Portugal has become an increasingly popular destination for businesses looking to relocate or open new offices.
As a safe and stable country with a skilled workforce and pro-business environment, Portugal offers many advantages for companies seeking a fresh start or expansion opportunity abroad.
Why Companies Are Moving to Portugal
In recent years, Portugal’s government has enacted various incentives to attract foreign investment and talent. Coupled with the country’s optimal location as a gateway to Europe, Africa, and the Americas, these factors make Portugal a strategic choice for establishing headquarters or regional hubs.
Additionally, Portugal boasts a high quality of life, a vibrant culture, and competitive business costs. For executives and employees alike, a Portugal move can be appealing both professionally and personally.
Benefits of Moving Your Company to Portugal
These are the main reasons why companies want to relocate to Portugal.
Skilled and Educated Workforce
Portugal produces highly skilled, multilingual workers. The workforce is also very affordable compared to other Western European nations. Engineers, developers, designers, and other professionals can be hired at very reasonable rates.
Portugal’s workforce is also very well-educated, with literate and numerate employees available for hiring. Portugal is ideal for knowledge-based industries or companies establishing new R&D and innovation centers.
Attractive Tax Environment
Portugal offers an attractive tax regime to incentivize business investment and job creation. For example, Portugal has a corporate tax rate of just 21%, far lower than rates in its Western European counterparts. The country also offers tax breaks for companies that meet specific criteria, like creating a minimum number of local jobs.
These tax incentives make operational costs more affordable when relocating to Portugal. Companies keep more revenue that can be allocated to growth, hiring, facilities, and more.
Gateway to Global Markets
Situated on Europe’s west coast, Portugal is an ideal launch pad for expanding into significant consumer markets across the continent and abroad. Its coastline position also makes ocean trade routes easily accessible.
Portugal’s geography is a natural bridge to Europe, Africa, the Americas, and beyond. Companies can cost-effectively export goods and services from Portugal to major global markets.
In addition, Portugal offers direct land, sea, and air routes that help reduce transportation costs substantially compared to other countries. This connectivity makes global customer reach more profitable.
Strong Infrastructure
Critical infrastructure in Portugal meets high modern standards to satisfy business needs.
For example, Portugal offers reliable electric grids that provide affordable and consistent energy nationwide. This allows factories, offices, and other facilities to operate smoothly.
Likewise, potable water and high-speed internet are available nearly everywhere in the country through solid utility and telecom networks. This connectivity keeps the day-to-day business running seamlessly.
High Quality of Life
Beyond pure economics, one of Portugal’s greatest assets is its high quality of life. Portugal offers stunning landscapes, vibrant cities, clean environments, reliable healthcare, and an overall safe society.
For executives spearheading a Portuguese expansion, relocating to a beautiful coastal community provides great lifestyle perks. Employees also benefit from competitive wages going further in Portugal’s affordable cost of living.
This gives companies an advantage in attracting top-tier talent who seek professional opportunities, like millennials, without sacrificing personal enjoyment and comfort.
Strong Local Partnership Opportunities
Portugal has cultivated an impressive roster of domestic firms across many verticals, from financial services to renewables and everything in between. These innovative local businesses make great potential partners for foreign enterprises entering the Portuguese market.
Partnering with established Portuguese companies in complementary industries allows overseas firms to leverage local connections and domain expertise. The partnerships also aid in navigating Portugal’s regulatory environment faster and forging trust-based customer relationships.
Portuguese firms also gain exposure to new markets, inverted talent, and impactful technologies that strengthen their offerings worldwide. It’s a win-win scenario for both parties and a reliable gateway for newcomers to thrive quickly in Portugal’s business landscape.
Access to Top Talent Within the EU
While Portugal has a skilled workforce, securing top professionals across the European Union is also quite feasible.
Portugal’s borders are open to EU citizens, meaning leading minds from member nations can be readily hired and relocated for critical positions. Whether seeking niche technical experts, pioneering researchers, visionary leaders, or other elite talent, Portugal grants access to the full EU workforce.
Hiring from the wider EU pool allows companies to assemble “all-star” teams to drive cutting-edge advancements from Portugal. Diverse skill sets and perspectives ultimately produce greater innovations than restricting local talent searches.
