The Digital Nomad Visa
Is Portugal’s Digital Nomad Visa worth it?
Portugal’s Digital Nomad Visa (the D8, sometimes called the D9) is badly named. I spent years as an actual digital nomad, in Chiang Mai, Vietnam, the Philippines and India, and this visa isn’t built for that life.
It’s a residence visa for people who earn from outside Portugal and want to live here most of the year. One person needs €3,680 a month (about $4,119). A couple needs €5,520.
Four things about it are genuinely good. Six make it harder than it looks. For a well-paid remote worker who wants to put down roots for the next decade, it’s still the visa I’d point them to. For anyone who wants to keep moving, or who earns just under the line, it’s the wrong one.
It’s also a harder call than it was two years ago. Citizenship now takes ten years, the old NHR tax break is gone, and Spain’s equivalent visa asks for roughly €830 a month less.
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What’s changed
2026: The D8 is four times Portugal’s minimum wage, which rises every January. This year that’s €3,680 a month for one person (Decreto-Lei 139/2025).
2027 (expected, not confirmed): The 2027 budget assumes a €970 minimum wage, which would put the D8 at €3,880 for one person and €5,820 for a couple. Unions want €1,000 or more, and the decree usually lands in December. If you’re close, plan for at least €3,880.
Renewals: Since September 11, 2026, a renewal AIMA hasn’t decided in time is no longer approved automatically (Lei 62/2026). More ↓
Citizenship: Since May 19, 2026, it takes 10 years of residence for most nationalities, or 7 for EU and Portuguese-speaking countries, counted from your first residence card (Lei Orgânica 1/2026). More ↓
Family who join later: Since October 23, 2025, you generally need to hold your permit for two years first. Minor children are exempt (Lei 61/2025). More ↓
The short version
- Is it worth it? For a well-paid remote worker who wants to settle here for a decade, yes: it leads to permanent residency after five years and citizenship after ten. The catch is that you live here about eight months a year and Portugal becomes your tax home. Pros and cons ↓
- Income: €3,680 a month (about $4,119) for one person, or €5,520 for a couple, averaged over the last three months, from a remote employer or clients outside Portugal. Pensions and rent don’t count. More ↓
- Savings: not on the US checklist, but most lawyers advise showing €11,040 (12 months of the minimum wage), and some consulates ask for it. More ↓
- Your employer: needs to confirm in writing that you can work remotely from Portugal. Freelancers need contracts or letters from their clients. More ↓
- Other essentials: proof of tax residence where you live now, somewhere to live in Portugal, travel insurance, a clean criminal record and, in practice, a NIF and a Portuguese bank account. All 24 requirements ↓
- How long: the law gives consulates 60 days to decide, but the whole process, from submitting to collecting your visa, often takes five to nine months. You apply from where you live, not from Portugal. Timeline ↓
2-minute check
Do you qualify for the Digital Nomad Visa?
Answer a few questions about your work, income, and savings, and get an answer straight away.
Where do you want to start?
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Is it worth it?
The four things I like about the D8, the six that make it harder, and who it suits.
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The full checklist
All 24 D8 requirements, numbered and grouped, plus where applications actually fail.
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Just the money
Income and savings for one person, a couple and a family, in four currencies.
By the numbers
How many people actually get the Digital Nomad Visa?
Short answer
Portugal has approved about 7,660 Digital Nomad Visas from roughly 9,320 applications since it launched in late 2022, or about 82%, according to Foreign Ministry figures reported by Conta Lá. Applications have fallen year on year.
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About 82% approved
7,664 approvals from 9,322 applications. Roughly one in five didn’t end in a visa.
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Demand is falling
3,467 applications in the first year, 3,047 in the second, and fewer again since.
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Americans lead
In the first year, the top nationalities were the US, Brazil and the UK (Público).
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Four times the minimum wage
€3,680 a month, four times what the D7 asks, and the bar most people trip over.
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10 years to citizenship
Up from five since May 2026, with no exception for people already living here.
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€830 less in Spain
Spain’s digital nomad visa asks for twice its minimum wage, about €2,849 a month in 2026 (Real Decreto 126/2026).
What do the numbers tell you? Mostly that the D8 is a niche visa, and getting more niche.
Back in 2024, Observador blamed the slump on the end of the NHR tax regime, housing costs, AIMA, and how Portugal was starting to look from abroad. Nothing since has reversed any of those.
My read is that the people still applying are the ones it suits: well paid, settled in one job, and planning in decades rather than seasons.
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A note on these figures
The year-by-year split comes from Foreign Ministry data, and the dates attached to it don’t quite line up. Treat it as a direction of travel rather than an exact count. Portugal doesn’t publish refusal reasons.
What’s good
What’s good about the Digital Nomad Visa?
Short answer
The Digital Nomad Visa’s four big advantages are a route to permanent residency and an EU passport, access to Portugal’s public healthcare, a large remote-work community, and cheaper education for you and your children. Most nomad visas elsewhere lead to none of these, because they’re built for people who’ll leave.
1. A route to an EU passport
This is the big one. The Digital Nomad Visa doesn’t just let you stay for six months or a year. It’s residency in an EU country, and if you keep renewing, it leads somewhere.
That’s very different from most nomad visas elsewhere, which are designed for people who leave when the clock runs out and deliberately don’t lead to long-term residence or citizenship.
First residence card
Usually valid for two years.
Renewal
Usually valid for three years.
Permanent residency
Around year five, valid for five years.
Citizenship
Around year ten, plus A2 Portuguese and a civics requirement.
The passport at the end isn’t just a nice travel document. It gives you the right to live and work anywhere in the EU, strong legal protections, and visa-free travel to much of the world. And unlike Spain, Portugal lets you keep your current passport.
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The goalposts have already moved once
The ten-year rule applies to people who were already living here. Only citizenship applications submitted before May 19, 2026 kept the old five-year rule.
One American resident since 2021 told Fodor’s the law had “moved the goalpost from five years to 10,” and that with AIMA delays they expected 12 to 15 years before feeling secure. Plan for the long version.
