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Portugal D7 vs D8 Visa: Which One to Apply For

The D7 is for people living on passive income. The D8 is for people working remotely for employers or clients outside Portugal. This guide compares eligibility, income proof, the AIMA permit process, and how each one fits Portugal's tax rules.

The Ribeira waterfront and rabelo boats on the Douro River, Porto, Portugal, seen from Cais de Gaia.
Photo by Peter K Burian, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Published: 2026-10-16 · Last verified: 2026-10-16 · Numbers apply to US passport holders

Rules change. Confirm the current rules with the official sources linked below before you apply, pay a fee, or book travel around a date in this guide.

The short answer

Pick the D7 if you live on income you do not work for, such as a pension or income from your own assets. Its threshold is EUR 920 per month for the main applicant in 2026. Pick the D8 if you work remotely, as an employee or as a freelancer, for employers or clients outside Portugal. Its threshold is EUR 3,680 per month, four times higher. The D7 and the residence version of the D8 lead to the same residence permit from AIMA: valid for 2 years, then renewable for 3 years at a time. Both count toward permanent residence at 5 years and citizenship at 10 years. Full route data is on the Portugal country page.

Eligibility

Minimum income: the math

D7 uses the Ministry of Foreign Affairs means of subsistence criteria, which are tied to the Portuguese minimum wage. Decree-Law 139/2025 of December 29, 2025 sets that wage at EUR 920 per month for 2026. The main applicant needs 100 percent of it. A spouse or second adult adds 50 percent, and each child under 18 or dependent adult child adds 30 percent.

D8 sets the bar at average monthly income over the last three months of at least four times the minimum wage: 4 x EUR 920 = EUR 3,680 per month. That is EUR 44,160 per year. Because the test is a three month average, what counts is your total for those three months, which has to be at least EUR 11,040. That happens to equal the full annual D7 threshold for a single applicant. One low month can be made up by higher months in the same window, as long as the average stays at EUR 3,680 or above.

From consulate to AIMA: the permit process

Many older guides tell you to book an SEF appointment. SEF no longer handles this. Residence permits for both routes are now issued by AIMA, the Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum. The process has two stages and the same fees for both visas.

The D8 comes in two versions

Only the residence version (DR) starts the residence clock. The temporary stay version (ER) allows a stay of up to 1 year, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs deadline for deciding is 30 days instead of 60. The fee is the same EUR 110. The visa itself cannot be renewed. If you need more time, you apply to AIMA for an extension of stay under Article 72 of Law 23/2007, which costs EUR 106.10 (EUR 79.50 through the digital channel). Time on the ER visa is not legal residence and does not count toward the 5 years for permanent residence or the 10 years for citizenship. If you plan to stay more than a year, apply for the DR.

Tax residency and NHR/IFICI

Both visas fall under the same tax test in Article 16 of the Personal Income Tax Code. You become tax resident if you spend more than 183 days in Portugal in any 12 month period that starts or ends in the tax year. You also become tax resident if you keep a home in Portugal in conditions that show you intend to occupy it as your habitual residence. Living in Portugal on either permit will normally meet the day test. The visa type does not change this.

The Non-Habitual Resident (NHR) regime is closed to new applicants, so neither visa gives you NHR. Part of it was replaced by a narrower regime, IFICI. The official Portal das Finanças leaflet describes IFICI as <cite index="1-3">created by Article 58-A of the Tax Benefits Statute (EBF), setting up an IRS tax benefit regime</cite>. It <cite index="1-4">taxes net employment and self-employment income (categories A and B) earned in Portugal from eligible activities at a special 20% rate for 10 consecutive years, starting from the year you register as a resident</cite>.

Timeline to permanent residence and citizenship

The D7 and the D8 residence version are identical here. Permanent residence requires 5 years of legal residence. Under Lei Organica 1/2026, in force since May 19, 2026, naturalization requires 10 years of legal residence for nationals of countries that are neither Portuguese language countries nor EU member states, which includes US passport holders. Naturalization applications already pending when the law took effect stay under the previous law. On the 2 year plus 3 year permit cycle, you reach year 5 at the end of the first renewal, so plan your first renewal with that milestone in mind.

Before you get a visa, US citizens can visit visa free for 90 days in any 180 day period across the Schengen area. Time outside Schengen does not reset that rolling window. If you plan scouting trips before you apply, count your days with the Schengen calculator.

Before you apply

Thresholds follow the minimum wage, which changes every year, and AIMA fees changed on March 1, 2026. Check the current figures on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs means of subsistence page and the Embassy of Portugal D8 checklist on the day you file, and confirm IFICI eligibility on Portal das Finanças before you count on the 20% rate. Route by route details stay current on the Portugal country page.

Country pages

Official sources

Facts in this guide last verified against the sources: 2026-10-16