To enter Portugal as a worker for a period of less than a year, you must have a valid Seasonal Work Visa or a Temporary stay visa for seasonal work for a duration of over 90 days (see seasonal worker profile).
For longer periods, you must obtain a residence visa. The residence visa does not automatically grant you a right of residence. Once in Portugal, you must apply for a residence permit.
Where and how to apply | Employment contract You must have a contract for highly-qualified work. Highly-qualified work is defined as work performed by a person with at least a university education for which an employment contract of at least one year is signed by the employer ensuring a salary of at least 1.5 times the average annual gross wage in the Republic of Slovenia calculated on the basis of the average gross monthly wage in the Republic of Slovenia as last published in Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia. Your employer must have published the job vacancy. If there is no candidate having the required qualifications available on the local labour market, he/she can proceed with your recruitment. EU Blue Card Application submitted by you You must apply for a first EU Blue Card at a diplomatic mission or consular post of the Republic of Slovenia abroadSearch for available translations of the preceding link. If you already legally reside in the Republic of Slovenia on the basis of a valid identity card, valid passport, on the basis of a valid passport and residence permit issued by another EU Member State, or on the basis of a visa C issued by the competent authority of the Republic of Slovenia or another state party to the Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement of 14 June 1985, and have already concluded an employment contract with an employer, you may apply for a first EU Blue Card at the administrative unitSearch for available translations of the preceding link in the area where you reside in the Republic of Slovenia within 30 days of entering the Republic of Slovenia. In these cases, you may reside in the territory of the Republic of Slovenia for 90 days from the date of entering the country or until the expiry of the permit or visa, if this period is shorter. Application submitted by your employer Alternatively, your employer may apply for a first EU Blue Card at a diplomatic mission or consular post of the Republic of Slovenia abroadSearch for available translations of the preceding link or at the administrative unitSearch for available translations of the preceding link in the area where the employer is established or where the activity is performed in the Republic of Slovenia. Holder of an EU Blue Card issued in another EU Member State You may also come to the Republic of Slovenia as a highly-qualified worker if you have lived in another EU country for at least 18 months as an EU Blue Card holder. In this case, you may enter and stay in the territory of the Republic of Slovenia without a residence permit for 30 days from the date of entering the country. Within these 30 days, you or your employer must apply for an EU Blue Card at the administrative unitSearch for available translations of the preceding link in the area of your residence in the Republic of Slovenia. You or your employer may also apply for an EU Blue Card at a diplomatic mission or consular post of the Republic of SloveniaSearch for available translations of the preceding link in the EU Member State where you have been issued an EU Blue Card prior to your arrival in the Republic of Slovenia while your employer may also lodge the application at the administrative unitSearch for available translations of the preceding link in the area where the employer is established or where the activity is performed in the Republic of Slovenia. If you submitted the application at a diplomatic mission or consular post of the Republic of Slovenia abroadSearch for available translations of the preceding link, you may enter the Republic of Slovenia before a decision is taken, of which you must notify, upon arrival, the competent administrative unit, which decides on the application. The competent administrative unit or diplomatic mission or consular post of the Republic of Slovenia abroad must issue to you a certificate of a timely application for an EU Blue Card, which serves as a temporary residence permit until the final decision on the application. In the case you already reside in the Republic of Slovenia an EU Blue Card, the decision refusing an EU Blue Card, the order suspending the procedure or the order rejecting the application issued in an EU Blue Card procedure shall be issued to you by the competent administrative unit in the Republic of Slovenia. Application form An application for the issue or renewal of an EU Blue Card shall be made using the form no. 5/1 set out in Annex 1 of the Rules on issuing residence permits, the method of capturing fingerprints and the modalities of the termination of the residence permit. The application form is also available at diplomatic missions or consular posts of Slovenia abroadSearch for available translations of the preceding link or at the administrative unitsSearch for available translations of the preceding link in Slovenia. Fees The administrative fee for issuing a first Blue Card is 102 EUR, if the application is lodged at a diplomatic mission or consular post of the Republic of Slovenia abroadSearch for available translations of the preceding link. The administrative fee for issuing a Blue Card is 70 EUR, if the application is lodged at the administrative unitSearch for available translations of the preceding link in the Republic of Slovenia. The price of the residence permit card is 12 EUR. |
