Portugal Rewards Bachelor’s & Master’s Graduates With Incentive Bonuses

From now on, students in Portugal who complete their bachelor’s and master’s degrees and live in the country will receive a salary bonus in order to boost their qualifications, including foreign residents. This bonus will last for the same number of years as the respective study cycles.

The announcement has officially been confirmed by the Portuguese government through a statement, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.

Moreover, those who earned their academic degrees prior to 2023 can also benefit from the new changes, as long as the number of years elapsed does not surpass the duration of their bachelor’s or master’s degree.

The ordinance announced by Prime Minister Antonio Costa in September of last year, defining the rules for granting salary bonuses, was officially published on December 28.

“According to the diploma, the premium applies to all taxpayers residing in national territory, up to the age of 35, who have obtained a bachelor’s and/or master’s degree in national higher education institutions (public or private) in the years of 2023 and following (also applying to the same academic degrees obtained abroad, as long as they are recognised in Portugal).” Portugal’s government.

The government emphasises that the support is specifically dedicated to those falling under Category A (dependent work) and Category B (self-employed workers), with regulated tax as well as social security statuses.

Graduates and master’s degree holders who meet the needed conditions will be entitled to an annual salary bonus worth €697 for each year of their bachelor’s degree and €1,500 for each year of their master’s degree.

“The salary premium may also be claimed by young graduates and masters who have obtained an academic degree before 2023, as long as the number of years following the award of the academic degree is less than the number of years of the study cycle.”

On November 29, the Council of Ministers approved a decree-law that creates a salary premium that would be granted to young people who finish their higher education in Portugal.

Portugal is attracting a significant number of international students. Furthermore, the figures provided by the Directorate-General for Education and Science Statistics (DGEEC) revealed that the number of students at higher education institutions in Portugal reached a record high in the 2022/23 academic year.

According to DGEEC, the number of students reached 446,028 during the last academic year, thus accounting for an increase of a total of 12,811 or three per cent compared to last year’s statistics.