PT ·
Portugal plans a €970 minimum wage for 2027: what employers of international staff should prepare
Portugal's government plans to raise the national minimum monthly wage from €920 to €970 in 2027, and the labour minister repeated this in parliament on 6 November 2026. The new amount is not yet fixed in a published legal act. What is confirmed, what employers should plan for and what is still open.
What was announced
In its official presentation of the 2027 State Budget proposal (government news of 9 October 2026), the government states that the national minimum wage will rise to €970 in 2027. On 6 November 2026, Labour and Social Security Minister Maria do Rosário Palma Ramalho confirmed the increase from €920 to €970 during a budget hearing in parliament, according to the national broadcaster Renascença. The parliamentary statement is reported by the media; the €970 figure itself also appears on the government's official website.
Current legal position
The minimum monthly wage currently in force is €920. According to DGERT, the labour ministry's directorate-general for employment and labour relations, it was set by Decree-Law No. 139/2025, published on 29 December 2025, with effect from 1 January 2026. For 2027, the €970 amount is a government plan: at the time of writing we found no published legal act fixing it, and no official start date has been confirmed in a legal text.
What it means for hiring international staff
The national minimum wage applies to employees working in Portugal, including foreign nationals. Employers who offer roles at or close to the minimum should budget for the higher rate in 2027 payroll, employer social security contributions and new job offers, and make sure that pay figures in employment contracts and in any permit or visa paperwork stay consistent with the law in force on the relevant date. Collective agreements may set higher minimum pay for a sector, and the autonomous regions of the Azores and Madeira set their own regional minimum wage, so check which rule applies to each workplace.
What is still unclear
It is not yet confirmed when the legal act fixing €970 will be published or from which exact date it will apply. The 2027 State Budget is still being debated in parliament. The minister also said that a reform of labour legislation, rejected in parliament earlier this year, remains "inevitable", but did not say whether or when the government will bring it back; none of that reform is in force. Regional amounts for 2027 in the Azores and Madeira have not been checked for this article.
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