Asked about the special tax and stay regime granted by the Portuguese State to digital nomads – young people linked to technologies, whose arrival in the country may be increasing the price of housing in the main cities of the country -, the Prime Minister considered it essential that Portugal is an attractive country and not closed to the world.

“Either we want to be a country closed to the world, and that is killing our history, culture and vocation; or we want to be what we have become, an open country, where everyone feels welcome, where everyone can develop their life projects”, he replied.

Added value

These programmes aimed at attracting investment and young international staff, from the perspective of the leader of the executive, “are added value that the country has to maintain”.

“We have to know how to welcome and we have to cherish. If we want to be an increasingly innovative country, with companies that grow on a global scale, it is essential to have this dynamic”, he reinforced.

“I was told that some of these digital nomads are already buying a house in Portugal. We effectively have an open program so that we can be a factor in locating these digital nomads, just as we have a program to attract foreign direct investment. Every company that makes large strategic investments in Portugal also makes it on a contractual basis”, he pointed out.

According to António Costa, Portugal has been “increasingly attractive” - in the first half of this year “it has again captured a historic maximum of contracted investment”.

“These companies help us create a society with more jobs. Above all, they help us to create better jobs, with better working conditions and better wages”, he maintained.