Government signs agreement on recruitment of Indian nationals
The Indian community in Portugal was the country's fastest-growing last year, and now stands at some 24,550, more than the nationals of either Angola and Guinea-Bissau.
The governments of Portugal and India have signed an agreement on the recruitment of Indian nationals to work in Portugal, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
“From the moment of entry into force, and whenever an employer wishes to hire an Indian worker, they must communicate that intention to the Institute of Employment and Vocational Training (IEFP), which will transmit it to the Indian authorities, [which] will carry out a selection process, after which the employment contract will be signed and the visa will be granted to the recruited worker, thus allowing him to travel to our country and carry out a professional activity here,” reads the statement, released on Tuesday.
“This bilateral instrument will facilitate legal and safe labour migration flows between the two countries, establishing the procedures for the admission of Indian citizens to perform a professional activity, under a work contract, in Portugal,” the text continues. “It will apply to recruitment for any work activity and whatever the duration of the work contract, benefiting Indian workers with all the rights guaranteed by Portuguese legislation.”
The labour mobility agreement was signed on Monday in Lisbon by India’s secretary of state for foreign affairs and culture, who was visiting Portugal, and the latter’s secretary of state for foreign affairs and cooperation, Francisco André. It now must be ratified and will come into force 30 days after the final notification, according to the statement.
The Indian community in Portugal was the country’s fastest-growing last year, and now stands at some 24,550, more than the nationals of either Angola and Guinea-Bissau – both former colonies of Portugal with much longer traditions of migration – according to the Immigration, Borders and Asylum Report (RIFA) released in June this year by the Immigration and Borders Service (SEF).
According to the report, the number of Indian nationals in Portugal last year jumped 39.3% from the 2019 figure of 17,619, lifting the country into the top 10 in terms of origins of immigrants, to a figure more than triple its level of 2016.
Of the 24,550 Indians in Portugal, 19,099 are men and 5,451 women, the report states, stressing that new residence permits issued to citizens from India had professional activity as the main reason. In 2020 a total of 7,172 Indian nationals submitted a request for the first time for a residence permit in Portugal.
