Moving to Portugal

Portugal's consular visa page lists a residency visa 'for retirement purposes, religious purposes or for people living from passive income'. Like every residence visa it requires means of subsistence set by ministerial order (Lei n.º 23/2007 art. 52.º(1)(d)); the amount is not in the Law and is not stated on this card - the separate D7 card carries the reported 2026 figures. Permanent residence needs five years of temporary residence and basic Portuguese (art. 80.º). Nationality: under Lei Orgânica n.º 1/2026 (in force 19 May 2026) naturalisation needs 7 years' legal residence for nationals of Portuguese-speaking countries and EU citizens and 10 years for everyone else.

Portugal's consular visa page lists a residency visa 'for the exercise of a professional activity done remotely - digital nomads'. Lei n.º 23/2007 art. 61.º-B grants it to employees and self-employed people who work remotely for people or companies domiciled or based outside Portugal, who must show the employment relationship or the service contract. Means of subsistence are set by ministerial order (art. 52.º(1)(d)); the amount is not in the Law and is not stated on this card - the separate D8 card carries the reported 2026 figures. Permanent residence needs five years of temporary residence and basic Portuguese (art. 80.º). Nationality: under Lei Orgânica n.º 1/2026 (in force 19 May 2026) naturalisation needs 7 years' legal residence for nationals of Portuguese-speaking countries and EU citizens and 10 years for everyone else.

The residence permit for investment activity (Lei n.º 23/2007 art. 90.º-A) for one of the investments listed in art. 3.º(1)(d), kept up for at least five years: creating at least 10 jobs, or a capital transfer into research, artistic production or the national cultural heritage, units of a non-real-estate investment fund set up under Portuguese law, or a Portuguese company together with jobs. None of them may be directed at real estate (art. 3.º(5)). The separate Golden Visa - ARI card sets out the amounts. Permanent residence needs five years of temporary residence and basic Portuguese (art. 80.º). Nationality: under Lei Orgânica n.º 1/2026 (in force 19 May 2026) naturalisation needs 7 years' legal residence for nationals of Portuguese-speaking countries and EU citizens and 10 years for everyone else.

Portugal's consular visa page lists a residency visa for subordinate work. Under Lei n.º 23/2007 art. 59.º(5) it may be issued to a third-country national who meets the general visa conditions of art. 52.º and either holds an employment contract or a promise of one, or has recognised qualifications suited to one of the job offers in the public employment service's register together with an individual expression of interest from the employer. Permanent residence needs five years of temporary residence and basic Portuguese (art. 80.º). Nationality: under Lei Orgânica n.º 1/2026 (in force 19 May 2026) naturalisation needs 7 years' legal residence for nationals of Portuguese-speaking countries and EU citizens and 10 years for everyone else.

Requires a signed employment contract, a promise of contract, or a declaration of employer interest together with the required qualifications. A labour market test applies where the position has not been filled by Portuguese, EU/EEA or legally resident non-EU workers, and the government sets annual quotas of job opportunities. Salary must be at least the national minimum wage, EUR 920 a month in 2026 (paid over 14 months, roughly EUR 12,880 a year); the minimum wage figure is secondary-sourced. The residence visa is valid four months with two entries; the residence permit is then applied for with AIMA. The permit runs one year and renews for successive two-year periods. 2025-2026 CHANGES: Law 61/2025, in force since October 2025, ended the in-country 'manifestacao de interesse' route, narrowed the job-seeker visa to highly qualified professionals (its implementing regulation is still pending), and now requires CPLP nationals to obtain a residence visa in their country of origin before travelling rather than converting a short-stay entry. Permanent residence and EU long-term resident status remain available after 5 years, both requiring Portuguese language knowledge.

For roles requiring specialised technical skills, advanced expertise or higher-education credentials, with an employment contract of at least one year with a Portuguese employer, or a services contract for a highly qualified activity. Salary must be at least 3x the Social Support Index (IAS), reported at EUR 1,611.39 a month for 2026, or on the alternative benchmark at least 1.5x the national average gross wage (reported at roughly EUR 2,300 a month), reduced to 1.2x the average for professions Portugal treats as high-priority or in shortage. min_income_eur uses the 3x IAS basis annualised over 12 months; all these figures are secondary-sourced. Companies certified under the Tech Visa programme can sponsor through a lighter process. Residence permit valid two years and renewable for three; processing reported at 30-60 days. Portugal's EU Blue Card sits alongside this route with its own salary threshold, which was not confirmed here. Family reunification (spouse, dependent children, dependent parents) is available.

Covers three profiles: founding or investing in a Portuguese company, acquiring an existing Portuguese business, and working as an independent or liberal professional with a signed services contract or a documented written proposal. There is no statutory minimum investment - approval turns on a credible business plan and evidence that the activity is economically viable. Applicants are expected to show financial means of at least 12x the national minimum wage, about EUR 11,040 in 2026 at EUR 920 a month, held in a Portuguese bank account, plus a Portuguese NIF and proof of accommodation. The visa is valid four months and is converted after arrival into a temporary residence permit reported at two years, renewable for three. Euro figures are secondary-sourced and move automatically with the minimum wage.

Two variants: a temporary-stay visa for up to one year, and a residence visa leading to a two-year permit renewable for three. Requires remote work for an employer or clients outside Portugal, evidenced by contracts plus roughly three months of payslips or invoices and proof of tax residency. Income floor is 4x the national minimum wage: at EUR 920 a month in 2026 that is EUR 3,680 a month, about EUR 44,160 a year, plus 50% for a spouse (EUR 460 a month) and 30% per dependent child (EUR 276 a month). Savings of roughly 12x the minimum wage (about EUR 11,040) are also expected as proof of substance. IMPORTANT PROCESS POINT: AIMA applies whichever minimum wage is in force at the date of the appointment rather than at filing, so the threshold can rise mid-process. Euro figures are secondary-sourced.