For most people the passport is still the benchmark. Every downside below, from the income bar to the tax and the paperwork, ends up being weighed against it. Citizenship rules ↓
2. Public healthcare and a safety net
Once you’re legally resident, you’re not a tourist on travel insurance anymore. You can register with the SNS, Portugal’s public health service, and be treated like any other resident.
You can also take out private health insurance for speed, nicer facilities or English-speaking doctors. Premiums are usually far lower than in the US and often competitive with the UK.
For serious illness or surgery, many people end up in the public system anyway, where the cost is heavily subsidized.
For Americans especially, this changes more than the bill. If your health insurance no longer depends on your employer, freelancing or switching jobs stops feeling like a gamble.
For families and anyone with a chronic condition, that safety net is often worth more than any tax saving you’d find in a low-tax “nomad haven.”
3. The lifestyle and the remote-work community
None of this would matter if Portugal weren’t somewhere people want to live. Mild winters and long summers, especially in the Algarve and Lisbon. Walkable towns, café culture, and surfing and hiking close by.
It isn’t Asia-cheap, and Lisbon has become noticeably more expensive, but it can still cost significantly less than New York, LA, Toronto or London.
For remote workers, the bigger draw is the community. Lisbon is one of the world’s digital nomad hotspots, with coworking spaces, meetups and masterminds. Ericeira and Lagos have sizable surf-and-laptop crowds, and Madeira has marketed itself as a remote-work island, with co-living and community projects.
Spain, Italy and Greece have their own versions, but Portugal had a head start, and Lisbon’s English-speaking remote-work scene is bigger. You’re unlikely to be the only person on a laptop in the café.
The practical side holds up too. Gigabit fiber is common in many cities and towns, with some providers offering up to 10 Gbps. And Portugal shares the UK’s time zone and sits five hours ahead of New York.
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The community has a price
The places with the community, Lisbon, Ericeira, Lagos and Madeira, are among the most expensive in Portugal. That isn’t the visa’s fault, and you don’t have to live there. But it’s where most D8 holders end up.
4. Cheaper education, for you and your children
This is the underrated one, if you’re thinking five or ten years ahead. Once you’re resident, you can study at Portuguese universities and polytechnics such as Nova, Porto, Coimbra and Minho.
Resident tuition is usually far lower than an equivalent program in the US or UK. That makes a mid-career master’s, a career change, or formalizing skills you picked up freelancing much more realistic.
For children, it matters even more. They can go to Portuguese schools, then to EU universities at local or EU rates, often a fraction of international fees. If they become EU citizens, their options change completely.
For some families, swapping US- or UK-style tuition and student debt for EU fees is a big part of the long-term math, even if it’s not what first catches their eye.
The honest bit
What are the downsides of the Digital Nomad Visa?
Short answer
The Digital Nomad Visa’s six main downsides are the high income bar, how fast it climbs for families, the employer paperwork, Portuguese tax and social security on your earnings, the requirement to live here most of the year, and AIMA. None of them is a reason not to apply. All of them are reasons to plan.
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1. The bar is high
Four times the minimum wage, from a remote job or foreign clients. One weak month or a bad exchange rate can be enough to cause problems.
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2. Families need much more
Plus 50% for a partner and 30% per child, all on one person’s income. Many couples end up applying separately.
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3. Your employer has to play along
An informal yes is a gray area, an EOR costs money, and contractor status costs you benefits. Someone pays for the move, and it’s often you.
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4. Portugal becomes your tax home
You’ll usually pay Portuguese income tax and social security. NHR is closed, and its replacement rarely helps an ordinary remote worker.
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5. It’s not for nomads
You can be away for no more than six months in a row, or eight in total, per permit. If you want three months here and three in Mexico, this visa will fight you.
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6. AIMA
Months-long waits for appointments and cards. And since September 2026, a late decision no longer means an automatic renewal.
Two of these, the income bar and the family numbers, are covered with the requirements further down. The other four are below.
Downside 3: your job
Will your employer let you work from Portugal?
The warning
If you’re employed, the D8 needs your employer’s written confirmation of the job, and in practice, that you can do it remotely from Portugal. Most US, UK and Canadian employers won’t open a Portuguese entity for one person, so most people end up with an informal yes, an Employer of Record, or a switch to contractor status.
Telling HR you’re moving to Portugal is the easy part. Getting HR to put it in writing is where the D8 actually starts.
Employing someone in another country can create tax, social security and compliance problems for the company. A cautious employer will want to know how its payroll handles income tax for someone living in Portugal, whether you still pay US Social Security or UK National Insurance, and who, legally, your employer now is.
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Employer just says yes
Your employer informally allows you to work from Portugal. The simplest path, but it can be a gray area for the company, depending on how cautious they are.
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Employer of Record (EOR)
A third party (e.g., Deel, Remote, Velocity Global) employs you on paper and handles local payroll and compliance. Cleanest, but it costs the employer, and you may get a new contract, different benefits and a job that feels more fragile.
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Contractor status
You switch from employee to invoicing your former employer as a self-employed contractor. Simpler for them, but you lose things like sick pay and pension contributions, and take on your own tax and social-security admin.
This makes the D8 a much harder visa than most guides let on. Some employers are open to an EOR, but it adds costs, and the relocating employee sometimes ends up absorbing them. Switching to contractor status is simpler, but it means less job security and fewer benefits.
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What the letter needs to say
The US checklist only asks for a declaration confirming the employment. In practice, a plain contract isn’t enough.
One Lisbon immigration firm that publishes its own refusal data puts weak employer or client paperwork behind about one in five of its D8 refusals. What consulates want to see is a letter confirming you can work remotely from Portugal, for clients outside Portugal.
Freelancers get a different question. If almost all your income comes from one client, expect the consulate to ask whether you’re really an employee in disguise. Contracts with more than one client make that question go away.
There’s a longer-term cost too, especially if you’re American. Living abroad can make you:
- Slightly less attractive to some employers
- Unable to take some jobs because of the working hours (five hours ahead of New York, eight ahead of California)
- More complicated to hire, from a payroll and tax point of view
- More nervous about switching jobs once you’re settled in a new residency and tax system
If you already freelance, most of this barely changes anything: you’re used to invoicing clients abroad and handling your own tax. For salaried employees, it’s a real trade. You gain Portugal, but you may have to redesign your whole work setup to get here.
