Portugal D5 Visa: Student Mobility in 2026

What changed in 2025 and 2026

• No more switching in Portugal: since 11 September 2026, a student who entered without a residence visa can no longer get a student permit there. Get the visa first.
• Visa fee of €110 since March 2025 (it was €90).
• Means of €920 a month in 2026, the new minimum wage.
• Family later takes two years: since October 2025, family reunification needs two years with a permit first, except for your minor children.
• Citizenship after ten years of legal residence since May 2026 (seven for nationals of Portuguese-speaking countries and EU citizens), student years included.

What is the Portugal D5 visa (student mobility visa)?

The D5 was Portugal's residence visa for higher-education student mobility: for a student already enrolled in another EU country who wanted to follow part of the program in Portugal. Until 2017, the foreigners' law gave it an article of its own.

In 2017, Portugal brought in the EU rules on students and researchers (Directive 2016/801) and dropped that visa. A student who already holds a residence permit in another EU country, under an EU or multilateral program or an agreement between universities, now comes with no visa and notifies AIMA.

The consulates' portal doesn't use D-letters either: it lists one residence visa for research, study, exchanges, internships and volunteering, with "mobility program / exchange program" among its purposes. So today, "D5" means one of two routes:

What the D5 gives you

• Study in Portugal for your exchange or program, and work alongside it, employed or self-employed.
• Visit the other Schengen countries for up to 90 days in any 180 (to travel, not to live or study there).
• Equal treatment with Portuguese citizens in many areas, at work included.
• After a degree in Portugal, up to a year to look for work or start a company.
• On a residence permit, your years count toward permanent residence (five years) and Portuguese citizenship (ten).

D5 visa requirements: who is eligible?

The D5 is for higher-education students from outside the EU, the EEA and Switzerland who come to Portugal for part of their studies. On the residence visa route, you need:

• An admission by a Portuguese higher-education institution, through an exchange program or an agreement between your university and the Portuguese one.
• Enough means of subsistence for the stay (below).
• Health insurance for the planned stay, and travel insurance.
• A clean criminal record, and a passport valid 3 months beyond your stay.

Internships, volunteering, research and secondary-school exchanges are not D5 cases. They use the same residence visa at the consulate, with their own documents and permits.

D5 or D4?

Both start with the same residence visa at the consulate. What differs is your program, and the permit you get in Portugal:

A permit is shorter when your program is: it then lasts as long as the program. A full degree in Portugal is a D4 case: see our D4 student visa guide.

Already studying in another EU country? Mobility without a visa

If you hold a residence permit as a higher-education student in another EU country, and you come under an EU or multilateral program with mobility (Erasmus+ is the EU's), or an agreement between your university and the Portuguese one, you need no visa.

You can study in Portugal for up to 360 days, and work alongside your studies. How it works:

1. Notify AIMA at least 30 days before your mobility starts. You or your Portuguese university send it, preferably by email, with AIMA's form (Modelo 6) and its €28.40 fee.
2. Attach a copy of your passport, your residence permit from the other EU country (valid for the whole stay), your admission under the program or agreement, a criminal record, proof of means, health insurance, and proof of tuition paid if any.
3. AIMA has 30 days to object. If it doesn't, it issues a declaration that you may stay and use your rights: there is no residence card.

Not covered by a program or an agreement between universities? This route is closed to you: apply for the residence visa like any student from outside the EU, in the 7 steps below.

How much money do you need for a D5 visa?

Consulates check your means of subsistence against the Portuguese minimum wage: €920 a month in 2026. For study or an exchange, you show it for 12 months, or for the months of your exchange program.

What counts: your own money, a scholarship or grant, a work contract, or a term of responsibility signed by your exchange program, or by a Portuguese citizen or legal resident who covers your food and housing. With housing secured you can show half; with housing and food, as little as 10%.

Some students show no means at all: holders of a study grant who tell the consulate (a Camões scholarship, for example), students admitted to an institution approved for this purpose, and nationals of Portuguese-speaking countries admitted to a university.

Can your family join you on a D5 visa?

Yes, on the residence visa route. Your family can apply for their residence visas at the same time as you, to come with you. For each of them, you show more means: 50% more for an adult, 30% more for a child.

Later, family reunification for a student is narrower: only your spouse and your minor or adopted children count. Since October 2025, it also needs two years with a permit first (15 months for a spouse you lived with for 18 months before; no wait for your minor children, nor for their other parent).

The no-visa route has no family rule of its own: check your family's situation with us before you plan around it.

How to apply for the Portugal D5 visa in 7 steps

From your sofa to your Portuguese residence card, on the residence visa route. 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 your route

   Already a student with a residence permit in another EU country, on a program or an agreement? You need no visa. Anywhere else: the student residence visa.

   Take the 30-second check
2. 2

   Get your admission letter

   From the Portuguese university, for part of your studies, under your exchange program or the agreement between the two universities. Pay any tuition it charges: AIMA will ask for the proof.

   Book a free call
3. 3

   Get your NIF

   Your Portuguese tax number. You need it to open a Portuguese bank account, and you can get it from abroad.

   With us: from €99By email from 24 hours

   Get my NIF
4. 4

   Show your means

   €920 a month for 12 months, or for the months of your exchange. A grant, a scholarship or a term of responsibility counts. Want your money in Portugal before you land? We open your account remotely.

   Bank account with us: €359Opened remotely

   Open my account
5. 5

   Secure your home

   A lease or a room in a residence. With your housing secured, you show half the means, and AIMA will ask for your address in Portugal.

   Lease checked by a lawyer: €99In 48 hours

   Review my leaseOr find your home with us
6. 6

   Build your file and apply at the consulate

   Form, passport, insurance, criminal record, admission and means: the full checklist is below. Book the consulate or VFS Global center for where you live, and pay the €110 fee. The consulate has 60 days to decide.

