Sines is getting an antimony refinery — and with it around 150 highly qualified direct jobs plus roughly 300 indirect ones. ACM — Alchemy & Critical Metals has reserved a 131,000-square-metre plot in the Sines Industrial and Logistics Zone (ZILS) for the plant, which is due to start operating in 2030.

What jobs will the Sines refinery create?

The company points to skilled roles — engineering, industrial operations, chemistry, maintenance — on top of the indirect employment a plant like this pulls in: logistics, services, construction. The land-reservation contract was signed on 15 June with aicep Global Parques, which manages ZILS, and the public announcement came in early July. Anyone eyeing these openings has a four-year head start — and in the meantime hiring incentives like the AVANÇAR programme are there for those job-hunting now.

Why does antimony matter so much?

Because Europe barely produces any. Antimony sits on the European Union’s list of critical raw materials — essential for batteries, semiconductors, defence and energy — and its refining is concentrated in a handful of markets, with China at the front. The Sines plant is designed for 10,000 tonnes of metallic antimony a year, 7,500 from primary production and 2,500 from recycling, making it a rare piece in Europe’s industrial puzzle. The official list of critical raw materials is on the European Commission’s portal.

Sines already has the port, a promised high-speed rail link and now a critical metal on the horizon. For a town that has always lived facing the sea, the future increasingly looks land-made.

Starting a company in Portugal can take less time than lunch: through the Empresa na Hora (“company in an hour”) service, a company is incorporated at a single desk, in a single sitting, for 360 euros. It is probably the Portuguese public service most praised by newcomers — and in 2026 it remains the fastest route from idea to a company with a registration number.

How much does Empresa na Hora cost?

The base fee is 360 euros, paid on the spot, and it covers the essentials: the commercial registration, the mandatory legal publications and one year of access to the company’s permanent certificate. Extras apply in specific cases: registering a trademark in the same sitting costs 200 euros more (plus 44 euros per additional class of goods or services), and capital contributions in non-monetary assets pay 50 euros per property, quota or shareholding.

If you’d rather handle everything remotely, the alternative is Empresa Online on the ePortugal portal: 220 euros with a pre-approved standard articles of association, or 360 euros if the partners draft their own. The in-person service runs at IRN desks, registry offices and Loja do Cidadão citizen shops across the country — the official list and conditions are on the service page at gov.pt.

What documents do I need?

Fewer than you’d think. Each partner brings ID (citizen card, passport or residence permit), a Portuguese NIF and, where applicable, a social-security number. At the desk you pick a company name from the pre-approved pool — or bring a name-admissibility certificate requested in advance if you want a custom one — and adopt one of the standard articles of association. Share capital is free: since the 2011 reform, a private limited company (Lda.) can be born with one euro per partner, though a symbolic capital that low can weigh on credibility with banks and suppliers.

You walk out with almost everything: registration number, NIPC (the company’s tax number), articles of association, the permanent-certificate access code and automatic social-security registration.

What happens after incorporation?

The company exists, but it can’t invoice yet. Three steps trip up the distracted: filing the declaration of start of activity with the tax office within 15 days (companies need a certified accountant for this), opening a company bank account and depositing the capital, and checking whether the activity needs specific licences. Only then do the first invoices go out.

Run the numbers before choosing the format: if you’re starting alone and lean, registering as a self-employed worker is cheaper and reversible; a company pays off when there are partners, risk to ring-fence or growing revenue. And if you’re moving to Portugal with a business project, the process slots neatly into the D2 entrepreneur visa route.

Frequently asked questions

Can a foreigner use Empresa na Hora?

Yes. You need valid ID and a Portuguese NIF — residency is not required. Non-resident partners should plan for the extra step of getting the NIF first, which may require a fiscal representative.

Can I create any type of company at this desk?

The service covers private limited companies (Lda.), single-member limited companies and public limited companies (SA). Excluded are companies whose capital involves in-kind contributions requiring valuation, and activities that depend on special prior authorisations.

Does Empresa na Hora include an accountant?

No. The company leaves the desk incorporated, but the start-of-activity declaration requires a certified accountant — best to have one lined up before you go.

Before you can issue your first recibo verde — Portugal’s freelance invoice-receipt — there is one mandatory step: opening activity (“abrir atividade”) with the tax office. The good news fits in a sentence: it is free, done online on the Portal das Finanças in under 15 minutes, and first-year exemptions soften the landing into self-employment considerably.

How do you register as self-employed in Portugal?