Moving to Portugal as a remote worker: how the employer side works →
Downside 4: tax
Will you pay more tax on the Digital Nomad Visa?
Short answer
Most Digital Nomad Visa holders become Portuguese tax residents and pay income tax and social security in Portugal. If you’re coming from the US, Canada or the UK, expect to pay more than you do now, though how much more depends on your household and how you’re paid.
There’s no single Portugal tax figure for remote workers. A married couple can pay a different effective rate from a single person, and someone running a company has a different setup from an employee or a freelancer.
Rates did come down in 2026. In late October, the government approved a cut to the six lower income-tax brackets, backdated to all 2026 income. They now run from 12.2% to 34.6%.
Above that, the rates are 43.1%, 44.6%, and 48% on income over €86,634, with a solidarity surcharge on top above €80,000. Most D8 incomes land in the middle brackets.
You’ll also generally owe Portuguese social security. Certificates of coverage, which keep you in your home system, are mainly for employees sent abroad by an employer back home, not for people who moved on their own.
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The simplified regime
Many freelancers and contractors use the regime simplificado, where only part of their income is taxed. It works well for some and less well for others, depending on your activity code and margins.
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IFICI (“NHR 2.0”)
Don’t count on it. It’s tied to specific qualifying activities and employers, and working remotely for a foreign company doesn’t normally qualify on its own.
It can still be painful, but it’s rarely the horror story people imagine after glancing at the top rate.
What softens it
- You won’t be taxed twice. Portugal has tax treaties with the US, UK and Canada, so tax paid in one country is usually credited against the other.
- It’s progressive. Only the income above each threshold is taxed at the higher rate. Crossing a line by €1 doesn’t put your whole income at 40-something percent.
- Americans still file at home every year, but credits and the treaty usually stop the same income being taxed twice.
What you get for it
- Public healthcare, which many people rely on for serious problems and long-term care
- A social security safety net
- Residency in an EU country, leading to permanent residency and citizenship
Compared with the rest of Europe, Portugal sits somewhere in the middle: not the lowest-tax country, and not the worst, especially on effective rather than headline rates.
The awkward comparison is Scandinavia. Tax there can be higher on paper, but many people feel they see a more obvious return on it: polished public services and infrastructure that works.
For some people, that’s a frustrating compromise. For families and long-term planners, it’s exactly the boring, grown-up stability they came for, even if the bill stings. Get a tax consultation before you sign a lease, not after.
Downside 5: time in Portugal
How much time do you need to spend in Portugal on the D8?
Short answer
On the Digital Nomad Visa, you can be outside Portugal for up to six consecutive months, or eight months in total, during each residence permit. The first permit lasts two years and the second three, so in practice you spend about eight months a year here.
That’s the clearest sign the name is misleading. The D8 isn’t built for three months in Portugal, three in Asia and three in Latin America, on repeat. Portugal is meant to be your main home, not another stop on the tour.
For people who want one base and a few trips a year, that’s fine. For anyone still chasing summer, it’s a deal-breaker, especially once renewal delays tie you to the country.
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The limit is per card, not per year
The eight months apply to the whole permit. Over a three-year renewal card, you need to be here roughly 28 to 30 months out of 36 to stay safely inside the lines. That’s even less nomadic than the first two years.
| Residency stage | Max consecutive abroad | Max total abroad | What it means in practice |
|---|---|---|---|
| Temporary residency—first 2 years | 6 months | 8 months | About 8 months/year in Portugal, 4 months out |
| Temporary residency—next 3 years | 6 months | 8 months | About 9 months/year in Portugal, 3 months out |
| Permanent residency (after 5 years) | 24 months | 30 months per 3 years | Up to ~2.5 years outside Portugal in any 3-year window |
| Portuguese citizenship | No limit | No limit | No presence rule at all: you can live anywhere and keep your passport |
Permanent residency after five years loosens the rules a lot, and there are exemptions for work and health reasons (Lei 23/2007). Permanent residency in Portugal →
Downside 6: AIMA
How bad is the bureaucracy on the D8?
Short answer
The Digital Nomad Visa’s bureaucracy is at its worst after you arrive. AIMA, the immigration agency, doesn’t publish wait times, appointments and cards can take months, and since September 2026 a renewal AIMA hasn’t decided in time is no longer approved automatically.
If there’s one thing Portugal is known for among the people who move here, it’s bureaucracy. The consulate stage is usually the easy part. AIMA is where people lose their patience.
Getting in
- You need somewhere to live before you apply. The US checklist accepts a booking of six months or more, but most people still sign a 12-month lease in a country they may not know yet.
- Most leases can be broken after about a third of the term, but that’s more cost and more paperwork.
- Each consulate has its own version of the rules. One 2025 Newark applicant was told the consulate’s computer system had been down for weeks.
- The appointment itself can be quick. One American couple’s VFS appointment took under half an hour, though the visa fee had to be paid by money order.
Staying in
- One American writer’s friends had cards expire in September 2024, got renewal appointments in May 2025, then waited nine weeks to four and a half months for the new cards.
- Others were given appointments almost three hours’ drive away.
- People get stuck in Portugal because they don’t want to travel on an expired card with a renewal pending.
- On top of the visa: exchanging your driver’s license, dealing with Finanças, registering at your health center, changing addresses.
It also costs more than it did. AIMA raised some of its fees by up to 33% in 2026, according to Público.
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AIMA wants to see you living here
A relocation firm told the same writer that 2025 brought more renewal denials than earlier years, though most were reversed on first appeal.
What AIMA looks for is evidence of a real life here: a Portuguese bank account with everyday spending in it, and time spent in the country.
To be fair, there are long quiet stretches when your residency is sorted and you forget about it. Then renewal season arrives. Portugal is a great place to live. It is not a frictionless place to deal with on paper.
The verdict
Who is the Digital Nomad Visa for?
