The program involves financial support provided by the Institute for Employment and Vocational Training (IEFP) to emigrants or family members of emigrants who begin working in mainland Portugal.
Additional support is also available to cover expenses related to the return of these Portuguese citizens and their families.
Applications are open until March 2026, and eligible participants include emigrants starting work in mainland Portugal between January 1, 2019, and December 31, 2025. Companies or jobs created, along with permanent employment contracts established within this timeframe, are eligible.
In October, when the State Budget proposal for 2026 (OE2026) was submitted to parliament, the government announced the creation of the “Voltar” program, which includes incentives for Portuguese workers, investors, or retirees looking to return to Portugal.
José Albano, coordinator of the Regressar Program, which was launched in 2019 to promote the return of emigrant workers, reported that by July, over 36,000 emigrants had returned to Portugal through this support.
More than 73% of those who returned under the program are aged between 25 and 44, with 34% of them being young professionals holding a bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree. This indicates that the program “is successfully supporting young people who had to leave the country and are now able to find professional opportunities within Portugal, simultaneously helping companies address the shortage of qualified labor.”
Applications for the program come from 116 countries, with Switzerland, France, and the United Kingdom leading, currently averaging 405 applications per month in the first half of this year, according to the coordinator.
