What Insurance Do I Need for the D7 Visa?

When applying for a visa like the D7 or Digital Nomad Visa? What type of insurance do I need? Travel or health insurance?

There’s a lot of conflicting information out there, and it doesn’t help that the rules constantly change—and differ from consulate to consulate.

Until recently, most applicants did the following:

1. Bought 120-day travel insurance to cover them from the day they arrived until their AIMA appointment.
2. Then purchased Portuguese health insurance around the time of the AIMA appointment.

However, things have changed.

Some Consulates/VFS Offices Now Require 12 Months of Travel Insurance

Several consulates and VFS offices—especially VFS San Francisco—are now requesting travel medical insurance valid 1 year, not just 120 days. This makes services like AXA Schengen Insurance, previously the most popular choice, no longer an option.

The travel insurance must:

• Be valid for the entire intended stay (now commonly interpreted as 12 months)
• Cover the Schengen Area (Portugal included)
• Have minimum €30,000 emergency medical cover
• Include emergency repatriation
• Have no deductible
• Not exclude COVID-19 (particularly where VFS is involved)
• Start on the date of your planned arrival

This is the standard Schengen requirement, just applied more strictly.

Warning: “Annual Travel Insurance” Isn’t Always Valid for Residency

Some “annual travel insurance” has a 90-day trip limit, meaning it only covers short holidays. If you stay in Portugal longer, which naturally you intend to do, it can automatically become invalid. It can also become invalid once you become resident in another country (i.e., when you move o Portugal).

Travel Insurance First, Health Insurance Later?

You can just get a 12-month travel insurance policy (assuming you need 12 months for the VFS office or consulate you’re applying through) as long as it meets the requirements for both the consular and AIMA appointment.

VFS Global partners with Insurte in the US, Canada, and the UK, which offers 12 month cover.

However, many people opt for a travel insurance that’s valid for 12 months but can be cancelled easily. They then get health insurance once they’re in Portugal.

Why?

Because most people plan to get health insurance once they’re in Portugal anyway. Not only does it satisfy the AIMA requirements, but their long-term plan is to primarily use the private hospitals in Portugal, falling back on the public hospitals for emergencies.

Health insurance reduces the cost of using a private hospital and many policies have waiting periods before certain benefits (e.g., cancer treatment, pregnancy) become claimable. This can be anything from 30 days to one year or more, so, if your eventual plan is to get health insurance, it makes sense to start a new policy as soon as possible.

In fact, you can even start your policy before you move to Portugal — so long as you have the following:

• A NIF
• A Portuguese bank account
• A Portuguese address

The following are some of the most popular health insurance providers in Portugal:

• Multicare
• Médis
• AdvanceCare
• Allianz

Other names include:

• Medal
• MGEN
• Fidelidade

For those over 70, or with pre-existing conditions, MGen is the most popular option.

What Happens After You Get Your Residency Card?

Once your residence card arrives, usually a few weeks to months after your AIMA appointment, you can register for Portugal’s public health system.

At this point, you could cancel your private health insurance. However, many residents keep private health insurance for:

• Faster specialist access
• Shorter waiting lists
• Private hospital choice

You can still use public hospitals when needed.

What Should You Do?

Start by confirming the exact insurance requirement for your specific consulate or VFS office, as policies vary and are changing. If you’re working with a lawyer, ask them to verify the most current, location-specific guidance—this will save you time and avoid rejections.

If your consulate or VFS office requires 12 months of travel insurance (for example, VFS San Francisco often does), you can either:

• Keep the travel insurance in place until after your AIMA appointment, or
• Cancel it later and switch to a health insurance policy once in Portugal.

Whichever approach you take, double-check the trip length limits: some annual travel insurance plans only cover 30–90 days per trip, which would make the policy invalid once you actually move.

Finally, consider not just the visa requirement, but your long-term healthcare plan. Many residents choose to use the private system for faster appointments, while keeping the public system as backup.

To plan ahead:

• Speak with a health insurance broker to understand real costs
• Look into waiting periods for major conditions
• Research the public hospitals and local health centre where you’ll be living

If your plan is to rely on private healthcare at least some of the time, it can make sense to start a health insurance policy early—even before you move—so that waiting period clocks begin sooner.

In short: meet the visa requirement, but also think beyond it. Your insurance strategy should support how you actually want to live in Portugal, not just how you get there.