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1. Work Permit
2. Working as a Sex Worker
3. Payment
4. Workplace
5. Taxes
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1. Work Permit
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| Migrant sex workers cannot simply start working in Portugal. They need adequate permits. Here you will find a brief reminder of the permits required. For detailed information, please see the sections Migration – Entering for Work Purposes and Migration – Staying for Work Purposes. |
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Who needs a work permit?
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| EU nationals do not need a work permit or residence permit. |
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Please note:
The Portuguese labour market will be open to all EU-citizens , including nationals of the 10 “new” member states, which joined the EU in May 2004, i.e. they are allowed to enter and remain for the purpose of dependent salaried employment. Note that the access of nationals of the 10 EU member states 2004 may subsequently be limited, if the national labour market experiences a considerable oversupply of workers from these countries. This has not been the case to date.
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| Non-EU Migrants who want to work need a residence permit (autorização de residência) and a work permit (visto de trabalho). Please see section Migration – Entering for Work Purposes.
In any case, migrants cannot obtain a work permit (visto de trabalho) specifically for prostitution. It is not regulated and thus not considered to be work.
However, it is possible to work legally as a waitress, telephone sex worker or dancer if the woman holds a residence permit (autorização de residência) and a work permit (visto de trabalho). In practice, these permits are difficult to obtain. See section Migration.
A woman who is married to any EU national, can work legally as a waitress, telephone sex worker or dancer. |
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Consequences of working without a permit
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Please note that working without an adequate permit is illegal and leads to severe consequences:
- the woman may lose her work permit,
- the woman may lose her residence permit,
- the woman can be expelled or deported,
- the woman can be forbidden from re-entering the country,
- the woman can encounter difficulties when applying for any kind of new visa/permit.These consequences are enforced in practice.
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2. Working as a Sex Worker
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Is sex work legal in Portugal?
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| Working as a prostitute is tolerated. |
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Please note:
It is tolerated in the sense of not being considered illegal or prohibited, nevertheless it is not regulated. Working as a prostitute is neither an offence nor an infringement of administrative law, but if the woman has an irregular situation in the country she can be expelled on the grounds of being an illegal alien. |
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Registration
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| In Portugal prostitutes are not registered for this activity. |
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Health
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| There are no compulsory health checks for prostitutes in Portugal. A woman cannot be forced to undergo a health check if there is a suspicion that she might have caught a disease, either. |
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Working as a sex worker may be fined/penalised as a crime, if:
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| There is a crime foreseen under the Portuguese Penal Code entitled “Exhibitionist Acts”, which consists in practising these acts (exhibiting private parts, for example) before another person, bothering that person. So, if a prostitute adopts this behaviour, she can be charged and punished up to a year of imprisonment or a fine up to 120 days. |
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Please note:
If the woman does not have any valid permit or visa, she will be considered an illegal alien, which is considered a crime – but it is not a crime being a prostitute. |
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3. Payment
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If the client does not pay
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An example:
A woman who works in her apartment does not take the money in advance. Afterwards, the client refuses to pay. What options does the woman have to obtain her money?
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In Portugal, a contract between a prostitute and her client is neither legally valid nor enforceable.
This means that the woman does not have a right to receive payment from the client. There is no way of claiming the money before a court, either. As a result, the woman encounters all the practical difficulties imaginable when trying to enforce payment. It is not possible to make a judicial claim for the money.
The client is not penalised for not paying. On the other hand, nobody may force the woman to work if the client has paid her in advance and she does not offer her services. |
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If the person the woman works for does not give her enough money
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An example:
A woman works in a brothel, a sex club or similar location, where the client gives the money to a third party. Before this third party gives any money to the woman, he deducts a percentage for himself or deducts the rent of the room, money for food etc. What happens if he does not pay her the amount they had previously agreed or if he deducts too much?
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The contract between a prostitute and the person she is working for is not legally valid and therefore not enforceable. A woman who works as a prostitute does not have any rights regarding the money she receives in exchange for sex work. This means she has no recourse to legal means to get more money, or, indeed, any money at all, from the person she works for.