On the Portal das Finanças, with your tax credentials, look for “Início de Atividade” and fill in the declaration: choose your activity code (CAE or CIRS code), estimate your turnover for the year and provide your IBAN. Social Security is notified automatically — no second registration needed — and you can issue receipts the same day, also through the portal. If you estimate up to €15,000 of annual turnover, you fall under the Article 53 VAT exemption: you charge no VAT to clients and file no periodic VAT returns.

How much social security do freelancers pay?

In the first year, nothing — provided you have never worked as self-employed before (or haven’t in at least three years), you get a full 12-month exemption from contributions. After that, the general rule is a 21.4% contribution on your relevant income, calculated through the quarterly declarations you file with Social Security. For income tax, freelance earnings fall under category B; many business clients apply withholding at source, and low earners can request a waiver. It is worth doing the maths carefully in year one — and if you are under 35, check whether the IRS Jovem youth tax break stacks on top.

What support exists for people starting out?

Going solo does not have to mean going without a net. The IEFP subsidises training through the Cheque-Formação scheme, and the official self-employed worker’s guide, with every tax and contribution obligation, is published on the gov.pt portal.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need an accountant?

Under the simplified regime, no — most freelancers handle everything on the portal. With organised accounting, yes.

Can I combine recibos verdes with an employment contract?

Yes; each income type is taxed in its own category, and combining them is common.

Does closing your activity cost anything?

No — cessation is also free and done online.

The short answer: Portuguese emigrants who move back and become tax residents again can pay half the income tax (IRS) for five years and claim an IEFP grant towards the cost of the move — that’s the Programa Regressar package, in force until December 31, 2026. If you’ve spent years putting the move off, the calendar has become an argument: 2026 is the scheme’s last guaranteed year.

Who qualifies for Programa Regressar?

The design is simple: it’s for people who were previously tax resident in Portugal, spent at least three years abroad, and become residents again. Family members returning with you are covered too. It doesn’t matter which country you’re coming from or what you do — what matters is the return, plus a clean tax and social security record.

How much is the income tax break worth?

It’s the most valuable piece of the package: 50% of your employment or self-employment income is exempt from IRS for five years, counted from the year you become tax resident again, on income up to €250,000 a year. In practice, a €30,000 gross salary is taxed as if it were €15,000. It’s a separate regime from other reliefs in force — like IRS Jovem for under-35s or IFICI, the scheme that replaced the NHR — so check which one fits your case best.

What does the IEFP grant cover?

A push towards the concrete costs of moving: the base support is around €3,760 and can pass €6,500 with top-ups — for children returning with you, or for settling in an interior region. It covers travel, transport of belongings and resettlement costs, and requires that you start (or have started) working in Portugal. Applications open in phases on the IEFP portal, using Segurança Social Direta or Chave Móvel Digital credentials, and can be submitted from abroad; the conditions and each phase’s deadlines are on the official IEFP page.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a job lined up before returning?

Not for the tax break — becoming resident again and earning work income here is enough. For the IEFP grant, yes: it’s tied to starting work in Portugal.

What if I was never resident in Portugal?

Then Regressar doesn’t apply — the scheme really is for returners. First-time movers have other routes, such as IFICI for qualified professions.

Will the programme be extended?

It has been extended before, but nothing is decided beyond 2026. If you’re planning the move, best not to bank on an extension.

The first application window for two IEFP internship schemes — Estágios INICIAR and Estágios +Talento — closes at 18:00 on 30 July. The window has been open since February, but there is a catch worth knowing: applications close earlier if the budget runs out first. If you have a vacancy to fill or an internship in your sights, do not leave it to the final week.

What are the INICIAR and +Talento internships?

They are support schemes from IEFP, Portugal’s employment institute, in which the state co-funds professional internships: INICIAR is aimed mainly at people seeking a first work experience, while +Talento targets qualified profiles companies want to attract and keep. In both cases it is the employer that applies, submitting the request through the IEFP portal; the intern receives a grant and framework set by the scheme.

When do applications close?

The first application period for both schemes runs until 18:00 on 30 July 2026 — or until the available budget is used up, whichever comes first. And July is a month of stacked deadlines: 31 July also closes the PESSOAS-2026-4 call under Portugal 2030, with 14.4 million euros to support continuous training for teachers and trainers, submitted through the Portugal 2030 portal.

