2026 guide to Portugal’s visas
Every Portuguese visa on one page: which one fits your life, what it asks for, what it costs, and the 7 steps to your residence card.
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A Portugal visa is what citizens of countries outside the EU, the EEA and Switzerland need to live in Portugal: a residence visa, from the D1 for a job to the D8 for remote work, that you ask for at the Portuguese consulate where you live, before you move.
In 2026 a national visa costs €110 and the consulate has 60 days to decide. This guide compares every visa, the requirements they share, and the 7 steps from your application to your residence card.
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Your spouse and children can apply with you, at the same time. Two visas fit, or none? Ask us in a free call. An EU, EEA or Swiss citizen? You need no visa: our CRUE guide explains how to register.
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Portugal issues three kinds of visas, for three lengths of stay, and one route skips the consulate:
As a rule, a visit does not turn into residence: you ask for your residence visa at the consulate or visa center where you live, before you move. The rest of this guide is about the visas that let you move.
Each residence visa matches what you will live on in Portugal. The main ones, with their 2026 thresholds:
| Visa | For | From (2026) |
|---|---|---|
| D1 | A job offer in Portugal | €920 a month |
| D2 | Your own business or freelance work | €11,040 of means |
| D3 | A highly qualified job | €1,611 a month |
| D4 | A degree at a Portuguese university | €11,040 a year |
| D5 | An exchange semester or year | €920 a month |
| D6 | Joining family living in Portugal | 2 years’ residence |
| D7 | A pension, rents or investments | €920 a month |
| D8 | Remote work for clients abroad | €3,680 a month |
| Golden Visa | An investment kept five years | €250,000 |
Nationals of Portuguese-speaking countries apply for the same visas, with a lighter process: the CPLP regime below.
For a job in Portugal you already have: a work contract, a promise of contract or an employer’s expression of interest. The job must pay at least the minimum wage, €920 a month in 2026, and your contract is your proof of means: no savings are asked. There has been no labor market test or yearly quota since 2022, and since September 2026 you change employer by telling AIMA. A visa to come and look for work is not available: since October 2025 it is reserved for specialized technical skills, still to be listed by a regulation. Our D1 guide.
Three routes: a service contract or proposal in a liberal profession (freelancers), a company or an investment in Portugal (entrepreneurs), or an incubation contract with a certified incubator (the Startup Visa). The law sets no minimum investment; you show means of €11,040 for one person (€16,560 for a couple), available in Portugal. Our D2 guide.
For a highly qualified job, a service contract, or an invitation from a university, a research center or a recognized cultural entity. As an employee, you earn at least €1,611.39 a month (three times the 2026 IAS) on a contract of at least 6 months, and hold a degree or five years of comparable experience. Your family can join you without the two-year wait. Our D3 guide.
The D4 is for students admitted by a Portuguese university or polytechnic to a full-time degree program of more than a year: you show €11,040 for your first year (€920 a month), or half if your housing is secured, and a scholarship counts. Your permit lasts up to 3 years, and you may work. The D5 covers an exchange: part of your studies in Portugal through a program or an agreement with your university, with €920 a month of means. Already a student with a residence permit in another EU country? You need no visa: you notify AIMA at least 30 days ahead. Our D4 guide and our D5 guide.
For the family of someone who lives in Portugal on a residence permit: a spouse or partner, minor or dependent children, dependent parents. The resident must have held the permit for two years (15 months for a spouse they lived with for 18 months before moving; no wait for minor children), and earn enough for everyone: €920 a month, plus €460 per adult and €276 per child. AIMA decides first, within 9 months, then the family asks for its visas. Moving together avoids the wait: your family can apply for their visas at the same time as you. Our D6 guide.
For people who live on a regular income of their own: a pension, rents, dividends, interest or royalties. You need €920 a month of income and €11,040 in savings, available in Portugal, for one person: 50% more for a spouse and 30% more for each child. Our D7 guide.
For remote workers employed by, or working for clients in, other countries. You show an average income of €3,680 a month over the last three months (four times the 2026 minimum wage): the law asks for income, not savings. Our D8 guide.
A residence permit for investors, asked from AIMA with no consular visa. Real estate no longer qualifies: €500,000 in a Portuguese fund, a company creating jobs or research, €250,000 in arts and heritage, or 10 jobs created. You keep the investment five years and spend 7 days in Portugal in the first year, then 14 days in every two years. Our Golden Visa guide.
Portugal and the other Portuguese-speaking countries, Brazil among them, signed the CPLP mobility agreement in Luanda on 17 July 2021. Where it is in force, their nationals apply for the visa of their purpose (work, study, retirement…) with a lighter process:
To visit, often yes: Brazilians, for example, stay up to 90 days in any 180 without a visa. To live in Portugal, no. Until October 2025, a CPLP national could enter as a visitor and ask AIMA for a CPLP residence permit there; since Lei 61/2025, in force on 23 October 2025, the CPLP permit is for holders of a residence visa, asked at the consulate before you move. Our CPLP visa guide goes into detail.
Each visa adds its own documents (a contract, an admission, proof of income), but every residence visa application rests on the same base:
Two Portuguese numbers come first, because the bank and the landlord ask for them: your NIF (tax number) and a Portuguese bank account. You don’t need to speak Portuguese for the visa.
