2026 guide for Americans moving to Portugal
Pick the visa that fits your life, then follow seven steps from the US to your Portuguese residence card.
Moving to Portugal from the US starts with one choice: the visa that fits your life. As an American, you can visit Portugal for up to 90 days in any 180 without a visa, but to live there you need a residence visa from the consulate for your state, then a residence permit from AIMA.
This guide helps you pick your visa and takes you through the 7 steps, with the costs in dollars, the FBI record, and what changes for your taxes, Social Security and Medicare.
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Yes. As a US citizen, you can visit Portugal without a visa for up to 90 days in any 180, counted with the rest of the Schengen area. Our Schengen calculator counts them for you. That is a visit, not a move: to live in Portugal, you need a residence visa, which you ask for in the US, where you live, before you leave.
The visa is valid for 4 months and two entries. Within that time, you fly to Portugal and ask AIMA, the immigration agency, for your residence permit: 2 years at first, then 3 years at a time. After 5 years comes permanent residence, and after 10, Portuguese citizenship.
Two exceptions. With the passport of an EU country, the foreigners’ law doesn’t apply to you: no visa needed (see our CRUE guide). And the Golden Visa is a permit you ask AIMA for directly: you apply online, then go to an AIMA office in Portugal for your biometric data.
Portugal has no visa just for Americans: you apply for the one that matches what you will live on in Portugal. The main ones, with their 2026 thresholds:
| Visa | For | Threshold |
|---|---|---|
| D7 | Pension, Social Security, rents, investments | €920 a month |
| D8 | Remote work for a US employer or clients | €3,680 a month |
| D1 | A job contract in Portugal | The contract |
| D3 | A highly qualified job | €1,611.39 a month |
| D2 | Your own business or freelance work | No set amount |
| D4 | Study | An admission |
| Golden Visa | Investment | €500,000 fund |
Retiring from the US? The D7 counts your regular income, Social Security and other pensions included, and asks for a year of it in savings: €11,040 for one person in 2026, 50% more for a spouse and 30% more for each child. The US consulates want your income available in a Portuguese bank account, and a home in Portugal secured for at least 12 months.
Working remotely for a US company? The D8 asks for €3,680 a month on average over the last three months, and its US checklist adds a US tax residence certificate. That checklist asks for no savings and no Portuguese lease: a signed statement of where and how you will live instead.
The Golden Visa has other routes too (€250,000 in culture, 10 jobs, a company): our Golden Visa guide compares them. Your family can apply for their visas at the same time as you (family visas).
From your sofa in the US 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.
Retirement or passive income (D7), remote work (D8), a job (D1 or D3), a business (D2), study (D4) or investment (Golden Visa): your visa sets your income test and your documents.
Take the 30-second checkOr ask us in a free callYour Portuguese tax number: banks ask for it to open an account, and a landlord for your lease. You can get it from the US.
Get my NIFFor the D7, the US consulates want your income and savings shown in a Portuguese account. For the other visas, a Portuguese IBAN makes rent and bills simpler once you live there.
Open my accountFor the D7, the US consulates ask for a home secured for at least 12 months. By law, a landlord can ask for at most two months of rent in advance, and a deposit of two months.
Review my leaseOr find your home with usAn FBI record issued less than 90 days before you apply, with its apostille, proof of your US address, travel insurance and your visa's own documents: the full list is below.
Review my visa fileBook your appointment where your state belongs (table below), and pay the $127.11 visa fee, plus $43.91 at a VFS center. The consulate has 60 days to decide.
Find your consulateWithin the visa's 4 months, fly over and go to your AIMA appointment. AIMA has 90 days to decide (up to 120); your first residence card lasts 2 years.
Have your AIMA file checked (€259)| Fee | When | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Visa fee (children under 6 don’t pay) | When you apply | $127.11 |
| VFS Global service fee | At a VFS center | $43.91 |
| FBI Identity History Summary | Before you apply | $18 |
| Fingerprints for the FBI record | Before you apply | About $50 |
| Apostille of the FBI record | Before you apply | $20 |
| First residence permit, at AIMA | In Portugal | €185.60 |
That is about $260 per adult in fees before insurance, flights, your home and the move itself. The AIMA fee is €247.30 where the reduced rate does not apply: see AIMA’s 2026 residence permit fees in our AIMA guide. The Golden Visa costs more at AIMA: €632.10 for the analysis and €6,314.20 for the permit, per person.