For companies, it is a chance to hire with shared costs; for those starting out, it can be the way in. And if the goal is hiring young workers without an internship first, it is worth a look at the AVANÇAR programme and its hiring support — this July is quite literally paying people to work.

Hiring a qualified young worker on a permanent contract can be worth between 8,600 and 12,400 euros in direct support to a Portuguese company — plus half off its social security contributions. That is the offer behind AVANÇAR, the IEFP programme designed to pull young people off the carousel of precarious contracts and low starting salaries.

How does the AVANÇAR programme work?

The logic stands on three legs. The company receives between 8,600 and 12,400 euros for each permanent hire of a qualified young worker, provided the base salary is at least 1,330 euros. On top comes a 50% cut in employer social security contributions. And the young hire personally receives a 150-euro monthly grant paid by IEFP through the first year — a direct boost to a starting income.

Who can apply and where?

Companies apply through the iefponline platform, where the measure and its requirements are detailed; the official presentation is on the IEFP site. The public target is ambitious: reaching 25,000 young people on permanent contracts paying at least 1,330 euros. For the young hire, the package gets even sweeter stacked with IRS Jovem, which wipes out income tax entirely in year one — and those who would rather create their own job have the INICIAR youth entrepreneurship supports.

Why does the measure exist?

Because Portugal trains well and pays late: the graduate exodus owes less to a lack of jobs than to the quality of the first contract. Attacking entry-level precarity — permanent contract, above-average starting salary, lighter employer costs — is the bet that the first serious opportunity shows up here, not in Amsterdam.

For companies that complain they cannot hold on to talent, the message is simple: the State is picking up part of the bill. The rest — the project, the team, the reason to stay — is still on the house.

If you are up to 35 and working in Portugal, IRS Jovem can mean paying no income tax on your salary at all in year one — and less tax for a decade. The regime covers income up to 29,542.15 euros a year and no longer requires any diploma: age and the start of your working life are enough.

Who qualifies for IRS Jovem in 2026?

Anyone up to 35 with employment income (salary) or self-employment income (recibos verdes), regardless of education — the degree requirement was dropped in 2025. The benefit runs for up to 10 years of income, consecutive or not, and is not tied to one employer: it follows the person, not the contract.

How much do you save with IRS Jovem?

The exemption tapers over the 10 years: 100% in the first year, 75% from the second to the fourth, 50% from the fifth to the seventh and 25% from the eighth to the tenth. The cap is 55 times the IAS — in 2026, 29,542.15 euros a year (the IAS sits at 537.13 euros). Anything above that is taxed at normal rates; everything below enjoys the current year’s percentage. In practice, a recent graduate on an average salary can save well over a thousand euros in year one alone.

How do you claim IRS Jovem?

Two moments matter. Month to month, you can tell your employer to apply the regime to withholding — you feel the relief in every payslip. Then, in the annual tax return, you must tick the IRS Jovem option in the relevant annex; that is what locks in the benefit. Simulations and details are on the tax authority portal and the regime is presented on gov.pt.

In a market where the best-paying sectors keep fighting over talent, this is money left on the table out of sheer unawareness — and if you are just starting out, stack it with IEFP’s support for launching your own job.

Frequently asked questions

I changed jobs: do I lose the benefit?

No — the years count with you, not the company; you resume where you left off in the new contract.

I work freelance: does it count?

Yes, the regime covers category A and B income under the same conditions.

What if I earn above the cap?

Only the part above 29,542.15 euros is taxed normally; the rest keeps the exemption for your current year.

There is still PRR money on the table for businesses in Portugal — but 2026 is the programme’s last real application cycle, and calls close well before the programme ends. If you run a company or a startup, this is the moment to grab what’s left, not to file it under “next year”.

Which PRR grants are still open?

Two stand out for their simplicity. Coaching 4.0 is a €10,000 voucher per company, 100% non-refundable, to hire digital-transformation services for your business model — 2,000 vouchers managed by IAPMEI, from a total pot of €20 million. Startup Vouchers go up to €30,000 per company, also non-refundable, to develop new products or services with a strong digital component or a positive environmental impact. Beyond those, the Mobilising Agendas — 52 consortia of companies and research centres — remain in execution on extended deadlines.

How long can I apply for PRR funding?

It depends on the call: each one sets its own deadline, and many exhaust their budget before the closing date. The practical rule is to check the updated list of open calls on the official Recuperar Portugal portal and, for the company vouchers, the conditions on IAPMEI’s website. Having paperwork ready — tax and social security certificates, funds-portal registration — saves weeks.

