Red Eric

I'm not sure it would necessarily be the same scenario in Portugal.

There is a general recognition here that the country has been long been haemorrhaging working age people and that it desperately needs to attract more. The government has introduced a number of initiatives over the years aimed at just that, as well as at keeping those who are already here (eg providing paths to regularisation for those without proper authorisation and new or easier paths to citizenship).

The doubts I have are about whether the encouraging words at government level translate to plenty of leeway with immigration formalities and, separately, whether the bods who are saying yes, working as a full time employee for a foreign company, whilst sitting in Portugal have anything solid and official to back that up. 'Cos I haven't seen it.

EuroTrash

Now that you've said that ... when you mentioned earlier that you'd been talking to your HR department about it, I'm afraid my kneejerk reaction was, That'll be another UK company that thinks they can send workers wherever they like and they don't have to take any notice of other countries' laws because they're British.
But with EDF there is a sporting chance they know which way is up. If they think they can transfer you to the EU, then they probably can.
Saying that I don't know how close the links are between EDF UK and EDF abroad, is EDF UK part of an international group sharing their knowledge pool or is it stand alone insular.

Joppa

If you can get a foot in a country, say on working holiday visa or something similar, you never know what may happen to your personal life. You may fall in love with someone local and get married or form a civil partnership, which then entitles you to a spouse/partner visa with the freedom to do any work or engage in business without work permit. And if your spouse/partner is an EU national, you will get your freedom of movement back.

TomGardner21

We shall see. I am sceptical and yet to have confirmation.

TomGardner21

That's true. Maybe I could do some online courses while out there to improve employment prospects.

Joppa

As well as that, join a club or society where you meet like-minded people sharing the same interest, and see where that will take you. Even if you don't meet your life partner, it will certainly enhance your life in a new country and your enjoyment of it.

Alan PT

Definitely worth following up and pestering them, even if the initial answer is not positive, it's possible that they might have to wait for an opportunity to be available and it will likely not be a fast process, but it would be a much smoother option for you.

My current company (present in Germany and Portugal) is happy for people to transfer (obviously with salary adjustments!) - even if they are not EU citizens, though that does make it a slow process. It recently took us 5 months to get from hire to start for someone from the USA, similar amount of time for someone from Turkey.

BuckinghamshireBoy

Just had a hunt around and according to all the websites I've found, EDF are not (yet) on the Iberian peninsula, at the moment they're just in France, UK, Italy and Belgium.

They seem to be heavily into electric vehicle charging solutions ...

Alan PT

EDP would be the equivalent in Portugal. Tom, it's worth following them on LinkedIn to see job opportunities (bit of a long shot, but you never know): https://www.linkedin.com/company/edp/

Before we moved, I searched companies on LinkedIn and sent connection invites to people. If your profile looks remotely relevant then recruiters are normally happy to connect with you and once you have enough of them, other people in the country start to find you too

Moses2013

A lot of companies now allow people to work abroad as long as they don't go over the 6 months. We have quite a few Portuguese and Spanish who do that and spend the winter with family and the bonus is that they are on an Irish salary. Obviously not possible for those with kids but a great option to have that flexibility.

agree_to_disagree

I've worked for several multinationals.

It is very normal to be able to relocate to another country for a new position, as long as you have a 'skills set' that is in demand.That is the crux of the matter...

Moses2013

Within the EU it's usually no problem anyway but with Brexit it's all a bit more difficult. A lot of companies also don't want to start a trend and if you let one person do it all others will want the same.
They would have to prove why they couldn't find someone locally or within the EU.

https://www.gov.uk/working-abroad

EuroTrash

I think this is where it can vary a lot country to country.
France for instance makes it hard to get a work permit, the employer has to have advertised the post at least through the national job centre network for a minimum number of weeks, and they have to show what applications they received and justify why none of the EU candidates that applied, was suitable.
But I don't think all countries are as difficult. France has high unemployment and doesn't want to open its labour market up to TCNs, but Red Eric mentioned above that Portugal is trying to attract young working age people, in which case it would seem illogical for them to make it so difficult for TCNs to get work permits. However I think Spain has high unemployment also?

agree_to_disagree

Please refer to the caveat that I included, "as long as you have a 'skills set' that is in demand"!

In fact most people will not have the opportunity to move whether it be to extended family ties, financial constraints, shear complexity and the daunting prospect of a move to another county.

Companies have a vested self-interest to fill available positions internationally with the best position. I repeat, that an individual having to move from one country IS NOT A BARRIER, to fill a vacancy. They fill posts with the candidate most likely to succeed in a position from the pool of internal/external candidates available.

If you are speaking about low skill level positions then they obviously will shop abroad for individuals, however for more specialized positions they will! I am not even sure why you are arguing the toss, as it is a well established fact that multinationals do this. All Brexit is a an additional hurdle that the HR people will have to sort out, not the applicant!

Whether Tom falls into this category is not for me to comment on. He knows best himself how specialised he is and how much those skills might be sought after outside the UK, within his organisation.

Moses2013

Yes of course. Just saying that a company can pick employees from other EU locations without the hassle.