Short answer
Portugal’s Digital Nomad Visa is for non-EU citizens who work remotely for an employer or clients outside Portugal and want to live here full-time. Officially it’s the residence visa for remote work. It isn’t for nomads who want to keep moving: you’re expected to base yourself in Portugal for most of the year.
Before you start, answer three questions honestly. What am I getting for the higher income bar and the paperwork? Is the long-term payoff (residency, an EU passport, social rights) worth the tax and the lost flexibility? And does this match how I actually want to live and work for the next ten years?
A good fit if you…
- Earn comfortably above the threshold from one remote job or a few steady foreign clients
- Have an employer willing to put Portugal in writing, or already freelance
- Want one base for the next decade, with a few trips a year
- Value public healthcare, an EU passport and cheaper education more than a low tax bill
Look elsewhere if you…
- Want to keep moving every few months
- Are a family on one income that’s close to the line
- Freelance with income that swings month to month
- Live mainly on pensions, rent or dividends (that’s the D7)
- Earn between Spain’s bar and Portugal’s, and don’t mind that Spain usually asks you to give up your passport when you naturalize
It isn’t only for tech workers, either. If your employer or clients are outside Portugal and the work can be done remotely, it can work for most professions.
| If your money comes from… | Look at | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A remote job with an employer outside Portugal | The D8 | Built for exactly this, if your employer signs off |
| Freelance clients outside Portugal | The D8 | Contracts or client letters stand in for the employer letter |
| Pensions, rent, dividends or royalties | The D7 | Passive income doesn’t count for the D8, and the D7 asks for a quarter as much: €920 a month |
| A Portuguese employer | The D1 or D3 | That’s local employment, not remote work |
| A business you’ll run from Portugal | The D2 | See D2 vs D8 |
| A large lump sum, and you don’t want to move yet | The Golden Visa | About seven days a year in Portugal, but €500,000 tied up |
The visa aside: Portugal itself
Everything above is about the visa. Plenty of other pros and cons are about living in Portugal, whichever visa you’re on.
✓ On the plus side
- Lots of people speak English
- Beautiful beaches and great food
- A big international community
✗ On the downside
- Houses can be cold and damp in winter
- Portuguese is harder than you might expect
- Daily life isn’t always as smooth as the tourism ads suggest
Some people who moved are now leaving. In May 2026, The Portugal News reported long-term foreign residents giving up on Portugal over AIMA, with many asking about Spain instead. It’s testimony, not statistics, but it’s worth knowing before you sign a lease. The downsides of living in Portugal →
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Don’t qualify?
The D8 income requirement is four times the D7’s and about €830 a month above Spain’s, so plenty of people fall short. There are other routes, including the D2, two separate applications for couples, and turning savings into passive income for the D7.
Portugal Digital Nomad Visa alternatives if you don’t qualify →
Alternatives
Digital Nomad Visa vs the D7, the Golden Visa and Spain
Short answer
The D8 is for active remote income and the D7 for passive income, with the same stay and tax rules. The Golden Visa means investing instead of moving. Spain’s digital nomad visa asks for less money and allows some local clients, but Spain usually makes Americans and Britons give up their passport to naturalize.
| D8 (this visa) | D7 | Golden Visa | Spain’s nomad visa | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Income type | Active remote income from outside Portugal | Passive: pensions, rent, dividends, royalties | Not income-based: investment instead | Remote work; up to 20% from Spanish clients |
| Monthly income | €3,680 (~$4,119) | €920 (~$1,030) | — | About €2,849 (2026) |
| Money in the bank | Savings of €11,040 commonly expected | Savings of €11,040 | €500,000 fund investment, or €250,000 cultural donation | — |
| Physical stay | Most of the year in Portugal | Most of the year in Portugal | 7 days in year one, then 14 every two years | Most of the year in Spain |
| Citizenship | 10 years, dual citizenship allowed | 10 years, dual citizenship allowed | 10 years, dual citizenship allowed | 10 years, usually renounce US or UK nationality |
| Tax residency | Yes | Yes | Avoidable | Yes |
Quick rules of thumb
- You’re a remote worker or freelancer and want to live in Portugal full-time → D8
- You’re retired or living off passive income and want to live in Portugal full-time → D7
- Want EU residency or a “Plan B” without moving now → Golden Visa
- You earn less than the D8 asks and the passport isn’t the point → Spain’s nomad visa
Full comparisons: D7 vs Digital Nomad Visa · D2 vs D8 for freelancers and entrepreneurs · the Golden Visa
Requirements: the money
What counts as qualifying income?
Short answer
The Digital Nomad Visa requires €3,680 a month in active income for one person, which is four times Portugal’s minimum wage. It has to come from a remote job with an employer outside Portugal, or from freelance clients outside Portugal, and consulates look at your average over the last three months.
✓ Counts as qualifying income
- Salary from a remote job (employer outside Portugal)
- Freelance income from non-Portuguese clients
✗ Doesn’t count
- Portuguese clients or a Portuguese employer—that’s local employment, not remote
- Savings alone—savings matter, but you still need the active income on top
- Passive income (pensions, rental, dividends)—use the D7 instead
- Inter-company transfer arrangements—usually belong under D1 or D3
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“Active” income, not passive
Pensions, rental income, dividends and savings drawdowns don’t count on their own. That’s the D7’s territory, and if your income is passive, the D7 is almost always the right visa.
Who clears the bar? Full-time employees of US, Canadian or British companies often do. Early-stage freelancers and people with irregular income often don’t, and even in the US, which has some of the highest wages in the world, plenty of remote workers fall short.
Applying from India, Argentina or much of the rest of the world, the threshold is harder still. If you don’t meet it, Spain’s digital nomad visa asks for about €2,849 a month in 2026.
✓ What the rules say
- Average monthly income over the last three months
- Four times the minimum wage, with no mention of gross or net
- Work for employers or clients outside Portugal
✗ What actually happens
- Most read the figure as gross, but I’d want to clear it net
- One low month draws questions even when the average clears
- Even part of your income from Portuguese clients can sink an application
Freelancers with lumpy income have it hardest. Some lawyers now show a six-month average alongside the three-month one, so a single quiet month looks like what it is.
