

Timeframes

IAPMEI review of a new employer certification
Maximum 20 working days from submission, suspended while IAPMEI awaits requested documents
IAPMEI review of a certification renewal
Maximum 25 working days
Validity of a Termo de Responsabilidade once issued
6 months
Visa decision at the consulate or embassy
Legal maximum of 60 days from a complete application — the general rule for residence visas, not published separately for this route

Published processing times, not a prediction about your case.

Both halves together

Guides that use this permit.

Each one takes a profession into Portugal and runs the recognition branch and the authorisation branch side by side, including what your country of qualification adds.

Evidence

Every claim on this page, and where it came from.

6 official pages, each with the jurisdiction it speaks for and the date a human last opened it. The oldest is 2026-08-09, and that is the date this page is only as fresh as.

Is this the right permit for you?

That depends on where you qualified.

The planner compares every route Portugal opens to your country of qualification, and adds the recognition branch when your profession has one.

Check my path →All Portugal permits