If you’re looking for other doors into opportunity, the Portuguese state is still hiring too: here’s how the public employment exchange works, aggregating public-administration openings. Non-refundable money is rare — when it shows up with a deadline, the deadline rules.

The direct answer: the scholarship programme run by Camões — Instituto da Cooperação e da Língua funds bachelor’s and master’s degrees at public higher-education institutions in Portugal, for citizens of Portuguese Cooperation partner countries — mainly the Portuguese-speaking African nations (PALOP) and Timor-Leste. Applications for the 2026/2027 academic year are under way, with each country running its own process and deadlines.

Who can apply for the Camões scholarships?

The programme targets students who are nationals of and resident in the partner countries — Angola, Cabo Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, São Tomé and Príncipe and Timor-Leste — who do not also hold Portuguese nationality and want to study at a Portuguese public university or polytechnic. As a rule, pre-selection is handled by each country’s education authorities, which then send their lists to Camões, I.P.

How and where do you apply?

This is where many people get lost: you don’t apply at a single desk in Lisbon, but in your home country, through the local education ministry or the Portuguese embassy. Deadlines vary by country — some close in early July, others run their own calendars until the end of the month — so step one is confirming the dates on the Instituto Camões website and with the local authorities.

What does the scholarship cover?

Depending on the programme, Portuguese Cooperation grants cover a monthly allowance plus support for accommodation and tuition, for study at Portuguese public institutions. Students who arrive through this route join a lusophone academic community with decades of history in Portuguese universities.

For those already in Portugal looking for other support, the DGES study grants are the main instrument — and the higher-education admissions calendar sets the dates no applicant can miss. Studying in Portugal remains one of the most solid doors into the Portuguese-speaking world — and these scholarships exist precisely to keep it open.

Anyone looking to enter the public sector in northern Portugal has a concrete vacancy on the table: the North Regional Coordination and Development Commission (CCDR Norte) has opened a competition for two senior technicians in its Spatial Planning and Sustainability Division, with applications from 8 to 28 July 2026.

Who can apply?

The competition is for senior technicians and falls within spatial planning and territorial sustainability — work tied to land-use planning and management across the region. The exact qualifications and requirements are set out in the full notice, published under CCDR Norte’s recruitment procedures (reference OE202605/1710).

How long is there to apply?

Applications are open until 28 July 2026. It is worth reading the full notice before submitting, because in the public sector the formal details — application method, documents and deadlines — count as much as the profile.

For the wider picture, see our roundup of public-sector jobs and competitions and the Portugal 2030 calls for companies. The official notice is on the CCDR Norte website.

First-phase applications for Portugal’s Concurso Nacional de Acesso — the national competition for places in public higher education — run from 20 July to 6 August 2026, exclusively online. If you have a student at home (or are one), these are the dates to carve into the fridge door: apply by 6 August, results on 23 August, complaints until the 28th.

How does the Portuguese university application work?

Everything happens on the DGES online system: candidates pick up to six course/institution pairs, ranked by preference — and the ranking matters more than it looks, because the system places each applicant in the first option their grade reaches. It is worth spending an afternoon studying last year’s final admission grades, course by course, before locking the list. There is a priority contingent for Portuguese emigrants, their family members and Luso-descendants, with a shorter window: 20 to 27 July, the same deadline that applies to those requesting the substitution of entrance exams with foreign qualifications.

Whoever gets in then has sums to do — tuition, housing, materials — and it helps to know that applications for student grants open on 14 August, just in time for those who learn their placement on the 23rd.

When do the first-phase results come out?

On 23 August. Anyone left out, or hoping to trade up, gets a second phase between 24 August and 2 September. The full calendar, the application guide and the platform are on the official DGES website.

The direct answer: applications for Portugal’s higher-education study grant for the 2026/2027 academic year can be submitted between 14 August and 2 October 2026, exclusively online, on the DGES Be-On platform. That is a few weeks away — which is precisely why August goes smoothly for those who sort their paperwork in July.

When do applications for the 2026/27 study grant open?

The main window runs from 14 August to 2 October 2026. Students who enrol in higher education after 2 October get 20 working days from enrolment to apply, and the same 20-day rule covers graduates starting a professional traineeship. Outside those cases, you can still apply between 3 October 2026 and 31 May 2027 — but the grant becomes proportional, meaning you only receive the share corresponding to the months left in the academic year. The practical takeaway: apply in the main window and you get the full year; miss it and every month of delay costs you money.