Documents required | To obtain an EU Blue Card, you must submit to the administrative unit:
The administrative unitSearch for available translations of the preceding link that examines your EU Blue Card application must ex officio obtain consent to the issuance of the EU Blue Card from the Employment Service. |
Further requirements | A third-country national with a valid temporary residence permit or long-stay visa who does not reside with an accommodation provider or host shall register the temporary residence at the address where he or she temporarily resides with the administrative unitSearch for available translations of the preceding link within eight days of the day of taking up temporary accommodation, while a third-country national who already resides at the address and obtains a temporary residence permit or long-stay visa after taking accommodation at this address shall register within eight days of his/her service. |
Duration of validity of the Blue Card | The EU Blue Card is issued for two years. If the employment contract is concluded for less than two years, the EU Blue Card is issued for the duration of the contract plus three months. Yet its validity should be no more than two years. An EU Blue Card may be extended for three years, unless the work contract covers a shorter period, in which case the EU Blue Card shall be issued for the duration of the work contract plus three months, but not more than three years. |
Conditions for renewal | A temporary residence permit may be extended under the same conditions as those applicable to its issuance. You must apply for the extension of a permit with the competent authority in the Republic of Slovenia prior to the expiry of the permit. |
Appeals | Decisions of administrative units may be challenged before the Administrative Court. |
| Further information |
Change of employment | In the first two years of employment you may change your employment, provided that the competent administrative unitSearch for available translations of the preceding link issues a written approval. You must apply to the competent administrative unit and submit the same documents that you submitted when applying for your first Blue Card. After the first two years of employment you may change your employment without a prior written approval of the competent administrative unit. You are however required to notify the competent body about the change. |
Unemployment | Your Blue Card will not be revoked if you become unemployed unless the period of unemployment is longer than three months or there have been at least two periods of unemployment during the validity period of your Blue Card. |
Change of status | If you wish to change status and reside in Slovenia for a reason other than that for which the permit was originally issued, you may apply for a further temporary residence permit. This must be done before the expiry of the original temporary residence permit. In-country applications are possible. |
Family members | As a holder of an EU Blue Card you may reunite your family members without limitations regarding the length of your residence in the Republic of Slovenia or the validity of your permit. |
Long-term residence | After five continuous years of legal residence in the EU on the basis of an EU Blue Card, of which the last two years were in Slovenia, you can apply for a permanent resident permit. The condition of five years’ continuous residence is satisfied even if you were not present in Slovenia for the entire period and the temporary residence permit was not issued. However, your periods of absence must have been shorter than 12 consecutive months and in the five-year period they must not have exceeded a total of 18 months. Pending a decision on the application for a permanent residence permit, you must reside in the Republic of Slovenia on the basis of a temporary residence permit. If you have been issued a permanent residence permit for having fulfilled the five-year continuous legal residence period you also acquire an EU long-term resident status, which is properly indicated on the permit. Application form An application for the issuance of a permanent residence permit shall be made using the form no. 28/1 set out in Annex 1 of the Rules on issuing residence permits, the method of capturing fingerprints and the modalities of the termination of the residence permit. The application form is also available at diplomatic missions or consular posts of Slovenia abroad or at the administrative units in Slovenia. |
No information available
- Information for third-country nationals
- Ministry of the Interior
- Administrative Internal Affairs, Migration and Naturalisation Directorate
- Ministry of Labour, Family and Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities
- Employment Service of Slovenia
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- Slovenian diplomatic missions abroad
- More information on the EU Blue Card in Slovenia