As an added benefit, staff sourced externally from the EU may qualify for attractive tax schemes like the non-habitual residency tax regime in Portugal. This low flat rate for high-value workers makes relocation to Portugal even more enticing.
Tapping EU human capital while based in business-friendly Portugal is crucial for sustaining a competitive advantage through world-class talent.
Optimized Geographic Position
Portugal occupies a prime geographic position along the western edge of mainland Europe with easy access to the Atlantic Ocean. This allows businesses located in Portugal to optimize logistics across three key areas:
- Europe Portugal has direct access to European Union member markets comprising over 445 million consumers. Transport via land and short-haul flights facilitates quick turnaround on European distribution and sales.
- Atlantic Shipping Lanes: Maritime ports connect Portugal to critical ocean trade routes to the Americas, Africa, and beyond. Businesses can cost-efficiently access resources & customers from nearly every continent.
- Global Air Travel Hub Thanks to rare geographic positioning and infrastructure investments, Portugal provides air connections to major global metros. This global connectivity through optimized travel makes it efficient for overseas firms to service worldwide accounts while operating from a Portuguese home base.
With strategic proximity leveraging land, sea, and air routes, companies situated in Portugal hold a distinct logistical advantage in reaching customers scattered globally.
The time and cost efficiencies also open new international markets previously out of reach for competitors in landlocked regions. For today’s globally-minded businesses, it’s hard to beat Portugal’s optimized geography for profitability and sustainable access to new frontiers.
Relocate to Portugal: FAQs
What visa options exist for relocating my company?
Portugal offers several visa schemes to facilitate business relocation and expansion. Key options include:
- Startup visa: For innovative early-stage companies able to meet investment and job creation requirements.
- Tech visa: Targeted at tech talent to allow faster access to Portugal’s skilled workforce.
- D7 passive income visa: Allows location-independent workers/companies to reside in Portugal without needing a local job.
Each program has specific stipulations, but all aim to streamline entrance for validated businesses and workers that can contribute to Portugal’s economy.
What grants or incentives are available?
Cash grants, subsidized loans/credit, R&D funding support, tax relief, and other incentives exist to promote investment and hiring. Incentives are often tied to criteria like industry, project types, location, and job creation numbers.
Inward investment agencies like AICEP are the best resources for identifying relevant incentive programs during Portugal’s expansion planning phases.
How affordable is it to live and work in Portugal?
Portugal boasts Western European living standards at an affordable price point. Office rental rates average 30% lower than the EU generally. Given reasonable local wages, salary expenses can also be 20-30% below EU norms.
Beyond work, fresh food, property rentals/purchases, leisure activities, and other staples carry significant savings versus regional alternatives. Reasonable taxes also let residents keep more income in their pockets.
Is financing available for overseas expansions?
Government subsidies like credit lines, loan guarantees, and direct funding are available from programs managed by AICEP and IFD. Private institutions like banks also structure Portuguese-centric debt financing and capital investment options.
Between public & private mechanisms, ample affordable financing plans can be secured to launch or grow Portuguese operations.
What cultural adaptation support is available?
While the Portuguese are very welcoming, assimilating to a new regional culture can still present transitional challenges affecting expat worker satisfaction and effectiveness.
To ease integration, the government funds cultural orientation and language training. Cross-cultural training helps make cultural shifts a bit easier.
Additional private relocation services provide immersive experiences facilitating smooth cultural acclimation and faster proficiency in navigating daily life. Customized or group sessions teach critical etiquette, customs, communication norms, and other tips for politely blending into Portugal’s society.
Quicker adaptation enhances life quality for relocated workers and allows fuller focus on applying their capabilities professionally. For employers, culturally adjusted teams integrate faster and perform better, aligned to local dynamics.
Final Thoughts
Portugal checks all the boxes as an optimal locale for international business expansion and relocation. Portugal warrants serious consideration for enterprises seeking skilled talent, gateway access to global markets, attractive operating costs, and a high quality of life.
Utilizing available incentives and support programs can make the process smoother for qualified firms ready to leap. With all factors combined, Portugal enables overseas ventures to thrive and realize their full potential.
If you are considering having your company relocate to Portugal, hiring relocation professionals can help make the process less complicated. ARC Relocation can help you find professional movers to relocate your business to Portugal.
Contact ARC Relocation today to set up a free consultation call.