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Watch the exchange rate
The threshold is in euros and your salary probably isn’t. Nothing about your job has to change for you to fall under the line: the dollar or the pound moves, and the Portuguese figure goes up every January.
If you’re within a few percent, check the rate on the day you apply. One low month also drags down a three-month average.
Savings
How much savings do you need for the Digital Nomad Visa?
Short answer
The Digital Nomad Visa’s savings figure isn’t written into the D8 rules, but most lawyers advise showing €11,040 for one person, which is 12 months of Portugal’s minimum wage, not 12 months of the D8 income. A couple would show €16,560, and each dependent child adds €3,312.
This is one of the places where what the website says and what people are asked for don’t match. The US D8 checklist doesn’t mention savings at all. It asks for three months of US bank or credit-card statements showing the income.
The 12-month figure comes from Portugal’s general rules on means of subsistence (Portaria 1563/2007), and some consulates and AIMA offices still ask for it. I’d have it. It’s the cheapest insurance against an awkward question.
People often assume they need a year of the D8 income, 12 × €3,680, sitting in the bank. You don’t. The savings sit on top of the monthly income, not instead of it.
Where to keep them is less clear-cut than many guides suggest. A Portuguese account isn’t on the US checklist, but it’s what most lawyers recommend, and you’ll need one once you live here anyway. Whether Wise or Revolut’s Portuguese IBANs are accepted isn’t written down anywhere I could find, so check with your consulate before relying on either.
Figures for every household size are in the table below ↓.
What you’ll need
Digital Nomad Visa requirements: the full checklist
Short answer
The Digital Nomad Visa requires an average of €3,680 a month in remote income over the last three months, €11,040 in savings in a Portuguese bank account, your employer’s permission to work from Portugal, proof of tax residence, a NIF, accommodation, travel insurance and a clean criminal record. You apply at the consulate or VFS center covering where you live.
Each consulate publishes its own checklist, and they don’t always agree. Treat the list below as the core, and your consulate’s checklist as the final word. The D8 also comes in a one-year version with slightly different rules (see below).
Where D8 applications actually fail
Portugal doesn’t publish refusal reasons. The best guide I’ve found is one Lisbon immigration firm that publishes a breakdown of its own refused D8 cases from late 2022 to mid-2026. It’s one firm’s clients, not a national figure, but the pattern matches what I hear.
Add the classic paperwork slips to that: a criminal record that’s too old, or a certificate without its apostille. None of these are about whether you’d make a good resident. They’re about whether the file answers the consulate’s questions before it asks them.
All 24 requirements
Personal and legal
1. Age and nationality
18 or over, and not an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen. If you already hold an EU passport, you don’t need the D8 and can’t use it.
2. Apply from where you live
Your consulate or VFS center is the one covering where you legally live, which may not be your country of citizenship. If you’re a resident somewhere else, bring proof of that, such as a US green card.
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You can’t apply from Portugal
A lot of people plan to fly over as tourists and apply once they’re here. That used to be possible, but it isn’t anymore. You need the visa in your passport before you move.
3. Criminal record certificate
From your country of nationality and anywhere you’ve lived for a year or more, issued within the last 90 days and apostilled (or legalized by a Portuguese consulate in non-Hague countries). Americans need an FBI report, which the US checklist also accepts in the FBI’s unopened sealed envelope. Britons need an ACRO certificate and Canadians an RCMP check. See applying with a criminal record.
4. Permission for a Portuguese record check
A signed form letting Portugal check its own criminal records. For most first-time applicants, this is a formality.
Work and money
5. Remote income
An average of at least €3,680 a month over the last three months for one person, which is four times the minimum wage. Couples and families need more: see the household table.
6. Proof of your work
Employees: your employment contract, or a declaration from your employer confirming the job. Freelancers: service contracts, company documents, or letters showing the work you do for one or more clients.
7. Permission to work from Portugal
A letter from your employer confirming you can work from Portugal, not just remotely. Freelancers should get equivalent statements from their main clients.
8. Proof of income
The US checklist asks for three months of bank or credit-card statements showing the income. Other offices ask for anything up to six months, plus payslips or invoices and your latest tax return. Make sure the statements and the claimed income tell the same story.
9. Proof of tax residence
The US checklist asks for a certificate of US tax residence, which is IRS Form 6166, requested with Form 8802. Order it early.
10. Savings
Not on the US checklist, but most lawyers advise showing €11,040 for one person, and some offices ask. See how much savings you need.
Portuguese setup
11. NIF (Portuguese tax number)
Not on the US checklist, but you need one to open a bank account or sign a lease, and you’ll need it the moment you arrive. Most people get it remotely through a fiscal representative, a lawyer or an online service.
12. Portuguese bank account
Not a US-checklist item, but most lawyers recommend it for your savings, and AIMA later looks for everyday spending in one. Several Portuguese banks open accounts remotely for non-residents, Millennium BCP and ActivoBank among them.
13. Somewhere to live
The US checklist accepts a lease, a host’s invitation letter, or a hotel or Airbnb booking of at least six months. Other offices are stricter, and a 12-month lease, deeds, or a notarized termo de responsabilidade from a host is the safe bet. Short bookings won’t do anywhere.
14. Travel insurance
Cover for medical expenses, urgent care and repatriation that clearly includes Portugal. The US checklist doesn’t name a figure, but €30,000 is the Schengen standard offices expect. See travel insurance for your Portugal visa.
Paperwork
15. Passport
Valid for at least three months after your planned return date under the US checklist, with two blank pages and a copy of the photo page. Some offices want six months’ validity.
16. Application form and photos
The national visa application form, in the version your consulate currently uses, plus two passport photos per person in the EU size (35 × 45 mm).
17. Personal statement
A short letter on who you are, what you do, why Portugal, where you’ll live and how you’ll support yourself. A vague one weakens an otherwise strong file.
18. Family documents
Apostilled marriage and birth certificates if anyone’s coming with you, proof of two or more years together for unmarried partners, and the other parent’s consent if only one parent is bringing a child.
19. Translations
Documents in Portuguese never need translating, and English ones usually don’t. Most other languages need a certified Portuguese translation, so check with your consulate before you pay for one.
