Portugal Work Visa (D1): The 2026 Guide

What changed in 2025 and 2026

• Change jobs with a notice: since 11 September 2026, you change employer by telling AIMA, with no new card.
• Your employer can file for you: since the same day, the employer may also submit your residence permit application to AIMA.
• Visa fee of €110 since March 2025 (it was €90).
• Family later takes two years: since October 2025, family reunification needs two years of residence first, so apply together.
• No job seeker visa for now: since October 2025 it is reserved for specialized skills, and consulates don’t issue it yet.
• Citizenship after ten years of legal residence since May 2026 (seven for nationals of Portuguese-speaking countries and EU citizens), counted from your first residence permit.

What is the Portugal D1 visa (work visa)?

The D1 is the residence visa for subordinate work: the visa for employees. It lets citizens of countries outside the EU, the EEA and Switzerland come to Portugal to work for an employer there, under a contract.

You apply at the Portuguese consulate (or its VFS Global center) for where you live. The consulate issues a 4-month residence visa; in Portugal, AIMA then gives you a residence permit, renewed for as long as you meet the conditions.

Benefits of the Portugal D1 visa

• Live and work in Portugal, with your spouse and children.
• Change employer with a notice to AIMA, or switch to self-employment by changing your card.
• Visit the other Schengen countries for up to 90 days in any 180 without another visa (to travel, not to live or work there).
• Use the national health service (Portuguese healthcare) and state schools (education) as a resident.
• Permanent residence after five years, and Portuguese citizenship after ten (seven for nationals of Portuguese-speaking countries and EU citizens).

D1 visa requirements: who can apply?

The D1 is for citizens of countries outside the EU, the EEA and Switzerland with a job in Portugal. The consulate asks for one of three documents from your employer:

• a work contract;
• a promise of a work contract (contrato-promessa);
• an employer’s individual expression of interest, if your recognized qualifications fit one of the job offers IEFP publishes.

Any job in any sector can qualify: the law sets no list of jobs, and no salary beyond the means of subsistence (below). You also need a clean criminal record, a valid passport and travel insurance and, for a regulated profession, proof that you may practice it in Portugal.

What you no longer need to prove

• No labor market test: the rule that a job could go to a foreigner only if no Portuguese or EU worker took it, and the yearly job quota, were repealed in 2022.
• No IEFP declaration: proof that the job was registered with IEFP left the D1 list in October 2022. Employers can still publish their offers on IEFP’s site, open to candidates from abroad.
• No minimum contract length in the law (the D3 and the EU Blue Card ask for six months).

One route has closed: since June 2024, you can no longer come as a visitor and ask for a work permit in Portugal (the manifestação de interesse). The D1 is applied for from abroad.

Citizens of Portuguese-speaking countries (CPLP) apply with lighter paperwork: no travel insurance and, with a term of responsibility from the employer, no separate proof of means.

D1 or another work visa?

• D3 or EU Blue Card: for a highly qualified job, with a contract of at least six months and a higher salary floor. Your family can join you without the two-year wait. See our D3 guide and EU Blue Card guide.
• D8: for remote work for an employer or clients abroad, from €3,680 a month in 2026.
• D2: to work for yourself or start a business in Portugal.
• Intra-company transfer: managers, specialists and trainees moved within their group have their own permit.
• Job seeker visa: since October 2025, it is reserved for people with specialized technical skills, to be listed by a regulation. In September 2026, the consulates’ portal said it was not yet available.

D1 visa salary and means of subsistence in 2026

Every visa applicant shows means of subsistence, set on the Portuguese minimum wage: €920 a month in 2026 for one person. For the D1, the consulates’ portal counts the money from your work contract or promise: your salary is your proof.

The D1 rules ask for no savings and no Portuguese bank account: the €11,040 often quoted is the D7’s savings rule. The US consulates’ D1 checklist, for example, asks for the contract or promise, or a sponsorship letter from the entity that provides your lodging and meals.

Bringing your family? For each person who comes with you, add 50% for a spouse or another adult and 30% for each child:

If your salary doesn’t cover the household, you show other stable and regular resources. When the minimum wage rises (usually in January), these amounts rise with it. For what jobs pay, see our guide to salaries in Portugal.

Can your family join you on a D1 visa?

Yes. Your family can apply for their residence visas at the same time as you, to come with you: they show your family ties and the household’s means above. You can include:

• Your spouse, or a partner you have lived with for more than two years.
• Your minor children, and adult children who depend on you, are single and study in Portugal (there is no age limit).
• Your or your spouse’s parents, if they depend on you: the proof is usually the money you send them.
• Minors adopted by you or your spouse, and minor brothers and sisters under your guardianship.

