The measure is part of a programme called “Trabalhar no Interior” (Work Inland), which aims to attract people to these inland regions of the country, offering up to 4,800 euros to those who meet the criteria.
Do you want to get paid because of where you live? Find out how / António da Silva Martins/Wikimedia Commons
Do you want to get paid because of where you live? Find out how / António da Silva Martins/Wikimedia Commons

Do you fancy getting paid for where you live? Those who are willing to move inland and away from the coast and big cities in Portugal, including students who start their professional lives there, will be entitled to government support that starts at 2,600 euros and can reach up to 4,800 euros. The measure is part of the "Work Inland" programme, known in Portuguese as “Trabalhar no Interior” and aims to directly support workers who decide to move to less populated areas, provided they sign an employment contract.

Applications for funding will be opened this month according to the Minister of Employment, Solidarity and Social Security, Ana Mendes Godinho, who along with the Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa, presented these measures to encourage the settlement of the population in inland Portugal.

In addition to support for workers, the programme includes support measures for companies. Companies will be entitled to a 25% increase in support for job creation for hiring unemployed people. There will also be 13 new Qualifica training centres in less populated areas, which will seek to relax the rules on training courses taking place in those regions.

While launching the programme, the Prime Minister António Costa underlined the idea that "unity is a battle" that needs to be fought internally, within the border itself.  "Internal territorial unity is an indispensable condition for the creation of greater external competitiveness", he said, according to RTP.

Support depending on the household

Applications will be opened during the first quarter of 2020 and will be open continuously for those who want to apply, under the conditions that applicants have signed an employment contract in an inland region," said the minister in an interview with TSF. For Ana Mendes Godinho, the programme will fill a gap by "creating positive discrimination measures to attract and retain people and workers in the inland territories, supporting workers and companies".

The support provided by the Institute for Employment and Vocational Training will be "up to 4,800 euros per person, and is a support given at an initial stage, for start-up and installation", and this fluctuation happens "depending on the household, with a supplement for each member of the household" and "depending on the costs of housing and transport".