Expanding into
Portugal
Global expansion is a step to make for any business, regardless of what you wish to achieve. The opportunities that can come with an expansion can be both incredibly exciting as well as intimidating and confusing, especially when you consider all of the registration procedures that needs to be done and documentation required.


Get the Support You Need
Expanding into Portugal – which is characterised by a highly-skilled, productive, and international workforce, complex employment and tax laws, an integrated infrastructure network linking to Europe, Africa, and beyond, as well as leading sectors in services, industry and manufacturing, exports, and agriculture – can bring excitement to the possibilities, but also significant stress to ensuring the entity with the country’s rigid legal structures and laws.
Ensuring compliance without sufficient knowledge of the country’s laws also adds stress to getting your new entity off the ground and ready to test new markets. Going at it without the proper support can increase the costs, time and risks involved.
Global expansion is a step for any business, regardless of your goal. The opportunities that can come with an expansion can be both incredibly exciting as well as intimidating and confusing, especially when you consider all of the registration procedures that need to be done and the documentation required.
This can be worked through efficiently and cost-effectively with the support of an international Professional Employer Organisation (PEO) such as Bradford Jacobs, especially through our Employer of Record (EOR) framework.
This can be best utilised when businesses are just beginning their expansion process and require more information before committing to incorporating an entity and fully establishing themselves in the Portuguese market.
Hiring Staff
in Portugal
Portugal is a developed country with an advanced economy and high living standards. Additionally, it ranks highly in peacefulness, democracy, press freedom, stability, social progress, prosperity, and English proficiency. The economy of Portugal is ranked 34th in the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report for 2019.
Most international trade is made within the European Union (EU). Other regional groups that are significant trade partners of Portugal are the NAFTA (6.3% of the exports and 2% of the imports), the PALOP (5.7% of the exports and 2.5% of the imports), the Maghreb (3.7% of the exports and 1.3% of the imports) and the Mercosul (1.4% of the exports and 2.5% of the imports).
Portugal is home to several notable leading companies with worldwide reputations, such as The Navigator Company (a major world player in the international paper market); Sonae Indústria (the largest producer of wood-based panels in the world);
Corticeira Amorim (the world leader in cork production); Conservas Ramirez (the oldest canned food producer); Cimpor (one of the world’s 10th largest producers of cement); and EDP Renováveis (the 3rd largest producer of wind energy in the world).
The Portuguese currency is the euro (€), and the country has been a part of the Eurozone since its inception. Portugal’s central bank is the Banco de Portugal, which forms part of the European System of Central Banks.
The major stock exchange is Euronext Lisbon, which belongs to the NYSE Euronext, the first global stock exchange. Portugal is a member of the United Nations, the European Union, the Schengen Area, and the Council of Europe (CoE) and was also one of the founding members of NATO, the eurozone, the OECD, and the Community of Portuguese Language Countries.
SMEs account for 68.3% of value-added and, for more than three quarters – 77.4% – of employment in Portugal. Both are ten percentage points higher than the respective EU average for SMEs.
Portuguese SMEs employ an average of 2.9 people, roughly one person less than the EU average.
The percentage of micro-enterprises in the total business population is higher in Portugal (95.4%) than the EU average (93%).
The two most important SME sectors, manufacturing and wholesale and retail trade generate nearly half of all SME employment and value-added.
The annual productivity of Portuguese SMEs, calculated as value added per person employed, is around €22,900, only slightly more than half the EU average other factors; the definition of SMEs differs in the United States and the European Union.
Social Security Number – NISS (Número de Identificação de Segurança Social)
Company Tax Identification Number – NIPC (número de identificação de pessoa colectiva)
VAT Number
Main Customers: Spain (27.7%), France (13.1%), Germany (11%), the USA (5.6%), Italy (4.5%), and the Netherlands (3.9%).Main Suppliers: Spain (32.8%), Germany (12.5%), France (6.7%), the Netherlands (5.4%), and Italy (5.1%).
Hiring Staff
in Portugal
Portugal is a developed country with an advanced economy and high living standards. Additionally, it ranks highly in peacefulness, democracy, press freedom, stability, social progress, prosperity, and English proficiency. The economy of Portugal is ranked 34th in the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report for 2019.
Most international trade is made within the European Union (EU). Other regional groups that are significant trade partners of Portugal are the NAFTA (6.3% of the exports and 2% of the imports), the PALOP (5.7% of the exports and 2.5% of the imports), the Maghreb (3.7% of the exports and 1.3% of the imports) and the Mercosul (1.4% of the exports and 2.5% of the imports).
Portugal is home to several notable leading companies with worldwide reputations, such as The Navigator Company (a major world player in the international paper market); Sonae Indústria (the largest producer of wood-based panels in the world); Corticeira Amorim (the world leader in cork production); Conservas Ramirez (the oldest canned food producer); Cimpor (one of the world’s 10th largest producers of cement); and EDP Renováveis (the 3rd largest producer of wind energy in the world).
The Portuguese currency is the euro (€), and the country has been a part of the Eurozone since its inception. Portugal’s central bank is the Banco de Portugal, which forms part of the European System of Central Banks.
The major stock exchange is Euronext Lisbon, which belongs to the NYSE Euronext, the first global stock exchange. Portugal is a member of the United Nations, the European Union, the Schengen Area, and the Council of Europe (CoE) and was also one of the founding members of NATO, the eurozone, the OECD, and the Community of Portuguese Language Countries.
SMEs account for 68.3% of value-added and, for more than three quarters – 77.4% – of employment in Portugal. Both are ten percentage points higher than the respective EU average for SMEs.
Portuguese SMEs employ an average of 2.9 people, roughly one person less than the EU average.
The percentage of micro-enterprises in the total business population is higher in Portugal (95.4%) than the EU average (93%). The two most important SME sectors, manufacturing and wholesale and retail trade generate nearly half of all SME employment and value-added.
The annual productivity of Portuguese SMEs, calculated as value added per person employed, is around €22,900, only slightly more than half the EU average other factors; the definition of SMEs differs in the United States and the European Union.
Social Security Number – NISS (Número de Identificação de Segurança Social)
Company Tax Identification Number – NIPC (número de identificação de pessoa colectiva)
VAT Number
Main Customers: Spain (27.7%), France (13.1%), Germany (11%), the USA (5.6%), Italy (4.5%), and the Netherlands (3.9%).Main Suppliers: Spain (32.8%), Germany (12.5%), France (6.7%), the Netherlands (5.4%), and Italy (5.1%).
The Main Sectors of the Portuguese Economy
The country focuses on the following key sectors, which all have a significant impact on the country’s economy:
The Main Sectors of the Portuguese Economy
The country focuses on the following key sectors, which all have a significant impact on the country’s economy:

Commercial Laws in
Portugal
Commercial Laws in
Portugal
