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Country visa guide

Portugal digital nomad visa (D8): income, duration and tax

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Portugal's nomad route has a proper name (the D8) and here is the thing that catches people out: it is two different visas hiding under one label. One lets you stay up to a year without settling. The other starts you down the road to residency and, in time, citizenship. Below is what really sets them apart, what you need to earn, and why the tax picture flipped in 2024.

The facts at a glance

Visa name D8, the visa "for the exercise of a professional activity done remotely" in the MNE's own wording
Minimum income About €3,680/month, 4× the Portuguese minimum wage (€920 in 2026) The MNE asks for the average of your last three months, so a single strong month will not carry the file.
Savings shown Typically 12× the Portuguese minimum wage (about €11,040 in 2026) evidenced in a bank account, on top of the income This one is consulate practice, not a published rule: the MNE's own document list for the D8 asks for the income proof, not a savings balance. Ask your consulate what it wants to see.
Two routes Temporary-stay visa (under 1 year, multi-entry) OR residency visa (valid 4 months, two entries → AIMA residence permit)
Residency duration Residence permit valid 2 years, renewable for successive 3-year periods
Permanent residence & citizenship Permanent residence after 5 years holding a temporary residence permit. Citizenship is slower since the 2026 reform: 7 years for EU citizens and nationals of Portuguese-speaking countries, 10 years for everyone else (applications already pending on 19 May 2026 keep the old 5-year rule) The same reform stopped the clock counting from the day you filed: only time you actually held a valid title counts, and those years must fall inside 9 years (EU and Portuguese-speaking countries) or 12 years for everyone else.
Application route Portuguese consulate in your country of residence (or VFS), then AIMA in Portugal for the residence card
Who it is for Non-EU/EEA/Swiss remote employees or freelancers earning from clients/employers outside Portugal
Tax: the old NHR deal Closed to new arrivals: the NHR regime was revoked from 1 January 2024, and only a transitional regime still covers people who already qualified
Tax: what replaced it IFICI ("NHR 2.0") is narrower and aimed at qualified scientific, technical and innovation roles, not at every remote worker

Anything tied to the Portuguese minimum wage shifts every year, so read the euro amounts as estimates and confirm the current multiple with your consulate or AIMA before you apply.

The income test is the part applicants most often get caught by, so it helps to know where it sits. Our side-by-side table of nomad-visa income thresholds ranks Portugal against 28 other countries, and you can see at a glance which ones ask for less.

Could you qualify?

Eligible Likely a fit if you are a non-EU remote worker earning roughly €3,680+ a month from employers or clients outside Portugal, with savings to show.

Depends Worth a closer look if your income is uneven, freelance, or hovering near the threshold; the income test is the number one reason these applications get turned down.

Note Already an EU/EEA/Swiss citizen? You do not need the D8 at all, you have free movement and can register in Portugal directly.

The part everyone gets wrong: tax

For years, the whole sell on Portugal was the Non-Habitual Resident regime: a flat rate on much of your foreign income for a decade. It was revoked from 1 January 2024. What replaced it, IFICI (informally "NHR 2.0"), is far tighter: it is built for qualified scientific and innovation roles, not for every laptop worker. So if Portugal is on your shortlist now, base your tax planning on the ordinary rules and whatever treaty you have with your home country, not on the old headline. If you are re-opening the shortlist because of it, our index of how each nomad-visa country taxes remote income shows where Portugal now lands next to the alternatives.

Go the residency route and you will usually count as a Portuguese tax resident once you spend more than 183 days there in any 12-month period, and that is the moment the tax question stops being theoretical. Work out your own numbers before you commit to the residency path over the temporary-stay one.

Plan the next step

Two of our free tools go hand in hand with this guide:

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between the two D8 routes? +

There are really two D8s sharing one name. The temporary-stay visa lets you live in Portugal for up to a year, with multiple entries, without becoming a resident, handy if you want a long stretch there but still plan to leave. The residency visa is different: it is a four-month entry visa, good for two entries, that you turn into an AIMA residence permit after you land. That permit renews, and the years you spend on it count toward permanent residency at the five-year mark. Citizenship is a separate and now much slower clock: since the 2026 nationality reform it takes seven years of legal residence if you are an EU citizen or a national of a Portuguese-speaking country, and ten years for everyone else. Only applications already pending on 19 May 2026 still run on the old five-year rule. Pick the residency route only if you actually mean to put down roots.

How much do I need to earn for the Portugal D8 visa? +

The bar is tied to the Portuguese minimum wage, not a fixed euro number, so it creeps up every year. The MNE asks for an average monthly remote income over your last three months of at least four times the minimum wage, which is somewhere around €3,680 a month at 2026 levels. Most consulates also want savings on top, commonly about twelve times the monthly minimum wage (roughly €11,040), though that part is consulate practice rather than a published rule. Since the minimum wage shifts annually, check the current multiple with your own consulate before you start putting the file together.

Is Portugal still a good tax move now that NHR has ended? +

The famous Non-Habitual Resident regime (the one with a flat rate on lots of foreign-source income) was revoked from 1 January 2024 and is shut to new arrivals. What came after, IFICI (people call it "NHR 2.0"), is a much tighter scheme aimed at qualified scientific, technical and innovation roles, not at every remote worker with a laptop. So the tax perk most nomads heard about is, for newcomers, mostly history. Portugal can still add up fine on tax, just run the numbers on the standard rules and whatever treaty exists with your home country, not on the old NHR pitch.

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Voymo gives general information to help you organise your move. It is not legal, tax, or immigration advice, always confirm with an official source or a qualified professional before you act.