In contrast, waitresses, barmaids, show dancers and so forth do have the right to receive payment in exchange for working as a waitress and for dancing. They can go to the police for help and even go to court to claim the money. |
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4. Workplace
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A. In the Streets
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| 1. Work Conditions |
In Portugal, there are restrictions as to where prostitutes may work in the streets. These restrictions are not written or legal ones. They are customary ones arising from social customs. This means that, because prostitution is not regulated by law, they could in theory work anywhere. But, in fact, in certain areas the police would force them to leave the area. Other legal consequences if a woman works outside these zones of tolerance are:
- the woman may lose her work permit,
- the woman may lose her residence permit,
- the woman can be expelled or deported,
- the woman can be forbidden from re-entering the country.
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Please note:
Outside these zones, it is much more probable that the police would discover the activity as a prostitute, which for aliens would always be a reason to consider their situation as illegal. |
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| 2. Time Restrictions |
| There are no restrictions as to when prostitutes may work in the streets. |
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Please note:
In certain areas it is not a habit for prostitutes to work during working hours/daylight, and it is not accepted if they do. In practice, areas exist for prostitutes to be active at all times, but you should not work in certain areas at certain times. |
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B. In a Brothel / Club / Window Prostitution
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| Time Restrictions |
| There are restrictions in certain areas as to whether and /or when prostitutes may work in a brothel/ club/ window prostitution.
The legal consequences if a woman works outside these zones of tolerance and/ or beyond the hours permitted are:
- the woman may lose her work permit,
- the woman may lose her residence permit,
- the woman can be imprisoned,
- the woman can be expelled or deported,
- the woman can be forbidden from re-entering the country.
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C. In an Apartment
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| Working as a prostitute in an apartment is not considered legal. If she rents the apartment and she is caught working as a prostitute, she will lose the apartment. Moreover, the landlord might go to jail for pimping. It is a crime to rent an apartment to a prostitute: it is included in the definition of the crime of pimping.
Therefore the main practical difficulty for prostitutes working in an apartment is to get an apartment.
There are also many restrictions concerning advertising of prostitution: Advertisements in newspapers or on television and numbers in telephone boxes are illegal. |
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D. As a Waitress
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| A woman that is a non-EU-migrant can work legally as a waitress if she has both a residence and a work permit. In reality, though, many women work as waitresses or barmaids and also as prostitutes.
If a woman has a work permit to work as a waitress or a barmaid, she is not allowed to work as a prostitute or anything else because the work permit is issued only for a specific job.
The legal consequences may be:
- the woman may lose her work permit,
- the woman may lose her residence permit,
- the woman can be expelled or deported,
- the woman can be forbidden from re-entering the country.
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E. As a Dancer
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| Working as a dancer is legal for non-EU-migrants only if they have both residence and work permits.
In reality many women work as dancers and also as prostitutes. If a woman has a work permit to work as a waitress or a barmaid, she is not allowed to work as a prostitute or anything else because the work permit is issued only for a specific job.
The legal consequences may be:
- the woman may lose her work permit,
- the woman may lose her residence permit,
- the woman can be expelled or deported,
- the woman can be forbidden from re-entering the country.
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F. As an Employee
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| Migrant prostitutes in Portugal rarely work alone. Usually there is a person who runs the clubs, rents her a room or apartment, takes money from the clients and so forth. Nevertheless, this person is considered to be a pimp and can be prosecuted on this basis. |
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| Employing sex workers |
| The employment of prostitutes is never legal for the employer. It is considered to constitute the crime of pimping. In Portugal, pimping is punished with imprisonment from six months to five years.
The consequences for the woman are to be considered as a victim of a crime and she can press charges against her employer. However if she has no valid permit or visa, the exercise of said right may imply that her legal situation is discovered by the authorities, and she may be expelled from the country.
However, the prostitute herself does not enjoy the protection of labour law. There are no procedures enabling her to enforce her rights and she is not entitled to earnings-related benefits or unemployment benefits.
It is legal for an employer to employ sex workers as waitresses, dancers or on telephone sex. A woman employed in this way does enjoy the protection of labour law. |
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Please note:
It is very important to have an employment contract! |
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| She can enforce her rights through the courts if she has a work contract and if she holds both a residence permit and a work permit. In this case, she is also entitled to earning-related benefits and unemployment benefits. |
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5. Taxes
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Working as an Employee
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| Due to the fact that Portuguese law does not cover prostitution in any way, a woman working as a prostitute will not have to pay tax.
However, woman who are employed legally to work as barmaids, waitresses, dancers or on telephone sex have to pay the usual tax just like all other employees. |
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