Each family member gets a residence permit valid as long as yours, with the same right to work and study in Portugal.

Tip: apply together. Since October 2025, bringing family later through family reunification takes two years of residence first (15 months for a spouse you lived with for 18 months before; no wait for your minor children, or for their other parent), and AIMA then has nine months to decide.

How to apply for the Portugal D1 visa in 7 steps

From your job offer to your Portuguese residence card. Each step says what to do and what it costs. In a free AnchorLess account, you tick them off one by one and get expert help where you need it.

1. 1

   Check that you qualify

   A job offer in Portugal, means of at least €920 a month, a clean criminal record, and the right to practice your profession.

   Take the 30-second check
2. 2

   Get your contract or promise signed

   A contract with a foreign worker must be in writing and state the job, the pay, the place and hours of work, and the start date. Regulated profession? Start its recognition now.

   Any job, any sectorNo IEFP proof from you

   Not sure your offer fits? Ask us in a free call
3. 3

   Get your NIF

   Your Portuguese tax number. AIMA asks for proof of it for your residence permit, and you can get it from abroad, before you move.

   With us: from €99By email from 24 hours

   Get my NIF
4. 4

   Build your visa file

   Contract or promise, criminal record with its apostille, travel insurance, passport, photos: the full checklist is below.

   Lawyer check of the whole file: €299Feedback in 3 business days

   Review my visa file
5. 5

   Apply at the consulate

   Fill in the national visa form, book your appointment at the consulate or VFS Global center for where you live, and pay the €110 fee. The consulate has 60 days to decide.

   €110 per applicantDecision within 60 days

   Find your consulate
6. 6

   Move to Portugal and settle in

   Within the visa’s 4 months, start work, find your home and get your social security number (NISS): AIMA asks for proof of both.

   Lease checked by a lawyer: €99NISS from abroad: €349

   Review my leaseGet my NISS
7. 7

   Get your residence permit at AIMA

   Go to your AIMA appointment within the visa’s 4 months. AIMA has 90 days to decide (up to 120); your first residence card lasts 2 years.

   AIMA fee: €185.60First card: 2 years

   Have your AIMA file checked (€259)

How much does the D1 visa cost?

Children under 6 don’t pay the visa fee. The AIMA fee is €247.30 where the reduced rate does not apply: see the AIMA Portugal fee table in our guide. Add the apostille of your criminal record, any translation your consulate asks for, and your travel insurance.

How long does the D1 visa take?

By law, the consulate has 60 days to decide on a residence visa; in practice, times vary from one consulate to another. In Portugal, AIMA then has 90 days to decide on your residence permit, which it can extend by 30.

1. Day 0You apply at the consulate
2. 60 daysat most for the decision
3. 4 monthsto enter Portugal and go to AIMA
4. 90 daysfor AIMA to decide (up to 120)
5. 2 yearsyour first card, then 3-year renewals
6. 5 yearspermanent residence
7. 10 yearscitizenship

Why are D1 applications refused?

The usual grounds for a Portuguese visa refusal, from the law and the consulates’ checklists:

• No valid contract, promise or expression of interest;
• Means below the minimum wage;
• A conviction for a crime punishable in Portugal by more than a year in prison;
• A regulated profession without proof that you may practice it;
• Missing documents.

You can contest a refusal: an administrative appeal costs €75. A doubt before you apply? AnchorLess offers a free consultation to clear it up.

D1 visa documents checklist

The consulates’ portal lists the same general documents for every residence visa, and two of its own for the D1. Check your consulate’s checklist too: some add an item, like the personal statement asked in the US.

Documents for every residence visa

• The national visa application form, signed;
• 2 recent passport photos;
• A passport valid at least 3 months beyond the end of your planned stay;
• Proof of legal residence, if you apply in a country other than your own;
• Travel insurance covering medical expenses, urgent care and repatriation;
• A criminal record certificate from your country of nationality or from the country where you have lived more than a year, apostilled or legalized (not needed under 16);
• Proof of means of subsistence: for the D1, your contract or promise.

Documents for the D1

• Your work contract, promise of contract or the employer’s expression of interest;
• Proof that you may practice your profession in Portugal, if it is regulated.

What about a NIF, a lease or a bank account?

None of them is on the consulates’ D1 list. In Portugal, AIMA asks for proof of your tax registration (NIF) and of your address: get the NIF early, and plan your home for your first weeks. The US checklist asks for a personal statement instead: why you settle in Portugal, where, and in what kind of home.