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

   Review my visa fileFind your consulate
7. 7

   Fly to Portugal and get your residence permit

   Within the visa's 4 months, go to AIMA with your enrollment and tuition proofs. AIMA has 90 days to decide (60 for an approved institution); on an exchange, your first card lasts up to 2 years.

   AIMA fee: €185.60First card: up to 2 years

   Have your AIMA file checked (€259)

How much does the D5 visa cost?

Children under 6 and holders of a Portuguese State scholarship pay no 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 any apostille or translation your consulate asks for, your insurance and your tuition.

How long does the D5 visa take?

By law, the consulate has 60 days to decide on a residence visa. In Portugal, AIMA then has 90 days to decide on a student permit, or 60 if your institution is approved. On the no-visa route, AIMA has 30 days to object to your notice.

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 (60 if approved)
5. 2 yearsyour first card on an exchange, at most
6. 5 yearspermanent residence
7. 10 yearscitizenship

Why are D5 applications refused?

A Portuguese visa refusal comes when one of the law's general conditions is missing, for example:

• Means of subsistence below the threshold;
• No valid passport, or no travel insurance;
• A conviction for a crime punishable in Portugal by more than a year in prison;
• An entry ban in the Schengen Information System.

A doubt about your file? AnchorLess offers a free call to clear it up.

D5 visa documents checklist

For the residence visa, the consulates' list for higher-education students. Some documents are Portuguese and come first, like your NIF if you open a bank account.

• The national visa application form, signed, and 2 recent passport photos;
• A passport valid at least 3 months beyond your stay, with a copy;
• If you apply outside your country of nationality, proof of your legal residence there, valid beyond the visa;
• Your admission by a Portuguese higher-education institution, under your exchange program or the agreement between the universities;
• Proof of your means of subsistence (above);
• Travel insurance covering medical expenses, urgent care and repatriation, and health insurance for the planned stay;
• A criminal record certificate from your country of nationality and from any country where you lived more than a year, apostilled or legalized (not needed under 16);
• A signed personal statement: why you come, where you will live and in what housing (the US centers ask for one);
• The visa fee.

Admitted to an institution approved for this purpose? You skip the health and travel insurance, the proof of admission and the proof of means.

Criminal record

It must be apostilled or legalized, and recent: check your consulate's limit (in the US, under 90 days), and ask whether it needs a translation.

Insurance

The consulates ask for travel insurance that covers medical expenses, urgent care and repatriation, and the law adds health insurance for the planned stay. The €30,000 often quoted is the minimum for Schengen short-stay visas: the national visa rules set no amount. Our partner Insurte sells travel insurance made for visa applications.

After the D5 visa: your AIMA appointment

Your residence visa is valid for 4 months and two entries: the time to move and ask AIMA for your residence permit. Many residence visas, student ones included, are issued with the AIMA appointment already scheduled: the date and office are in the paperwork the consulate gives you.

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 AIMA

• Your passport and your residence visa;
• A sworn declaration of your address, with the land registry certificate if you own the home, or your landlord's or residence's declaration if you rent;
• Proof of your means of subsistence;
• A criminal record from your country of nationality or the country where you lived more than a year (AIMA's list for students asks for it);
• Proof of your enrollment at the institution, and of the tuition paid if it charges any;
• Health insurance, or proof that you are covered by the SNS.

Admitted to an approved institution? You skip the proofs of means and tuition. With a Camões scholarship, you also skip the enrollment proof and the insurance.

AIMA has 90 days to decide (60 for an approved institution); then your residence card arrives at your address. The fee for a first permit is €185.60 in AIMA's 2026 table (€247.30 where the reduced rate does not apply), paid on your own payment slip (DUC). Once settled, change the address of your NIF to your Portuguese home.

Can you work in Portugal on a D5 visa?

Yes. A student permit lets you work alongside your studies, employed or self-employed, with no separate authorization. The law sets no weekly limit: the work must stay complementary to the studies your visa was issued for.

The no-visa route allows the same, within its 360 days. At work, you get equal treatment with Portuguese citizens.

How long is the D5 valid, and how do you renew it?

Each permit lasts as long as your program when it is shorter. On an exchange, it can be one year if your admission or your means were not complete when AIMA granted it.

Renew at AIMA up to 30 days before your card expires, with updated proofs of enrollment, means and address, and your tax and social security obligations met. The receipt of your renewal request counts as your card for 60 days, renewable.

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.

After your studies: work, permanent residence and citizenship

On an exchange, your permit ends with your program. To stay on, you need a permit of another kind: for a full degree, a job or a company.

Finished a degree in Portugal on a student permit? You can stay up to a year to look for work or start a company that fits your qualifications, without a new visa. Found a job after a bachelor's degree? You can usually switch to a work permit without a visa; the exception is a student permit issued under a cooperation agreement.

Permanent residence and citizenship

After five years with a residence permit, student years included, you can apply for permanent residence: you need basic Portuguese (an A2 certificate, for example), means of subsistence, housing, and no prison sentence over one year in the last five years.

Ten years of legal residence (seven for nationals of Portuguese-speaking countries and EU citizens) open Portuguese citizenship. The law counts residence under any permit, student ones included, and adds up separate periods within twelve years (nine for those nationals).

You also prove, by a test or a certificate, that you know Portuguese and the country's culture, history and symbols, and how the State is organized. You declare your adherence to the rule of law, and show you can support yourself. The new test is still to be set by regulation.

Is the D5 right for you?

If your university sends you to Portugal for part of your studies, the D5 route is the simplest way in: no visa at all from another EU country, or a student visa and a permit of up to two years from anywhere else. Check your route first, then build your file: the rest follows.

Frequently asked questions