# IFICI qualifying sectors and CAE codes [Moving to Portugal](/moving-to-portugal/) Guide Law as at 19 October 2026 8 min read Signed by our advisers · 4.7 on Google, 43 reviews On IFICI's exporter route, the company's main CAE code must be in the IFICI exporter-route list. The exporter-route list covers extractive and manufacturing industries, information and communication, natural-science R&D, higher education and human health; the company must also have exported at least 50% of its turnover in the year the role starts or one of the two previous years. Route (d), for activities recognised by AICEP or IAPMEI, uses a wider CAE list; on both routes the job itself must qualify. The [IFICI eligibility checker](/guides/ifici-eligibility/) gives a faster indicative read before you go further into CAE mapping. Next step We check whether you qualify for IFICI, prepare the evidence file and make your registration request by the deadline, on its own or as part of your move. [IFICI registration](/services/ifici-regime-application/) ## Short answer: CAE codes support the IFICI file, but they do not decide it alone A matching CAE code helps, but IFICI eligibility turns on the legal route, real activity, evidence, and authority review. The file should answer four questions before filing: - Which IFICI route is being used? - What activity is actually performed in Portugal? - Which CAE or NACE code and documents support that activity? - Which authority is expected to verify the route? ## IFICI qualifying sectors: what you need to know A job title alone does not establish eligibility. ## Which IFICI route applies to your work? The law provides seven distinct eligibility routes for IFICI. All require the individual residence and regime conditions. | Route | Activity and entity conditions | Code or recognition check | Competent body | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | (a) Higher education, research and technology centres | University teaching or qualifying scientific research; also jobs directly involved in scientific research or innovation, or governing-body roles, in recognised technology and innovation centres | Establish the institution and actual activity; a CAE code alone does not decide this route | FCT | | (b) Contractual productive-investment benefits | Qualified jobs or governing-body roles within the contractual investment-benefit framework | Match the job and approved investment project | AICEP | | (c) Highly qualified professions | A profession in the IFICI list of highly qualified professions, meeting its qualification requirements, in a company benefiting from RFAI in the start year or previous five years, or a qualifying industrial/service exporter | For the exporter branch, an eligible main CAE code plus at least 50% export turnover in the start year or either of the previous two years | AT, with employer confirmation | | (d) Activities recognised as relevant to the national economy | Qualified jobs or governing-body roles in entities within the AICEP/IAPMEI notices | Apply those notices’ profession, activity and entity conditions; this list differs from route (c) | AICEP or IAPMEI | | (e) Eligible R&D personnel | Personnel costs eligible under the specified SIFIDE provision | Prove the eligible R&D work and costs; not every technology role qualifies | ANI | | (f) Certified startups | Jobs directly involved in scientific research or innovation, or governing-body roles, in an entity certified under the startup-recognition rules | Confirm the entity’s startup certification and the individual’s actual role | Startup Portugal | | (g) Autonomous regions | Jobs or other activities of tax residents in Madeira or the Azores | Apply the relevant regional legislation; the mainland CAE list is not an automatic regional test | Competent regional authority | The sector list for route (c)’s exporter branch uses CAE Rev. 3: extraction 05 to 09; manufacturing 10 to 33; information and communication 58 to 63; natural-science R&D 721; higher education 85420; human health 86100 to 86904. The tax authority’s guidance says to interpret that list using CAE Rev. 3 and its explanatory notes. Route (d) uses a wider list published by AICEP and IAPMEI: extraction 05 to 09; manufacturing 10 to 33; energy 35; construction 42; accommodation 5511 and 5512; information and communication 58 to 63; financial activities 6420 and 6630; consultancy, science and technical activities 7010 and 71 to 72; administrative services 8211; higher education 8542; human health 86 except 86905 and 86906; and other activities in projects recognised as PIN or PII. Since 1 January 2025 the classification in force has been CAE Rev. 4, and the tax authority has converted registered codes to it; according to its guidance, both lists are still read under CAE Rev. 3. Before applying, check the company's current Rev. 4 code against the correspondence table published by Statistics Portugal (INE) to find the matching Rev. 3 code. An independent contract is not interchangeable with a statutory job. AT accepts university teaching under a services contract when the other conditions are met, but explains that a “posto de trabalho” requires employment. The route must be identified before employment, qualifications or CAE can be tested. ## What a CAE code is and where to find yours A CAE code is the number that classifies an economic activity in Portugal (Classificação Portuguesa das Atividades Económicas). It goes from a section letter down to a five-digit subclass, and a company has a main code and may have secondary ones. - Any company's code, your employer's included, is public on SICAE, the official register, searchable by name or tax number (NIPC). Only the code shown there is valid for legal purposes. - If you are self-employed, your activity codes are on the Portal das Finanças, under A Minha Área, Situação Fiscal Integrada, Informação Cadastral. Since 1 January 2025 codes follow revision 4 of the classification, and the tax authority converted existing registrations automatically; a wrong conversion is corrected with a declaração de alterações de atividade. The IFICI list of CAE codes for exporting companies is read under revision 3, and INE publishes the table that matches the two revisions. ## CAE code registration: the technical requirement A CAE code (Classificação das Atividades Económicas) classifies an economic activity and is an important evidence element in IFICI activity mapping. The CAE used in registrations and filings should match the real economic activity being carried on. A mismatch between the registered CAE, the role description, and the supporting documents can create problems even when the sector sounds close to a qualifying