Getting there and after you arrive
20. Flight itinerary
Some consulates want to see a planned flight. Book something refundable or hold a reservation, and don’t lock in a non-refundable ticket before you’re approved.
21. Health insurance for your AIMA appointment
You don’t need it to apply, but you do at AIMA, and travel insurance isn’t accepted there. You’ll need a private health policy valid in Portugal, for at least 12 months and renewable.
22. NISS (social security number)
You’ll need one, usually by your AIMA appointment. Unlike most D7 holders, you’re working, so you’ll likely use it to pay Portuguese social security too.
23. AIMA appointment
Once you arrive, AIMA takes your biometrics and turns the visa into a two-year residence permit. Bring originals of everything. See what to bring to your AIMA appointment.
24. Driver’s license (optional)
Not required for the visa, but some consulates ask for a copy. Once you’re resident, you’ll need to exchange it for a Portuguese license within a set window.
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Social security and tax after you move
Once you’re resident, you’ll generally pay Portuguese social security. Certificates of coverage mostly apply to employees posted abroad, not people who moved on their own. Freelancers also need to register their activity with Finanças. Get a tax consultation early; it matters at renewal. More on tax ↑
Couples and families
Bringing your partner and family on the D8
Short answer
The two-year version of the Digital Nomad Visa lets you include a spouse or partner, dependent children and dependent parents. A spouse or partner adds 50% to the income and savings you need to show, and each dependent child adds 30%. Only the main applicant’s income counts.
The percentages are the same as the D7’s, but on the D7 they sit on top of one minimum wage. On the D8 they sit on top of four, so they climb very quickly. That’s why so many couples on the D8 apply separately.
In practice, a couple needs one income that comfortably covers two adults, at a level well above what most Portuguese households earn. Add a child or two and you’re into territory many well-paid remote workers don’t reach, especially freelancers.
Spouse or partner
Married, civil-partnered, or long-term unmarried partners can be added to the residence version of the D8. For unmarried partners, you’ll usually need 2+ years at the same address, with paper evidence (shared bills, both on the lease).
Dependent children
Under-18s are added easily. Children 18 to around 24 can be included if they’re in full-time education; older children, or those not studying, normally need to apply separately.
Dependent parents
Can be included if they’re physically or financially dependent on you. If they have enough income of their own, a separate visa application may suit them better than applying as your dependent.
Income and savings, by household
| Household | EUR official | USD approx. | GBP approx. | CAD approx. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly active income | ||||
| Single applicant | €3,680 | $4,119 | £3,070 | CA$5,763 |
| Couple | €5,520 | $6,178 | £4,605 | CA$8,644 |
| + each dependent child | €1,104 | $1,236 | £921 | CA$1,729 |
| + each dependent parent | €1,840 | $2,059 | £1,535 | CA$2,881 |
| Savings (12 months of the minimum wage, not of the D8 income) | ||||
| Single applicant | €11,040 | $12,356 | £9,210 | CA$17,289 |
| Couple | €16,560 | $18,534 | £13,814 | CA$25,933 |
| + each dependent child | €3,312 | $3,707 | £2,763 | CA$5,187 |
| + each dependent parent | €5,520 | $6,178 | £4,605 | CA$8,644 |
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Couples often apply separately
One person’s income is used for the whole D8 application, and it’s common for one partner not to earn enough to cover both of you. In that case, you can each submit your own application.
You can use the same accommodation and the same bank account, but you’ll each need your own NIF. Two earning parents can also split the children across the two applications. It costs more in visa and legal fees, but it makes the move possible.
A lawyer who knows the D8 well can usually find a structure that works. Failing that, another EU country’s nomad or freelancer visa may suit your family better.
Moving together is the simpler route. Bringing someone over later is a separate process with a waiting period of its own.
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Bringing someone over later takes longer
Family members moving with you apply at the same time, as accompanying family members. Bringing someone over after you’ve moved is family reunification, and since October 2025 that generally means holding your residence permit for two years first (Lei 61/2025).
Minor children are exempt, and so is a spouse or partner who shares a minor child with you. A spouse waits 15 months instead of 24 if you lived together for at least 18 months before you entered Portugal, which is narrower than the headlines made it sound. Dependent parents and adult children wait the full two years.
Then AIMA has nine months to decide, with no automatic approval if it runs late (AIMA). New family reunification permits fell by 30.8% in 2025 (ECO). If you can move together, do.
Another setup question
One-year or two-year option?
Short answer
The Digital Nomad Visa comes in two versions: a one-year temporary stay visa and a residence visa that leads to a two-year residence permit. If you’re moving to Portugal, choose the two-year version. It means fewer renewals, it lets you bring family on the same application, and it counts toward permanent residency and citizenship.
The one-year option is renewable, but it’s aimed at people who don’t plan to stay long-term, and time spent on it generally doesn’t count toward permanent residency or citizenship. Pick it by accident and you’ve paid for a year that doesn’t count.
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One-Year Option
- Valid for 12 months
- Family reunification not allowed
- Proof of accommodation required
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Two-Year Option
- Valid for 2 years initially
- Family reunification allowed
- Proof of accommodation required
Timing
How long does the Digital Nomad Visa take?
Short answer
The law gives Portuguese consulates 60 days to decide a residence visa, including the D8, but the whole process from submitting to collecting your visa often takes five to nine months. Then AIMA has 90 days, extendable by 30, to decide your first residence permit after you arrive.
Portugal doesn’t publish real processing times. The only figures I’ve found come from the same Lisbon firm’s own clients: median waits from submission to visa, October 2022 to June 2026.
| Consulate | Median wait |
|---|---|
| London | 4.8 months |
| Toronto | 5.9 months |
| Newark | 7.4 months |
| Boston | 7.8 months |
| Washington, DC | 8.6 months |
| San Francisco | 9.1 months |
Treat these as a rough guide: one firm, its own clients, and a mix of years. But the shape is clear. US consulates are slower than London, and a US applicant should plan around most of a year.
The step people forget to time is the tax residence certificate. Americans request it from the IRS (Form 6166), and it’s worth ordering as soon as you’ve decided to apply.
