The new Foreigners Law, which came into effect this Thursday, October 23had already been applied in some cases since last Monday, October 20th. VFS Global, the company responsible for receiving visa applications in Brazil, is returning Work Search Visa application processes filed last week. This type of visa is now only intended for “highly qualified” professionals.
O DN Brazil had access to emails sent by the company to applicants. One of the statements states: “We inform you that, with the entry into force of Portugal’s new Foreigners Law, It will no longer be possible to file Work Search visa applications in the current manner.” All documentation sent is being returned, with a retaining fee of R$62.43 for the return.
The communication is controversial, as it also explains that “the change will occur after the publication of the new Law in the Official Gazette of the Union and is due to the reformulation of this visa category, which will be replaced by controlled recruitment mechanisms“. In another email to which the newspaper had access, the company states that “all Job Search visa applications that are not submitted by the date of enactment of the Law, even if they are complete, will be returned to the applicants.”
Since the beginning of discussions about changing the law, this has been a recurring doubt among readers of the DN Brazil. The approved text is clear in stating that “the provisions of articles 2 and 3 of this law apply to administrative procedures and judicial proceedings initiated after its entry into force” and that “this law comes into force on the day following its publication”.
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The publication of the law in the Official Gazette (DRE) took place on Wednesday, October 22nd. As of today, the changes are officially in effect. However, details about the new Work Search visa are not yet known. A decree — signed by several ministries, but not yet published — will define the exact rules of the new visa.
O DN Brazil has already requested information from the government about this ordinance, but has not yet received a response. The newspaper also questioned the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MNE) about whether the company’s position was a guide from the Portuguese government, but only responded that the law was published today in the DRE, but without mentioning the question asked by the newspaper.
Sending the letter
Brazilian Daniela Lago’s consulting company is advising its clients to send a letter containing a “express request for the request to be analyzed in accordance with the law in force on the date of its submission”. In the document, which the DN Brazil had access, it is argued that “the competence to assess the merits of the request lies exclusively with the Consulate, in accordance with the law”.
The VFS’s competence would be “only the reception, protocol and forwarding of requests, and it is not its responsibility to decide on the legal framework or merit”. The text also highlights that, “in view of the recent legislative change (Law no. 61/2025), it is essential that the process is duly registered and forwarded to the Consulate, so that there is an official decision by the consular authority and not an administrative refusal by the VFS”.
The consultants also point out that the law was published in the DRE on October 22nd, coming into force on the 23rd, and that, as already mentioned in this text, applies “only to procedures initiated after its entry into force”. According to the Code of Administrative Procedure (CPA), the procedure is considered to have started “on the date of submission of the application to the competent service”.
Finally, the document cites the principles of “legal security and protection of trust (art. 2 of the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic)”, as well as the principles of the CPA relating to good faith and the effective protection of the rights of individuals. Brazil is the country with the most job search requests for Portugal.
amanda.lima@dn.pt