activity. If your activity has changed, treat the CAE question as a record-keeping and evidence issue, not just a code-selection exercise. Update the registration and the underlying documents so the file tells one consistent story before the IFICI request is submitted. ## Employed vs self-employed: different eligibility paths IFICI analysis is commonly structured around employed and self-employed status. Employed professionals may qualify when the role, activity and entity meet the conditions of the applicable IFICI route. Employment by a Portuguese entity alone does not establish eligibility. Example: A software engineer can be blocked even when the role is technical if employer/pathway evidence does not satisfy current-year IFICI criteria. Reassessment can be possible in later years when criteria are met. Critical restriction: Foreign freelancing does not qualify through every IFICI company path, but a self-employed taxpayer may qualify through a Category B activity path where its statutory conditions are met. ## Qualification and evidence requirements Qualification thresholds depend on the legal pathway being used for the IFICI request. The IFICI rules and current tax-authority guidance tie the evidence burden to the activity and the competent authority reviewing the file, so the documents that matter can differ between teaching or research roles, highly qualified professions, innovation roles, and startup pathways. Where the rules require proof of academic level or professional experience, the file should show both the qualification itself and how it connects to the activity being claimed. Foreign qualifications, professional records, and employer documents may all become relevant depending on the route being used. ## Common professions: do they qualify? Roles in software, engineering, research, higher education, health innovation, and other technical fields may sit closer to qualifying pathways. Administrative and commercial directors are expressly listed among the highly qualified professions for route (c), while the route (d) notices also list directors in hospitality, retail and other services. Each role must still meet its route’s profession, qualification and entity requirements. The highly qualified professions for route (c) include chief executives and general managers (112), administrative and commercial directors (12), production and specialised services directors (13, with the stated exception), science and engineering specialists (21, with exclusions), doctors (221), higher-education teachers (231) and ICT specialists (25), and code 2163.1 for industrial or equipment design. It requires a doctorate, or a bachelor's or master's degree with at least three years' experience. The full profession list and its exclusions determine whether a role qualifies. ## The verification process: which agency reviews your application The competent authority depends on the activity and entity involved. AT FAQ guidance lists different routes for higher-education and scientific activities, qualifying jobs in investment-related entities, highly qualified professions in certain companies, innovation roles, startup entities, and the regional regimes for the Azores and Madeira. Between AICEP and IAPMEI, the competent body follows the tax authority’s allocation-of-competence conditions. If you become tax resident in Portugal in 2026, the IFICI registration deadline is 15 January 2027. In IFICI cases, filing under the wrong route creates avoidable delay because the authority reviewing the file is tied to the activity being claimed. ## Frequently asked questions ### Can I change my CAE code if it does not qualify? A CAE change can be relevant if your registered activity no longer matches the work actually being performed. Assess IFICI from the real activity rather than treating the code change as a standalone solution. ### Is IFICI available for contractors hired through recruitment agencies? AT FAQ guidance says that when a pathway requires a qualifying posto de trabalho, that concept implies an employment contract. If you are providing services under a services agreement rather than an employment relationship, do not assume the same IFICI pathway applies. ### What if my company's export percentage fluctuates year to year? On the exporter branch of route (c), the law tests exports only in the year the role starts and the two previous years: the employer must have exported at least 50% of its turnover in one of them. The right in each later year still depends on earning income from the qualifying activity, and a beneficiary who stops meeting the regime's conditions must report it on or before 15 January of the following year. ### Can secondary CAE codes affect my IFICI eligibility? For the IFICI exporter route, the company's main activity must have a CAE code in the IFICI exporter-route list; a qualifying secondary CAE alone is not enough. ### Do I need a Portuguese university degree to qualify? A Portuguese degree is not the only possible evidence. What matters is whether your qualification and experience satisfy the pathway you are relying on and whether the competent authority accepts the supporting documents for that route. ### What if I change employer or my employer exports less? The IFICI rules link the benefit in each year to continued Portuguese residence and continued income from a qualifying activity. On the exporter route, a later fall in exports does not by itself end the regime. This guide is by **[Telmo Ramos](/about/)**, our founder, an economist and member no. 16379 of the Ordem dos Economistas. ## Related guides - Guide · Law as at 19 October 2026 ### [IFICI: register by 15 January 2027](/guides/ifici/) IFICI was created by the 2024 State Budget law, the same law that closed NHR to new entrants. - Guide · Law as at 15 June 2026 ### [IFICI vs NHR: eligibility and tax differences](/guides/ifici-vs-nhr/) Compare IFICI eligibility and income treatment with existing and transitional NHR rights. Understand the differences before relying on a tax benefit. - Guide · Law as at 13 June 2026 ### [Moving to Portugal: tax checklist for 2026](/guides/moving-to-portugal-tax-checklist/) Plan the tax steps before and after a move to Portugal: home-country departure, tax residence, NIF, income records, IFICI and your first return. ## Tell us about your situation We reply within 2 working days with the right service, its price and how to start. ## Tax Consultation A 30-minute call with your adviser, then a follow-up memo within 3 working days after the call. [Book a Tax Consultation](/book/) --- Source: https://taxbordr.com/guides/ifici-qualifying-sectors-cae-codes/ General guidance only. Individual facts govern.