Which construction licence a foreign company needs from the IMPIC in Portugal depends on where it is established and what kind of work it does.
What it means
Any company that works as a construction subcontractor in Portugal needs some form of authorisation from the IMPIC (the body that licenses construction companies). Which authorisation applies is not the same for every company. It depends on two things: where the company is legally established, and whether the work is for a public body or a private client. Getting this classification right, before starting work, avoids delays later.
How it works
There are four situations, and each leads to a different document. A company established in Portugal needs the full construction licence, the same as any Portuguese company, when it acts as a subcontractor. This includes a Portuguese company, and also a company from the European Economic Area (EEA, the EU plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway) or a World Trade Organization member that has set up an establishment in Portugal.
A company from the EEA or a World Trade Organization member that is not established in Portugal, and that works on a public-sector project, needs a specific declaration issued for that one project. This declaration is separate from the full licence and does not replace it for other kinds of work.
A company established in the EEA, but not in Portugal, that does only occasional work for private clients can use a simplified route instead of the full licence. This route is explained in a separate article on the simplified regime.
A company from outside the EEA has no simplified route available at all. It must first establish itself in Portugal and then obtain the full construction licence, just like any Portuguese-based company.
What to watch out for
The right path depends entirely on where a company is established and who the client is, not on the company's nationality alone. Getting this wrong could mean applying for the wrong document, or missing one entirely.
Being registered somewhere in the European Economic Area does not by itself remove the need for a licence - what matters is where the company is established and whether the client is public or private.