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Retirement or passive income (D7), remote work (D8), a job (D1 or D3), a business (D2), study (D4), family (D6) 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: the bank, the landlord and the visa form all ask for it. You can get it from abroad.
Get my NIFConsulates want your means available in Portugal: in practice, a statement of a Portuguese account. Once you live there, it pays your rent and bills.
Open my accountA lease (consulates usually ask for at least 12 months), a deed, or a term of responsibility from someone who hosts you.
Review my leaseOr find your home with usCriminal record with its apostille, travel insurance, proof of means and accommodation, photos, and your visa’s own documents: the common list is above, each visa’s guide has the rest.
Review my visa fileFill in the form, book your appointment at the Portuguese consulate or VFS Global center for where you live, and pay the €110 fee. 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 |
|---|---|---|
| National visa fee, temporary stay or residence (children under 6 don’t pay) | When you apply | €110 |
| Service fee of VFS Global or another provider | Where one handles applications | Varies |
| Schengen short-stay visa, for a visit (child aged 6 to 12: €45) | Before a visit | €90 |
| First residence permit, at AIMA | In Portugal | €185.60 |
The AIMA fee is €247.30 where the reduced rate does not apply: see the AIMA Portugal fee table in our guide. The Golden Visa costs more at AIMA: €632.10 for the analysis and €6,314.20 for the permit, per person. Add the apostilles of your documents, any translation your consulate asks for, and your insurance.
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.
Your residence visa is valid for 4 months and two entries: the time to move and ask AIMA for your residence permit. Many 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 guide to getting an AIMA appointment explains which option to pick.
At the appointment, AIMA takes your biometric data and checks your passport and visa, your means of subsistence, your address, your tax and social security registration if you have them, and your health cover. It needs no foreign criminal record: it checks the Portuguese one itself. AIMA has 90 days to decide, which it can extend by 30, then your card arrives at your address.
With your permit you may work in Portugal, employed or self-employed, and visit the other Schengen countries for up to 90 days in any 180. While it 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.
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: you prove that you know Portuguese and, since the 2026 law, Portuguese culture, history and national symbols, citizens’ rights and duties and how the State is organized. An EU passport then lets you live and work anywhere in the EU, the EEA and Switzerland.
Start from what you will live on: your own income (D7), remote work (D8), a job (D1 or D3), your business (D2), your studies (D4) or an investment (Golden Visa). One visa usually fits clearly; prepare its file carefully and apply together with your family, and the move will be all the smoother.
Moving from a particular country? Our guides for moving from the US, the UK, Canada, Brazil, Germany, France, Italy and the Netherlands add your country’s side: where to apply, your documents, your taxes.
The rules, amounts and fees in this guide were checked on 26 October 2026 against the law and the official portals:
Written by Brenda L., relocation expert at AnchorLess. Each visa has its own guide, with its full sources.
For a residence visa: be a citizen of a country outside the EU, the EEA and Switzerland, with a valid passport, a criminal record certificate, travel insurance, proof of means of subsistence available in Portugal (based on the €920 minimum wage in 2026), proof of accommodation, and the €110 fee. Each visa adds its own condition: a job contract (D1), €920 a month of your own income (D7), €3,680 a month from remote work (D8), a university admission (D4)…
Three kinds: the Schengen short-stay visa, for visits of up to 90 days in any 180; the temporary stay visa, for less than a year; and the residence visa (D1 to D8), to live in Portugal and get a residence permit. The Golden Visa is a residence permit for investors, asked from AIMA directly.
The one that matches what you will live on: a pension or other income of your own (D7), remote work for clients abroad (D8), a job in Portugal (D1, or D3 if highly qualified), your own business (D2), studies (D4), family living in Portugal (D6) or an investment (Golden Visa). Not sure? Ask us in a free call.
A national visa, temporary stay or residence, costs €110 per applicant; children under 6 don’t pay. A provider such as VFS Global adds its own service fee. A Schengen short-stay visa costs €90 for an adult. In Portugal, a first residence permit costs €185.60 at AIMA (€247.30 where the reduced rate does not apply).
By law, the consulate has 60 days to decide on a residence visa. The visa is then valid 4 months, to travel to Portugal and go to AIMA, which has 90 days (up to 120) to decide on your residence permit.
Yes, with a visa that does not need one: the D7 if you live on a pension or other income of your own, the D8 if you work remotely for an employer or clients abroad, the D2 for your own business, or the D4 to study. The job seeker visa is not available: since October 2025 it is reserved for specialized technical skills, still to be listed by a regulation.
As a rule, no: you ask for your residence visa at the consulate or visa center where you live, before you move, then for your residence permit at AIMA in Portugal. Since October 2025, this applies to nationals of Portuguese-speaking countries too. The Golden Visa is the exception: you ask AIMA for it directly.
Yes. Your spouse or partner, your children and dependent parents can apply for their visas at the same time as you, to come with you. Later, family reunification (D6) needs two years of residence first, except for minor children.
No, not for the visa. Portuguese counts later: basic Portuguese (an A2 certificate, for example) for permanent residence after five years, and Portuguese and knowledge of the country for citizenship.
Yes: with your residence visa, then your residence permit, you can visit the other Schengen countries for up to 90 days in any 180. Living or working there needs their own permit.
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