Portugal's government has no definitive law about the employment of ex-pats who have lodged an expression of interest with Serviço de Estrangeiros e Fronteiras (SEF) for a residence permit.

When you submit an Expression of Interest, technically you are eligible to work anywhere in Portugal. However, all the major corporations do not accept Expression of Interest as a valid document for seeking employment. 

All they ask for is a residence card, nowadays, it's taking almost 2 years for the Portuguese Govt. to process applications and give out residence cards to the applicants.

Meanwhile, the applicants who have specialized education and experience are forced to work in factories, restaurants, and hotels as menial labor and their career is dying in the process.

This is also leading to depression and anxiety among the individuals who are affected by this outrageous and preposterous defect in employment laws.

I am a Bachelors of Science graduate with more than 3 years of experience in the business sector and marketing diplomas. I have numerous offers waiting to be taken and numerous offers that I missed just because the residence card is mandatory in all the major and even the small corporations.

If I have to work in factories and restaurants even after having all the skills and education then what's the point of all this? And in 2 years, my career will be dead already.

I believe this problem is affecting a major population of foreign nationals who do not work as digital nomads and are looking forward to building a career in Portugal's corporate world.

Only attracting labor and not providing opportunities to grow has limited Portugal's economic growth in the past and it will continue to do so if no actions are taken to minimize the damage.

Therefore, I propose that the government should take action to make the expression of interest valid in all companies. Irrespective of their business sector or model and in all categories. The ministry of labor must do this as soon as possible if they want to attract more highly skilled individuals and stop the educated Portuguese population from working in other countries.

This will not only make the employment conditions better, but it will also help in making the economic conditions of Portugal better.

https://www.portugalresident.com/portugal-the-fourth-worst-country-in-europe-to-work-in/

Check out this blog that explains why Portugal is one of the worst countries to work in!

https://www.marxist.com/modern-slavery-in-portugal-capitalist-barbarism.htm