Fees are small next to everything else. The consular fee for a residence visa is around €90; one US couple paid $102.24 by money order, plus $43.17 for VFS (their 2025 write-up). AIMA charges separately, and raised some fees in 2026.
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Be in Portugal before your visa runs out
AIMA appointments are often set for a date after your 120-day visa expires. That’s normal, but you need to have entered Portugal while the visa was still valid.
Until your card arrives, think twice about trips elsewhere in Schengen. Other countries aren’t bound by Portugal’s arrangements for people waiting on AIMA.
The process
How to apply for the Digital Nomad Visa, step by step
Short answer
Applying for the Digital Nomad Visa takes seven steps: sort out your work setup, get a NIF and a Portuguese bank account, arrange somewhere to live, gather your documents, attend your consulate or VFS appointment, move on your 120-day visa, and attend your AIMA appointment to get your residence permit.
Before you apply
Sort out your work setup
Get your employer’s letter, an Employer of Record, or contractor status in place. Everything else depends on it.
Get a NIF and a bank account
Both can be done remotely. Move your savings in.
Arrange somewhere to live
Usually a 12-month lease, registered with Finanças.
Gather your documents
Income proof, the tax residence certificate, criminal record checks, apostilles, insurance and your statement.
After you apply
Attend your appointment
At the consulate or VFS center for where you live. Then wait for the decision.
Move on your 120-day visa
Fly in through another Schengen country and Portugal doesn’t know you’ve arrived until you tell it: file an entry declaration with AIMA within three working days.
Attend your AIMA appointment
Bring originals and a 12-month private health policy, because travel insurance won’t do. AIMA then issues a two-year residence permit.
Once your card arrives, register with the SNS, the public health service, at your local centro de saúde.
Getting help
Do you need a lawyer for the Digital Nomad Visa?
Short answer
You don’t legally need a lawyer for the Digital Nomad Visa, and some people do the whole thing themselves. Most get some help, and if your setup involves an Employer of Record or a switch to contractor status, I’d want at least a document review before submitting.
D8 applications get delayed or refused for avoidable reasons: a lease the consulate won’t accept, a missing apostille, an employer letter that doesn’t clearly confirm remote work from Portugal, or bank statements that don’t match the income you’ve claimed.
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Do it yourself
Cost: just the official fees. Works best if you have one employer or a few long-standing clients, and you’re comfortable chasing paperwork and consulate rules on your own.
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Document check
Cost: around €1,000. You prepare the application, and a professional reviews the whole file before you submit, flagging anything likely to cause a delay or rejection.
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Work with a lawyer
Cost: typically €1,500–€4,000 per person. A lawyer guides you through the process from start to finish, often including your NIF, bank account, and AIMA appointment. Worth it for couples, families, or anyone with a complicated work setup.
Doing it yourself? Get your file checked first
Tell us about your situation and we’ll put you in touch with someone who can review your D8 application before you submit it, or handle the whole thing if you’d rather.
Renewals
Renewing your D8 residence permit
Short answer
You renew a Digital Nomad Visa residence permit by showing you still qualify: remote income at the current threshold, a Portuguese address, no debts to Finanças or Social Security, time spent here within the limits, health cover and a criminal record check. Since September 11, 2026, a renewal AIMA doesn’t decide in time is no longer approved automatically.
Your first permit lasts two years, then three at a time. The income threshold on renewal is the one for the year you renew, and at four times the minimum wage it climbs faster than the D7’s.
The big change is the end of tacit approval. Until September 2026, if AIMA missed its 60-day deadline on a renewal, the renewal counted as approved. Lei 62/2026 ended that. The deadline still exists. Missing it just doesn’t help you anymore.
What protects you now is the six-month rule: if you’ve asked to renew before your card expires, your right to live here doesn’t lapse until six months after the expiry date. The blanket extensions AIMA used during its backlog ended in April 2026 (Decreto-Lei 85-B/2025).
Income that still meets the threshold
Your remote income needs to meet the requirement for the year you renew, and that figure rises whenever Portugal’s minimum wage does. Bring recent contracts, payslips or invoices, and bank statements, as you did for the original application.
Proof of address in Portugal
A rental contract, property deeds, or similar showing where you live now.
Tax and social security in order
Proof that you’re up to date with the tax office (Finanças) and Social Security, usually no-debt certificates (certidões de não dívida). For D8 holders, this is where an unregistered freelance activity or unpaid social security contributions tend to surface.
Time spent in Portugal
You’ll need to have stayed within the absence limits. Long stretches abroad can put a renewal at risk.
Health coverage and criminal record check
Proof of health coverage (by now, usually your SNS registration) and authorization for a Portuguese criminal record check.
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Start early, and keep the proof
Request the renewal well before your card expires, through AIMA’s renewals portal, and keep the confirmation. It’s what proves you’re covered by the six-month rule if you’re asked at a border. And don’t plan long trips abroad while a renewal is pending.
The end goal
Does the Digital Nomad Visa lead to citizenship?
Short answer
Yes. The two-year Digital Nomad Visa leads to permanent residency after five years and Portuguese citizenship after ten. The ten-year rule came in with Portugal’s new nationality law on May 19, 2026. It’s seven years for EU and Portuguese-speaking (CPLP) nationals.
The clock starts when AIMA issues your first residence card, not when you apply, so AIMA delays push your citizenship date back too. Time on the one-year version shouldn’t count either, since it isn’t a residence permit.
There’s no grandfathering. If you moved in 2023 expecting citizenship in 2028, you’re now on the ten-year clock too; only applications already submitted before May 19, 2026 stayed under the old law. That’s why I’d plan around the rules as they are, not as you hope they’ll be.
You’ll also need A2 Portuguese, or a 150-hour approved course instead of the exam. The law also adds a culture and civics requirement, but the rules setting out how it’s tested hadn’t been confirmed when I last checked (Lei Orgânica 1/2026).
Portugal allows dual citizenship, so you won’t have to give up your current passport. More in getting Portuguese citizenship.
Next steps
Where to go from here
If the Digital Nomad Visa sounds right for you
- Check your numbers with the 2-minute check at the top of this page.
