Household staff for families in Portugal, selected in Spain
Lisbon, Cascais, Sintra, Comporta, the Algarve and Alentejo
Live-in housekeepers, domestic couples and nannies for families in Cascais and Estoril, the Lisbon hills, Sintra quintas, Comporta beach houses, Quinta do Lago and Vale do Lobo, and Alentejo estates. Six hours by road from Madrid, a published minimum wage and a clear residence visa for work.
- Placement agency licensed by the SNE, no. 1300000318
- 4.8 · 79 Google reviews
- One-off fee · 6-month guarantee
Why families in Portugal hire household staff through a Spanish agency
Portugal has become home to a large international community, from Cascais to Comporta and the Algarve, and many of those families arrive from, or keep a house in, Spain. They know what a Spanish or Filipino live-in housekeeper brings to a house and they find that the Portuguese market, strong in hourly help, offers few live-in candidates with formal experience and references anyone has actually called. That is what we bring, and the road from Madrid makes trials and visits easy.
Our Portuguese work has been concentrated in Cascais and Lisbon, and couples who divide the year between the Lisbon coast and southern Spain are a recurring case. The requests we receive most are for a housekeeper for a Cascais or Estoril villa, a nanny for a family newly relocated to Lisbon, and a couple for a quinta in Sintra, an estate in the Alentejo or a house in Comporta that is empty for months. International families also ask us regularly for Filipino staff for Lisbon and Cascais, a request our Filipino domestic staff page already answers.
Legally Portugal is simple for an EU candidate and clear for a non-EU one: free movement with registration after three months, or a residence visa for subordinate work with a contract or a promise of contract. The minimum wage is published each year and the employer's obligations, social security and the fourteen monthly payments are well known. Spanish speakers understand Portuguese within weeks and speak it within months.
Lisbon, Cascais, Sintra, Comporta, the Algarve and Alentejo
A capital and its coast where families live all year, two regions of second homes and an interior of estates that need a couple on site.
Lisbon
Lapa, Restelo, Príncipe Real and the embassies, plus the international families of the Avenidas Novas. Lisbon households ask for a live-in housekeeper who also cooks and for a Spanish- or English-speaking nanny for children in the international schools.
Cascais
Quinta da Marinha, Estoril, Monte Estoril and the Guincho side: villas with gardens and pools where most of our Portuguese placements have gone. The usual request is a live-in housekeeper or a couple, often for a family that has just relocated from Madrid, London or Brazil.
Sintra
Quintas in the hills between Sintra and Colares, historic houses with grounds, humidity and a lot to maintain. Owners ask for a couple living on the property who can keep the house and gardens through the winter and receive the family and guests in summer.
Comporta
Beach houses and rice-field estates around Comporta and Melides, used in summer and at weekends. A caretaker couple all year with extra staff in July and August, or a housekeeper who travels with the family from Lisbon, is how these houses are run.
Algarve
Quinta do Lago, Vale do Lobo and the Golden Triangle, Vilamoura and the western coast around Lagos. Villas that fill from Easter to October, many owned by British, Irish and Dutch families, asking for a couple or a housekeeper living on site and a chef for the summer weeks.
Alentejo
Herdades and montes between Évora, Alcácer do Sal and the coast, wine and cork estates with a main house and staff cottages. The request is always a couple: house, grounds, animals and the family's arrivals, with a car and Portuguese or Spanish to deal with suppliers.
The profiles families in Portugal ask us for
Housekeepers and nannies on the Lisbon coast; couples for Sintra, Comporta, the Algarve and the Alentejo.
Live-in housekeeper
Runs a Cascais or Lisbon villa, laundry and cooking; Spanish, Portuguese or English as the family prefers.
Domestic couple
Quintas, herdades and beach houses: housekeeper and houseman living on the property, keeping it all year and opening for the family.
Live-in nanny
For families newly relocated to Lisbon or Cascais: Spanish- or English-speaking, first aid, international-school routines.
Filipino housekeeper
A frequent request from international families in Lisbon and Cascais; EU-passport holders or candidates eligible for the Portuguese work visa.
Permits and rules for household staff in Portugal
Portugal applies EU free movement and issues a residence visa for subordinate work to non-EU nationals with a contract. The family is the employer and registers with Segurança Social, the Portuguese social security.
EU candidates: free movement, registration certificate after three months
A Spanish or other EU candidate starts work with her passport. After three months she requests the registration certificate (CRUE) from the câmara municipal, the town hall, with the employment contract, and obtains a Portuguese tax number (NIF) and social security number, which the family's registration needs.
Non-EU candidates: residence visa for subordinate work
A third-country national applies at the Portuguese consulate for a residence visa for subordinate work. The file includes a work contract or a promise of contract (plus a professional certificate if the profession is regulated), a criminal record certificate with apostille, proof of means of subsistence, which can be the salary of the contract itself, travel insurance and the standard forms. A Filipino candidate resident in Spain follows this route; her Spanish permit does not transfer.
Employer obligations and minimum wage
The family registers as employer with Segurança Social and declares the employee; domestic work has its own contribution regime. The national minimum wage is €920 gross per month on the mainland for 2026, set by Decree-Law 139/2025 of 29 December, paid fourteen times a year with the holiday and Christmas subsidies. Live-in contracts state the value of board and lodging and the rest periods.