Criminal record

From your country of nationality or from any country where you have lived more than a year, apostilled or legalized. It must be recent: check your consulate’s limit (in the US, under 90 days), and ask whether it needs a translation. AIMA does not ask for it again: it checks the Portuguese record itself.

Travel insurance

Consulates ask for travel insurance that covers medical expenses, urgent care and repatriation. The D1 rules set no amount and no length, so check your consulate’s checklist. The €30,000 often quoted is the minimum for Schengen short-stay visas.

Our partner Insurte offers visa-compliant travel insurance, with the certificate sent at once and a refund if your visa is refused.

After the D1 visa: moving to Portugal and your AIMA appointment

Your D1 visa is valid for 4 months and two entries: the time to move, start work and get your residence permit. Before you leave:

• Final preparations: confirm your start date with your employer, tell those concerned at home (your tax authorities, for example), and get your papers in order for AIMA.
• Check what you can take with you: some items may need a Baggage Certificate from your local Portuguese consulate.
• Keep copies of everything you hand in at the consulate, and of your main documents (birth and marriage certificates, diplomas).

Once in Portugal, move into your home, register with social security (NISS) and change the address of your NIF to your Portuguese home.

How do I get my AIMA appointment?

Many residence visas are issued with the AIMA appointment already scheduled: the date and office are in the paperwork the consulate gives you, so read it before you request anything. If no date was assigned, request one through AIMA’s official contact form; appointments are always free. Our AIMA appointment guide explains which option to pick. Go within the visa’s 4 months.

What to bring to your AIMA appointment

• Your passport and your valid D1 visa;
• A sworn declaration from your employer confirming your employment;
• A sworn declaration of your address, with the land registry certificate if you own the home, or your landlord’s declaration if you rent;
• Proof of your tax registration (NIF);
• Proof of your social security registration (NISS).

You don’t need a foreign criminal record: AIMA’s list has none, and it checks the Portuguese record itself.

AIMA has 90 days to decide, which it can extend by 30. The fee for a first permit is €185.60 in AIMA’s 2026 table (€247.30 where the reduced rate does not apply).

How long is the D1 visa valid, and how do you renew it?

• Residence visa: 4 months, two entries, to enter Portugal and go to AIMA.
• First residence permit: 2 years.
• Renewals: 3 years at a time.
• Permanent residence after 5 years with a permit; citizenship after 10.

Ask AIMA to renew at least 30 days before your card expires. You show means of subsistence and a home, that you met your tax and social security obligations, and no prison sentences over a year. AIMA has 60 days to decide, and your receipt counts as your card for 60 days, renewable.

Can you change jobs on a D1?

Yes. Since 11 September 2026, you change employer by telling AIMA, with no new card. To work for yourself instead, you ask AIMA to replace your card with a self-employment permit.

The law lists no job loss among the reasons to cancel a permit; to renew, you show your means again. And while your card is valid, tell AIMA about a change of address within 60 days.

How long can you stay away?

While your card is valid, don’t stay away from Portugal for more than 6 months in a row or 8 months in all without a good reason, or AIMA can cancel it. Permanent residence allows up to 24 months away in a row, or 30 months in three years.

Permanent residence and citizenship with a D1 visa

After five years with a residence permit, you can apply for permanent residence: you need basic Portuguese (an A2 certificate, for example), your means of subsistence and accommodation, and no prison sentence over one year in the last five years. It has no time limit, and its card is renewed every five years.

Ten years after your first residence permit is issued (seven for nationals of Portuguese-speaking countries and EU citizens), you can apply for Portuguese citizenship: an EU passport, to live and work anywhere in the EU, the EEA and Switzerland.

What are the requirements for citizenship through a D1 visa?

Ten years of legal residence, counted from your first residence permit (seven for nationals of Portuguese-speaking countries and EU citizens). You must also prove, by a test or a certificate, that you know Portuguese (level A2 under the current regulation) and, since the 2026 law, Portuguese culture, history and national symbols, citizens’ rights and duties and how the State is organized. You also declare your adherence to the rule of law, show you can support yourself, and must have no conviction that bars it. The new test is still to be set by regulation.

Is the D1 visa right for you?

If you have a job offer in Portugal that covers at least €920 a month, the D1 is the direct route to live and work there, alone or with your family. Prepare your documents carefully and apply together with your family: the move to Portugal will be all the smoother.

Frequently asked questions