- Talk to your employer before anything else. Their answer decides your setup.
- Book a tax consultation, so you know what you’ll actually pay before you commit.
- Set up your NIF and Portuguese bank account, and order your tax residence certificate.
- Read the renting guide before you sign a lease.
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If it doesn’t fit
Look at the D7 for passive income, the D2 for a business here, or the alternatives if you don’t qualify.
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If you’re not ready yet
Most people reading this are a year or more away from moving. Sign up for our emails and feel free to get in touch with any questions that you have.
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If you want the whole move
The full process, with checklists, is in my book, Moving to Portugal Made Simple.
Common questions
D8 FAQ
For a well-paid remote worker or freelancer who wants to settle in one place for a decade, yes. You get residency in an EU country, public healthcare, and a path to an EU passport. In exchange, you’ll likely pay more tax than in a low-tax hub, deal with real bureaucracy, and commit to spending most of your time in Portugal. If you want to keep moving, it’s the wrong visa. The full pros and cons.
Roughly one in five applications doesn’t end in a visa: Foreign Ministry figures show 7,664 approvals from 9,322 applications since launch. Portugal doesn’t publish reasons, but the patterns are income documentation, Portuguese-source income, weak employer letters and insurance. Where applications fail.
Both are renewable, so it wouldn’t be the end of the world if you applied for the one-year version and then decided to stay longer. However, time on the one-year visa generally doesn’t count toward permanent residency or citizenship. And the two-year option means fewer renewals (lower costs and less bureaucracy), and it’s the only version that lets you bring dependents on the same application. For most people, the two-year (residence) version is the right pick.
No. If your employer or clients are outside Portugal and your work can be done remotely, the D8 can work across many professions, not just tech.
No. You used to be able to, but not anymore. You apply from the country where you legally live, and you need the visa in your passport before you move.
Almost certainly. Once you move to Portugal on the D8, you’ll usually become a Portuguese tax resident. Portugal has tax treaties with the US, UK and Canada to prevent double taxation, but the details depend on your work setup (EOR, contractor, or informal arrangement). You’ll also generally owe Portuguese social security. Many freelancers and contractors use the simplified regime (regime simplificado), where only part of their income is taxed, but it’s worth having a tax consultation before you decide.
Don’t count on the IFICI regime (sometimes called NHR 2.0). It’s tied to specific qualifying activities and employers, and working remotely for a foreign company doesn’t qualify on its own. More on tax.
Not for the visa, but you’ll need A2 Portuguese for permanent residency and citizenship. A2 is the second-most basic level, with a 55% pass mark, or you can complete a 150-hour approved course instead.
No. You can live anywhere in Portugal, including Madeira and the Azores. Most D8 holders gravitate toward Lisbon, Porto, Ericeira, Lagos, Portimão, and Madeira, the places with the strongest remote-work communities.
Minor offenses are often fine; more serious crimes (especially those punishable by 1+ year in prison under Portuguese law) tend to cause problems and may mean rejection. More on this.
365 days. The D8 is a residency visa—you can spend the whole year in Portugal. In fact, because it’s a residency visa, you’re expected to base yourself here for most of the year and meet the stay requirements.
You can appeal or re-apply. Most rejections come down to documentation, timing, or insufficient evidence of income. A good lawyer can figure out what went wrong and fix it, and it’s usually cheaper to consult one before applying than after a rejection.
Sources
The laws, official checklists, news reports and first-hand accounts this guide draws on. Refusal and processing-time figures from one Lisbon immigration firm’s published client data are described in the text but not linked.
- Decreto-Lei n.º 139/2025, setting the 2026 minimum wage (Diário da República)
- How Portugal’s minimum wage has changed over time (DGERT)
- The 2027 budget’s €970 minimum wage assumption (Observador, October 8, 2026)
- The government assumes a €970 minimum wage next year (DNoticias, October 8, 2026)
- Types of national visa, including both remote-work visas (Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
- Residence visa documentation (Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
- Residence visa checklist with the official income wording, June 2025 (Embassy of Portugal)
- Residence visa for remote work: US checklist (VFS Global USA)
- Temporary stay visa for remote work: US checklist (VFS Global USA)
- General residence visa checklist, including the 120-day validity (VFS Global USA)
- Portuguese national visas from the UK, 2024 (VFS Global UK)
- Portaria n.º 1563/2007, setting the means of subsistence (Diário da República)
- Lei n.º 23/2007, the Foreigners Law, consolidated version (Diário da República)
- Lei n.º 61/2025, including the family reunification changes (Diário da República)
- Family reunification with family outside Portugal (AIMA)
- Constitutional Court ruling 785/2025 on the first version of the immigration law (Tribunal Constitucional)
- Lei Orgânica n.º 1/2026, the 2026 nationality law (Diário da República)
- The end of automatic approval for residence renewals (DN Brasil)
- Decreto-Lei n.º 85-B/2025, extending expired residence documents (Diário da República)
- AIMA on the six-month validity of expired cards (Público, October 18, 2025)
- AIMA fees rise by up to 33% (Público, March 1, 2026)
- Immigration in five numbers, including family reunification permits (ECO, September 23, 2026)
- Digital nomad visa applications and approvals falling (Conta Lá, July 8, 2026)
- The first year of the digital nomad visa (Público, November 3, 2023)
- Why digital nomad visas fell after NHR ended (Observador, 2024)
- Government approves lower 2026 income tax rates (Jornal de Negócios, October 2026)
- What’s new in Portuguese income tax (Caixa Geral de Depósitos)
- Real Decreto 126/2026, Spain’s 2026 minimum wage (Boletín Oficial del Estado)
- Portugal’s new 10-year citizenship rule explained (Fodor’s)
- Immigrants are leaving Portugal because of AIMA (The Portugal News, May 29, 2026)
- An American resident on AIMA renewals (Expat in Portugal, January 2026)
- A 2025 visa application at the Newark consulate (An American in Porto)
- A US couple’s 2025 D8 application and fees (Aviothic)
- Revolut’s Portuguese branch and IBANs (Essential Business, July 2025)
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