Who employs, and under which law
The employer is the family, in the country where the home is. We are a placement agency: we select and present, we are neither the employer nor a temp agency, so the Posting of Workers Directive (written for companies) does not apply. The contract is governed by the law of the place where the work is habitually done, even if the parties choose another (Rome I Regulation, art. 8).
Social security: the destination country's
The general rule of Regulation (EC) 883/2004 (art. 11(3)(a)) is to contribute where you work. The exception is a temporary posting (art. 12): a family resident in Spain that takes an employee already hired here may keep her in the Spanish system for up to 24 months with the A1 certificate issued by the TGSS, if the conditions are met. Otherwise the registration is done in the destination country.
Data protection when sending profiles
Profiles travel with the candidate's informed consent. Within the EEA there is no international transfer; to Switzerland, the UK and Andorra there is, covered by a European Commission adequacy decision (GDPR arts. 44-45). Monaco has no adequacy decision: we rely on appropriate safeguards or the explicit consent of art. 49.
Checked on 12 September 2026 against vistos.mne.gov.pt (residence visa for subordinate work), portugal.gov.pt and Decree-Law 139/2025 (2026 minimum wage), EUR-Lex and the European Commission adequacy list.
What you need to know before starting, not legal advice: each case is confirmed by the family with its adviser or the country's authorities. We keep these notes reviewed and tell you what we have checked and where.
Languages, currency and cost of living
Portuguese; English widely spoken on the Lisbon coast and in the Algarve
Spanish speakers follow Portuguese almost at once and speak it within months; many of our candidates are Portuguese or Brazilian.
Euro (EUR)
No exchange risk on the salary or on our fee.
Lower than Spain's big cities, except Lisbon and Cascais property
A live-in salary in Cascais or the Algarve compares well with Madrid once accommodation is counted.
Segurança Social, domestic-work regime, registered by the family
Fourteen payments a year: twelve months plus holiday and Christmas subsidies.
From €920 gross per month × 14 (minimum wage, 2026)
Legal floor on the mainland. Experienced live-in housekeepers and couples for the families we serve on the Lisbon coast and in the Algarve earn well above it; the market range is agreed case by case and we give it to you with the quote.
Figure pending confirmation from an official sourceNational minimum wage for 2026 set by Decree-Law 139/2025 of 29 December (portugal.gov.pt); higher in the Azores and Madeira.
A Portuguese placement, step by step
Portugal is the destination where distance matters least: families drive to Madrid for interviews and candidates drive to Cascais for a trial.
Brief and status check
We confirm the candidate's nationality (EU passport, or eligibility for the work visa) and define the role: all-year or seasonal, live-in or in a cottage, and the language of the house.
Selection in Spain
Interviews in Madrid or by video, references called, and a check of Portuguese; a good share of our pool speaks it natively.
Interviews and trial
Video calls from your client portal, an in-person meeting in Madrid or Lisbon, and a two-day trial in the house, easy to arrange by road.
Contract, Segurança Social and move
Written contract at or above the 2026 minimum wage with board and lodging stated, registration by the family with Segurança Social, NIF and social security numbers, and a start date around the notice period in Spain.
One-off fee and a 6-month guarantee, outside Spain too
You pay nothing during the search. Only once you take the person on and you're happy do you pay a single fee: the equivalent of one month of the agreed salary, plus VAT where applicable depending on where the job is. No subscriptions or lock-in.
One-off fee: one month's salary (+ VAT where applicable)
A single payment, only once you take the person on. We confirm the exact amount upfront, in euros or in your country's currency.
6-month guarantee
Replacement at no cost if the person isn't the right fit, and a 50% refund of the fee if you're not satisfied during the first month.
Relocation and trial
The family covers the relocation trip; before that you can interview by video and, if you travel to Spain or the candidate to your city, run a two-day trial.
Hiring household staff in Portugal from Spain
No. As an EU citizen she works with her passport and requests the registration certificate from the câmara municipal after three months. She needs a Portuguese tax number and social security number, which the family's registration requires.
Yes, through a residence visa for subordinate work requested at the Portuguese consulate with a work contract or promise of contract, a criminal record certificate and proof of means. Her Spanish permit does not transfer, so the visa timeline sets the start date.
€920 gross per month on the mainland, paid fourteen times a year, set by Decree-Law 139/2025. Live-in staff for the families we serve are paid above it.
Yes, it is a request we receive regularly from international families relocating to the Lisbon coast. We present Filipino candidates with an EU passport or eligible for the Portuguese work visa, with references we have called.
Filipino domestic staffYes. A couple living on the property, keeping house, grounds and animals and opening for the family, is the request we receive from Sintra, Comporta, the Algarve and the Alentejo. Couples who split the year between the Lisbon coast and southern Spain are a case we know well.
Domestic couplesFor an EU candidate, first profiles in days and a start date usually three to six weeks after your decision; the drive from Madrid makes trials quick. For a non-EU candidate the consulate's visa timeline decides.
Pages families in Portugal also read
Looking for live-in staff for a home in Portugal?
Tell us the area, the role and the date. We answer with the permit route if one is needed, the salary floor and the first profiles.