How does the application work?

Everything goes through the DGES Be-On platform. The process automatically cross-checks data with the tax authority and social security, so what usually delays applications is the household’s paperwork: tax returns filed and clean, addresses up to date and, for workers, contributions current. It is worth confirming all of it before 14 August. One institutional footnote: DGES’s responsibilities are being folded into the new Institute for Higher Education, but application procedures stay the same — and new legislation for 2026/27 is awaiting publication, so final amounts may be updated. Always confirm on the official deadlines page.

What about the rest of student life?

The grant is half the equation; the other half is the cost of a room. It is worth reading what changes in student housing for 2026/27, whose applications run in parallel, and renters can stack the Porta 65-Jovem rent support. Add up the three fronts and the academic year gets considerably lighter on the wallet.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to be enrolled already?

You can submit during the main window even before enrolment is finalised; the cross-check happens later. If you enrol late, the 20-working-day rule applies.

Is the grant only for bachelor’s degrees?

No — it also covers master’s programmes and CTeSP short cycles, under the conditions set by the regulations.

What if I apply in November?

You receive a proportional grant: the calculated annual amount is divided over the months remaining. Apply in the main window and you receive it all.

Salaries in Portugal are expected to rise about 3.4% on average in 2026 — solid on paper, but slower than 2025 (3.5%) and very uneven depending on where you work. It’s the difference between being in a sector short of workers and one where candidates are plentiful.

How much will salaries rise in 2026?

The average forecast is around 3.4%, with per-worker growth estimated near 4%. The detail is in the companies: nearly half (49.5%) cut their pay-rise budget versus the previous year, and only about 20% increased it. In other words, the average hides a lot of restraint — the extra pay isn’t reaching everyone at the same pace.

Which sectors pay more in 2026?

The strongest real gains are where people are scarce: artificial intelligence and IT, hospitality and restaurants, logistics and transport, construction and public works, and private security. In these fields, a shortage of qualified professionals is forcing employers to raise offers to attract and keep talent. On the other side, tourism, services, industry and retail tend to show weaker increases — in some cases negative real wages — largely because of the tight margins at small and medium-sized firms.

What to do with this?

If you’re thinking of switching jobs or fields, look at where demand is tightest: that’s where you negotiate best. And remember the minimum wage rose to 920 euros in 2026, which lifts the floor of the whole scale. For the macro context, the Banco de Portugal Economic Bulletin has the official employment and income figures.

Half a million euros is waiting for organisations working on employment in the Alentejo — but the clock is ticking: applications to the new Alentejo 2030 call close on 27 July 2026. The funding is 85% co-financed by the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) and is aimed at strengthening the entities that support entrepreneurs and job creation in the region.

Who can apply to the Alentejo 2030 call?

Local development associations, business associations, cooperatives, business incubators and other public or private non-profit entities with a recognised track record in job creation and entrepreneurship support. It is not, in other words, direct support for someone opening a business — it is money to build up the structures that help those projects get born and survive.

What does the grant fund?

Information sessions for would-be entrepreneurs, training in drawing up business plans, mentoring and specialist consultancy for early-stage projects, and the production of support materials. The full notice, with eligibility criteria and the application form, is on the Alentejo 2030 portal, part of the wider Portugal 2030 framework.

The call fits the wave of EU funding we have been tracking — on the business side, Portugal 2030 also has innovation support open.

For Alentejo organisations the maths is simple: three weeks on the clock and 500,000 reasons not to let it slip.

Anyone working in education and training in Portugal has a few more weeks to claim European support. The PESSOAS 2030 programme has extended the deadline of its call to fund continuous training for teachers, trainers and other education and training professionals: applications can be submitted until 6pm on July 31, 2026.

Who can apply for PESSOAS 2030 funding?

The call targets entities in the education and training sector that run continuous training for these professionals — the precise eligibility requirements are set out in the notice published on the PESSOAS 2030 portal. If you represent a school, training centre or sector organisation, it’s worth confirming your fit before building the application.

How and when do you submit?

Submission is electronic, through the Portugal 2030 platform, until 6pm on July 31, 2026. As with any EU funding call, the golden rule is not to leave it to the last day: the forms require documentation that takes time to gather, and the platform tends to clog up near the deadline.

It’s one more deadline in a July full of them — see also the support for equality NGOs, with applications open until July 17. EU funds don’t fall from the sky, but this month they’re passing right by the door: grab them while the window is open.