For people living on passive income - pensions, rents, dividends, interest, royalties, intellectual property income. Requires regular passive income of at least the national minimum wage: EUR 920 a month in 2026, about EUR 11,040 a year, plus 50% for a spouse or adult dependant (EUR 460 a month) and 30% per dependent child (EUR 276 a month). Applicants also need a Portuguese NIF and bank account, proof of accommodation (purchase or a 12-month lease), health cover and a clean criminal record. Unlike the golden visa, the D7 carries a real physical-presence expectation. Thresholds move automatically with the minimum wage, which rose from EUR 870 to EUR 920 for 2026, and AIMA applies the wage in force at the appointment date. Euro figures are secondary-sourced.

The residence permit for investment activity (autorização de residência para atividade de investimento, Lei n.º 23/2007 art. 90.º-A) goes to a third-country national who enters on a valid Schengen visa, regularises the stay within 90 days of first entry and carries out, personally or through a company, one of the investment activities listed in art. 3.º(1)(d), kept up for at least five years: creating at least 10 jobs; transferring at least EUR 500,000 into research by public or private scientific research institutions in the national scientific and technological system; transferring at least EUR 250,000 into artistic production or the recovery or maintenance of the national cultural heritage, through the public and public-interest bodies the article lists; transferring at least EUR 500,000 into units of non-real-estate collective investment undertakings set up under Portuguese law, with at least five years to maturity when invested and at least 60% of the investment made in commercial companies with their seat in Portugal; or transferring at least EUR 500,000 to set up a commercial company with its seat in Portugal while creating five permanent jobs, or to increase the capital of an existing one while creating at least five permanent jobs or keeping at least ten (at least five of them permanent) for at least three years. The jobs figure and the research and cultural amounts may be up to 20% lower in low-density territories (art. 3.º(2)). None of these may be directed, directly or indirectly, at real-estate investment (art. 3.º(5)); the former real-estate options now read 'revoked' in the Law. The permit is renewed for two-year periods while any qualifying investment is kept up (art. 90.º-A(2)). The minimum stay reported for this permit - 7 days in the first year and 14 days in each later two-year period - is not in the Law; it comes from the implementing regulation, which this review did not read, so treat it as unverified. Government fees and processing times are set outside the Law and are not stated here. Family: the two-year wait that normally comes before family reunification does not apply to the family of this permit's holder (art. 98.º(3)(c)), and dependent single adult children who are studying can join (art. 99.º(1)(e)). Permanent residence needs five years of temporary residence and basic Portuguese (art. 80.º). Nationality: under Lei Orgânica n.º 1/2026 (published 18 May 2026, in force 19 May 2026) naturalisation needs 7 years' legal residence for nationals of Portuguese-speaking countries and citizens of EU Member States and 10 years for everyone else, and the rule that also counted the time from the residence-permit application was revoked, so waiting for a first permit no longer counts; nationality procedures already pending when that law came into force stay under the previous text.

The holder of a residence permit has a right to family reunification (reagrupamento familiar) once the permit has been valid for at least two years, with family members who lived with them or depend on them (Lei n.º 23/2007 art. 98.º(1), as amended by Lei n.º 61/2025). The wait is 15 months for a spouse or equivalent partner who lived with the holder for at least 18 months immediately before the holder came to Portugal (art. 98.º(2)). There is no wait at all for minor or incapacitated dependants, for a spouse or partner who is the other parent or adopter of such a child, or for the family of a holder of the highly qualified, investment (golden visa) or EU Blue Card permits (art. 98.º(3)), and the member of the Government responsible for migration may waive or shorten the wait in exceptional, reasoned cases (art. 98.º(4)). The family members the Law lists are the spouse; minor or incapacitated children dependent on the couple or on either spouse; adopted minors; dependent single adult children studying in Portugal; dependent parents of the holder or of the spouse; and minor siblings under the holder's guardianship (art. 99.º(1)), plus a de facto partner and that partner's unmarried minor or incapacitated children, adopted ones included, where legally entrusted to the partner (art. 100.º). A spouse or partner can join only if the marriage or union is valid and recognised under Portuguese law and both are at least 18 on the date of the application (art. 99.º(6)). The holder needs accommodation that is normal for a comparable family in the same region and meets general safety and health standards, and means enough to support the whole family without social support, both as defined by ministerial order (art. 101.º(1)); the amounts are not in the Law and are not stated here. Once admitted, family members must attend Portuguese-language training and training in constitutional principles and values (and minors must attend compulsory schooling), and renewing their permit depends on showing this and knowledge of the language (art. 101.º(3)-(4)). An application must be decided within nine months (art. 105.º(1)). Except in the cases of art. 98.º(1) and (2) - the two-year and 15-month waits - the body competent for the final decision may extend that period by an equal period, in exceptional circumstances linked to the complexity of examining the application, and the applicant is informed of the extension (art. 105.º(2)). Lei n.º 61/2025 applies to applications begun after it came into force (its art. 8.º); for 180 days after that date its art. 6.º(2) also let a holder apply for family members already lawfully in Portugal, still subject to art. 98.º - that window has closed. Third-country family members of Portuguese citizens or of EU, EEA or Swiss citizens are outside this Law (art. 4.º(2)(c)). Naturalisation follows Lei Orgânica n.º 1/2026: 7 years' legal residence for nationals of Portuguese-speaking countries and EU citizens, 10 years for others.