7 ways to get Portuguese residency in 2025

Portugal is Europe's westernmost country, washed by the Atlantic Ocean and sharing a land border with Spain. It has a rich history, a distinctive culture, beautiful cities and enchanting countryside. Over the past few decades it has developed rapidly and become one of the continent's most popular tourist destinations - quite a turnaround for a country that, until recently, sat on the far edge of Europe.

Grounds for Portuguese residency

Study in Portugal

Residency is granted to students enrolled at local universities on bachelor's, master's or doctoral programmes.

Family reunification

If a member of your family already holds Portuguese resident status, you can apply for residency through family reunification. One important condition applies to parents and adult children: the applicant must be financially dependent on the resident.

Employment

Residency is issued to professionals who have signed an employment contract with a Portuguese company for a term of more than four months.

Marriage to a Portuguese citizen

If your spouse is a Portuguese citizen, you are entitled to residency.

Financial independence

If the applicant has passive income above the subsistence minimum (820 euros a month) and owns a home in Portugal, they and their family are entitled to residency.

Digital nomad visa

Foreigners who work remotely can obtain residency through the digital nomad visa. You will need to show income of more than 3,280 euros a month, along with savings of at least 9,840 euros.

Investment

Residency by investment - the golden visa - is one of the simplest ways to secure resident status. The minimum investment starts at 250,000 euros. Applicants do not need to prove knowledge of Portuguese or obtain an entry visa beforehand.

Start-up

Launching your own start-up in Portugal is a separate route to residency.

What does Portuguese residency give you?

• Freedom of movement. One of the main advantages of Portuguese residency is visa-free entry to the EU, along with the ability to live in any EU country for 90 out of every 180 days.
• Access to European education and healthcare.
• A lighter tax burden. Foreigners who have just obtained resident status can qualify for a preferential tax regime, with a flat rate of 20%.
• A path to a Portuguese passport after 10 years of legal residence, or 7 years for citizens of EU and Portuguese-speaking countries.
• Life in a safe and comfortable environment.

What changed in 2025-2026

• Since June 2024 you can no longer arrive without a visa and obtain residence on the spot through an expression of interest to work: the right visa must be obtained from a consulate before entry.
• Since 23 October 2025 new family reunification rules apply: in most cases a resident can bring relatives only after two years of legal residence.
• Since 19 May 2026 citizenship requires ten years of legal residence in Portugal, seven for nationals of Portuguese-speaking countries and the EU, plus a test on language, culture, history and national symbols.
• Residence permits are issued and renewed by the Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum, and since 16 February 2026 golden visa renewals go only through its online portal.

Amounts for 2026

Income requirements are tied to Portugal's minimum wage, which is EUR 920 a month in 2026.

Dollar amounts use the European Central Bank rate of 5 October 2026, rounded up. The amounts in the article above refer to earlier years. For remote work, average income must meet the threshold for at least 3 months before applying.

Family reunification under the new rules

• General rule: apply after two years of the resident's legal residence.
• Minor or dependent children: you can apply immediately.
• Spouses without children together: after 15 months of residence, if the couple lived together for at least 18 months before entry.
• New conditions: housing, sufficient income for everyone, and a course in Portuguese and constitutional values for arriving relatives.

Families are therefore better off moving together on one basis rather than one by one.

The golden visa in 2026

Buying a home no longer qualifies for the golden visa. The remaining options are:

• from EUR 500,000, about $560,200, in an investment fund supervised by Portugal's Securities Market Commission;
• from EUR 500,000 in scientific research;
• from EUR 250,000, about $280,100, in arts and cultural heritage;
• creating at least 10 jobs, or investing from EUR 500,000 in a Portuguese company's capital and creating 5 permanent jobs.

Living in the country is not required: on average 7 days a year is enough. After five years you can apply for permanent residence.

Taxes for new residents

The former preferential regime for new residents closed to new applicants on 1 January 2024. It was replaced by a tax incentive for scientific and innovation activity: 20% on income from qualifying work or business in Portugal for 10 years. It does not suit everyone, so we calculate taxes before choosing a residence basis. See taxes in Portugal.

How to choose a basis

How we help

We choose a basis for your income and plans, calculate taxes, prepare documents for the consulate and the Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum, and handle the visa, residence permit and renewals, then the path to citizenship. More options on the Portugal residence permit page. Write in the chat and a manager will calculate the cost of our support.

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