By law, the consulate has 60 days to decide on a residence visa; in practice, times vary. In Portugal, AIMA then has 90 days to decide on your residence permit, which it can extend by 30. Order your FBI record so that it is less than 90 days old on the day you apply.
You apply where you live, at the VFS Global center or Portuguese consulate that covers your state. The consulates are in Boston, New Bedford, Providence and Newark. Bring a copy of your lease or driver’s license: it proves your US address, and so your jurisdiction.
| Where you live | Apply at |
|---|---|
| New York, Connecticut, Michigan, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands | VFS New York |
| California, Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming | VFS San Francisco |
| Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Washington DC | VFS DC, Houston, Miami |
| Massachusetts (except the counties below), Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont | Boston |
| Bristol, Barnstable, Dukes and Nantucket counties (MA) | New Bedford |
| Rhode Island | Providence |
| New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware | Newark |
At the VFS centers in New York, Washington DC, Houston and Miami, you pay everything by card. In San Francisco, the visa fee is paid by money order or cashier’s check to the Consulate General of Portugal, and VFS’s fee by card. A family applying together books one appointment, under the main applicant, in Washington DC, Houston, Miami and San Francisco.
Keep a copy of everything you hand in: only your passport comes back. Our guides to VFS Global and to the visa application form walk you through the appointment.
Every residence visa asks for a criminal record from your country of nationality and from any country where you lived more than a year (not needed under 16). If you have lived in the US for over a year, the US consulates want the FBI’s, issued less than 90 days before you apply, with its apostille.
Medicare generally doesn’t cover care outside the US, so look for travel insurance for the visa that does. Our partner Insurte offers travel insurance for visa applications.
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When you move your home to Portugal, your personal belongings enter free of import duty if you owned and used them for at least 6 months before you leave, you lived outside the EU for at least 12 months, and they arrive within 12 months of your move. Alcohol, tobacco, commercial vehicles and work equipment don’t qualify, and for 12 months you can’t lend, rent out or sell what came in duty-free without telling customs first. Our baggage certificate guide explains the paperwork.
Your pet needs a working microchip, a rabies vaccination at least 21 days before travel, and an EU health certificate issued by a USDA-accredited veterinarian and endorsed by USDA within 10 days of arrival. Our guide to moving to Portugal with pets has the details.
Your US driver’s license lets you drive in Portugal, as a resident too, as long as it was issued or last renewed less than 15 years ago and you are under 60. You can also exchange it for a Portuguese license, with no driving test. Our guide to exchanging a foreign license explains how.
Many residence visas are issued with the AIMA appointment already scheduled: the date and office are in the paperwork the consulate gives you. Go within the visa’s 4 months. Once you live in Portugal, change the address of your NIF to your Portuguese home. Our AIMA appointment guide covers how to book it and what to expect.
Moving doesn’t end your US taxes. The IRS taxes US citizens on their worldwide income, wherever they live, and you still file a US return when your income reaches the filing threshold. Living abroad gives you an automatic 2-month extension, to June 15, but interest runs on tax not paid by April 15.
Once you live in Portugal, you usually become a Portuguese tax resident too (more than 183 days in any 12 months, or a home you intend to keep as your habitual residence), and Portugal then taxes your income from everywhere. You file the Portuguese return (IRS) from 1 April to 30 June, for the year before.
What keeps you from paying twice, according to the IRS and the US–Portugal tax treaty:
Two reports even when no tax is due: the FBAR (FinCEN Form 114) once your foreign accounts together pass $10,000 at any time in the year, due April 15 with an automatic extension to October 15; and Form 8938, for taxpayers living abroad, above $200,000 at year end or $300,000 at any time ($400,000 and $600,000 on a joint return).
How this plays out depends on your income. Read our guides to IRS in Portugal and to IFICI, the “NHR 2.0”, put your questions to a lawyer in a 40-minute tax consultation (€249), or have a certified accountant file your Portuguese IRS.
Social Security follows you. As a US citizen, you keep receiving your payments in Portugal as long as you are eligible, and Portugal is on the list of countries where they can go straight into a local bank account. Every year or two, SSA mails a questionnaire to beneficiaries abroad: send it back, or your payments stop.
