Portugal digital nomad visa (D8)

Status in 2026: the programme is open

Portugal's digital nomad visa, commonly called D8, is open. It was introduced by Law 18/2022 of 25 August 2022, which added to the Foreigners Act (Law 23/2007) a temporary stay visa for remote work (article 54) and a visa to obtain a residence permit (article 61-B). In 2026 both provisions are in force, consulates accept applications and the migration agency AIMA issues residence permits on the visa.

Nobody plans to close the programme, but almost everything around it that shapes a relocation decision has changed:

• the income threshold rose to $4,200 a month: it equals four Portuguese minimum wages and rises with them;
• since 23 October 2025, under Law 61/2025, a spouse without shared minor children gets a family reunification permit only after the main applicant has held a permit for 15 months or two years;
• since 19 May 2026, under Organic Law 1/2026, most foreigners can naturalise only after 10 years of residence instead of five;
• the NHR regime has been closed to newcomers since 2024.

What changed in 2025-2026

What has not changed: the requirements for the applicant and the permit term of 2 years with 3-year renewals.

Two formats: temporary stay visa and residence visa

The D8 label covers two documents with almost identical requirements but different consequences.

If the goal is to relocate, choose the residence visa. On the temporary visa, watch your day count: tax residence arises from actual presence, not from the visa type.

Who can apply and what is required

D8 is designed for people whose income comes from outside Portugal: employees of foreign companies, and self-employed people or business owners who serve clients abroad. The law requires proof of an employment relationship or of services provided to individuals or companies domiciled or registered outside Portugal.

There is no list of eligible nationalities. You apply at a Portuguese consulate or visa centre in your country of nationality or legal residence; in the second case you attach proof of legal status valid beyond the requested visa.

Working for Portuguese employers and clients is not what D8 is built for: the point of the status is income from abroad. If you gain a local employer or a main client in Portugal, the right move is to switch to another type of permit.

Income of $4,200: how the threshold works

The threshold equals four guaranteed minimum monthly wages (RMMG). It therefore rises every January with the minimum wage, and older articles quoting the 2023 or 2024 thresholds are out of date.

Under an agreement between the government, employers and unions, the minimum wage is planned to rise by about $60 a year, to $1,200 in 2028, so the D8 threshold would grow by roughly $240 a month each year.

• Actual income over three months is what counts, not a forecast. A new contract signed a week before applying, with no payment history, is a weak point.
• For the self-employed, receipts matter: contracts and bank statements; large irregular payments are backed by invoices.
• Savings. The official D8 checklists we reviewed (the Tokyo and Toronto consulates, 2025) have no separate line on savings. But consulates may request additional documents, and in practice a benchmark of 12 minimum wages, $13,000 in 2026, often comes up.
• Family. Funds for the family follow the scale in Portaria 1563/2007: first adult 100%, second adult 50%, each child 30%. Whether a consulate applies the percentages to the minimum wage or to the D8 threshold varies in practice.
• Currency. Income in dollars, roubles or tenge is converted into euros; if the exchange rate falls, you may drop below the threshold even though your pay has not changed.

Government fees and mandatory costs

Official charges only. Amounts are converted from euros at the official European Central Bank rate and rounded up. Translations, apostilles, insurance and rent are calculated case by case.

Under the AIMA table, applications through the digital channel get a 25% discount, and until a service moves to digital, the same discount applies in person. So the final amount may be lower: about $120 instead of $150 and about $100 instead of $130. Each family member pays fees.

Step-by-step process and timelines

NIF is the tax number, NISS the social security number and SNS the health service number. By law, the receipt for a permit renewal application works as the permit itself for 60 days and can be extended. When AIMA drags its feet, foreigners go to the administrative court with an action to compel it; see our article on lawsuits against AIMA.

Documents

For the visa, besides the documents in the requirements table, you need the national visa form, photos, a passport copy and consent to a check in the Portuguese criminal records database. Income is proven with bank statements, payslips or invoices.