The US and Portugal have had a Social Security agreement since 1989. It keeps you from paying social security taxes to both countries on the same earnings, and helps people who worked in both qualify for benefits. A self-employed American living in Portugal is covered by Portugal’s system.
Medicare stays in the US. It generally doesn’t cover health care you get outside the country; Part A covers you again when you return. Part B has a monthly premium ($202.90 in 2026). SSA notes that paying for it may not be worth it during a long stay abroad, but if you sign up later, you pay 10% more for each 12-month period you could have had it, usually for as long as you have Part B. Weigh it before you cancel.
For the visa, you need travel insurance that covers medical expenses, urgent care and repatriation. Once you hold your residence permit, you have the right to health care in Portugal’s national health service, the SNS: your residence visa already comes with a provisional SNS number, and for the D7 and D8, AIMA asks for health insurance or proof that the SNS covers you.
Private health insurance opens private hospitals and clinics: our health insurance guide compares the options, and our healthcare guide explains how to register with the SNS. In an emergency, call 112, free, as everywhere in the EU.
Rent is the biggest line. On new leases, the median rent in Portugal was €10.17 per square meter a month in the second quarter of 2026, up 10.2% in a year: €15.24 in Greater Lisbon, €11.56 in the Algarve and €12.78 in Madeira.
Budget above the visa minimums: the D7’s €920 a month is a legal floor, not a comfortable budget. For the move itself, count the first rent and a deposit (two months at most each, by law), furniture, flights and the fees above. Our Portugal vs USA comparison and our guides to Lisbon and Porto go into detail.
If one visa fits your situation, the path is clear: a file built in the US, an appointment at your VFS center or consulate, then AIMA in Portugal. Settle your taxes, Social Security and health cover before you leave, and apply with your family: bringing them later usually means two years of residence first.
Not sure where to live? Our guides to the best cities to retire in Portugal and to international schools help you choose.
Moving from another country? See our guides to moving to Portugal from the UK, Canada, Brazil, Germany, France, Italy and the Netherlands.
The rules, amounts and fees in this guide were checked on 22 October 2026 against the law and the official portals:
Written by Brenda L., relocation expert at AnchorLess. This guide explains the rules: it is not tax advice.
A residence visa that matches what you will live on (a pension or other passive income, remote work, a job, a business, study or an investment), asked for at the VFS center or consulate for your state. For all of them: a passport valid 3 months beyond your stay, an FBI record less than 90 days old with its apostille, travel insurance, proof of your US address, and the means your visa asks for. In Portugal, AIMA then gives you a residence permit.
The one that matches your income: the D7 for retirees and passive income (€920 a month in 2026), the D8 for remote workers (€3,680 a month), the D1 or D3 for a job in Portugal, the D2 for a business, the study visa for students, and the Golden Visa for investors.
Up to 90 days in any 180-day period, counted with the other Schengen countries, as a visitor. To live or work in Portugal, you need a residence visa.
In fees, about $260 per adult: the $127.11 visa fee, VFS’s $43.91, the FBI record ($18, plus about $50 for fingerprints) and its $20 apostille. Then €185.60 for your first residence permit at AIMA. Add insurance, flights, your home and the move itself.
At the VFS Global center or Portuguese consulate for your state: VFS in New York, Washington DC, Houston, Miami or San Francisco, or the consulates in Boston, New Bedford, Providence and Newark, for New England, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware.
You still file: the US taxes its citizens on their worldwide income wherever they live. The foreign tax credit and the foreign earned income exclusion ($132,900 in 2026, for pay from work) help you avoid paying twice, and you report foreign accounts over $10,000 on the FBAR. Portugal taxes you too once you are its tax resident.
Social Security, yes: as a US citizen, you can receive your payments in Portugal, into a Portuguese bank account if you wish. Medicare generally doesn’t cover care outside the US, so plan other health cover in Portugal.
Yes, if it was issued or last renewed less than 15 years ago and you are under 60. You can also exchange it for a Portuguese license without a driving test.
Yes.
Your spouse or partner, your children and dependent parents can apply for their residence visas at the same time as you. Bringing them later, through family reunification, usually takes two years of residence first.
By law, the consulate has 60 days to decide on a residence visa. The visa is then valid 4 months, to fly to Portugal and go to AIMA, which has 90 days (up to 120) to decide on your residence permit.
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