For the residence permit at AIMA

• valid passport and residence visa;
• a declaration from the employer or client domiciled outside Portugal confirming the employment relationship or services;
• a declaration of address stating the basis of occupancy: owner, tenant, subtenant and so on;
• for owners, a land registry certificate; for tenants, a statement from the landlord or host.

Foreign documents usually need an apostille and a Portuguese translation. The consulate decides on the visa at its own discretion.

Family: what Law 61/2025 changed

Family members can apply for visas at the same time as the main applicant: that option in article 58 of Law 23/2007 has been kept. But in Portugal their residence permits are processed under the family reunification rules, which became stricter on 23 October 2025.

Besides the waiting period, you need housing that is normal for a family of that size and enough funds for everyone without social benefits. After receiving permits, family members must attend Portuguese courses and a course on constitutional principles, and children must attend school; renewal depends on this. A reunification application is decided within 9 months, with a possible extension; in exceptional cases the minister can shorten or waive the waiting period.

Taxes for D8 holders

D8 is an immigration status, not a tax regime. You become tax resident in Portugal if you spend more than 183 days in any 12-month period or have a home there in circumstances suggesting you intend to live in it permanently. Residents pay IRS (personal income tax) on worldwide income. How the 183-day rule works across countries is covered separately.

Rates and calculations for all taxes are on the page taxes in Portugal, and comparisons with other countries in the section taxes by country.

Renewal, permanent residence and citizenship

Renewing the permit

Renewal requires means of subsistence and housing, met tax and social security obligations and no prison sentences over one year; for D8, in practice you also show that the remote work continues. Apply at least 30 days before expiry.

The main trap for a nomad is absence. A temporary permit can be cancelled if, without valid reasons, you spent six consecutive months or eight months in total outside Portugal during the card's validity. The law makes an exception for professional or business activity abroad and lets you justify the absence to AIMA in advance, but relying on it while working remotely from anywhere is risky.

Permanent residence

After five years of temporary residence you can apply for permanent residence: you need funds, housing, no serious convictions and basic Portuguese (usually proven with an A2 certificate). The alternative is EU long-term resident status, which also requires five years of residence.

Citizenship under the new law

Even the first nomads who got status in 2022-2023 could not have reached five years before 19 May 2026, so all D8 holders now face 10 years, or 7 with an EU or CPLP passport. AIMA delays in issuing cards push back the citizenship date directly. Portugal allows dual citizenship. A child born in Portugal can get citizenship if one parent had lived there legally for at least five years at the time of birth; see Portuguese citizenship by birth.

Risks, refusals and the uncomfortable truth

• A passport in five years is no longer a selling point. If EU citizenship is the main goal, Portugal is now one of the slower options. Compare routes in the section second citizenship.
• A couple without children moves at different times. A spouse without shared minor children generally has to wait 15 months or 2 years.
• AIMA is the bottleneck. Appointments, decisions and card issuance often take longer than the legal deadlines, and residence time for citizenship depends on the card issue date.
• A visa refusal costs money and time. The fee is not refunded. Typical reasons: income below the threshold, mismatches between contracts and statements, no proof of tax residence, a certificate without an apostille.
• Taxes can eat the benefit. NHR is gone, IRS rates go up to 48%, and the self-employed also pay social security.
• Not every employer will agree. An employee working permanently from Portugal can create tax and employment obligations there for a foreign company. Get the employer's written consent before applying.
• Housing with paperwork. AIMA needs proof of the right to occupy your home; short-term rentals without a contract cause problems.
• Absences. Living in Portugal a couple of months a year on D8 will not work: absence limits put renewal at risk.

Alternatives in Portugal and neighbouring countries

If you need Portugal as an EU base rather than for the passport, D8 is still a good structure. The country overview is on the page Portugal.

What to check before applying

1. Income. Does your average income over the last three months reach $4,200, and is that visible in bank statements, not just in a contract?
2. Consulate. Where can you apply, and which checklist applies there, including savings and housing?
3. Family. Who moves right away, and who will have to wait 15 months or 2 years?
4. Taxes. How much is left after IRS and contributions, and what happens to residence in your previous country?
5. Horizon. Are you ready for 10 years to citizenship and for the limits on absence?

What the digital nomad visa gives you

FAQ