Independent · sourced · dated
Your move to Portugal, decided with confidence.
Not another visa blog. A decision toolkit: find the routes that match your income, check the real thresholds, price the move, build your document list, and work through it stage by stage.
- 01Build your profile
- 02Compare your options
- 03Prepare the move
Try: “D7 income”, “NIF”, “Lisbon vs Porto”, “cost of living”.
Tools, not opinions
Five tools that answer the questions you actually have
Every calculation reads from one dated table of reference figures, so a rule change updates the whole site at once.
Visa Finder
Answer seven questions, see the routes that actually fit your income.
Use this tool →Income requirement
The monthly figure your household must show, and how it is built.
Use this tool →Cost of living
Itemised monthly ranges for fifteen Portuguese cities.
Use this tool →Moving budget
The one-off cash the move itself consumes.
Use this tool →Document checklists
Route-specific paperwork you can tick off and print.
Use this tool →Save your work
Create an account and your Visa Finder result, calculations, checklists and roadmap progress are waiting when you come back.
Visa routes
Start from where your money comes from
Portuguese consulates assess your income source first. Pick the route that matches it, not the one that sounds easiest.
- 01D7 Passive Income Visa D7A residence route for people with stable income they do not earn from a Portuguese employer: pensions, rental income, dividends, royalties or other recurring passive income.
- 02D8 Digital Nomad Visa D8A residence route for remote workers and freelancers earning from outside Portugal, available as a temporary-stay or residence visa.
- 03D2 Entrepreneur & Independent Worker Visa D2For people starting or relocating a business in Portugal, or providing independent professional services to Portuguese clients.
- 04D1 Employment Visa D1For people who already have a Portuguese employment contract or a promise of one.
- 05Job Seeker Visa Job SeekerA single-entry visa allowing you to enter Portugal to look for work for a limited period, extendable once a contract is signed.
- 06Family Reunification FamilyThe route for spouses, partners, children and dependent parents of someone who already holds Portuguese residence.
- 07D3 Highly Qualified Activity Visa D3For highly qualified professionals with a qualifying contract, including the EU Blue Card path.
Guides
A small library, kept current
Twelve pages, each with a direct answer, a fact panel, named sources and a verification date. We would rather maintain twelve well than publish three hundred badly.
Verified 8 September 2026
Moving to Portugal: every visa route explained
A plain comparison of the Portuguese residence routes, who each one is built for, and how to narrow seven options down to one.
Verified 8 September 2026
How much money do you need to move to Portugal?
The two numbers that matter: the recurring income your visa route requires, and the one-off cash the move itself consumes.
Verified 23 September 2026
Portugal retirement visa: how retirees actually move there
Portugal has no visa literally called a retirement visa. Retirees move on the D7, and this page is the D7 read strictly from a retiree's point of view: pension income, healthcare and the paperwork that trips people up.
Verified 8 September 2026
D7 vs D8: which Portuguese visa fits your income?
A direct comparison of Portugal's two most popular routes, decided by where your money comes from.
Verified 8 September 2026
Portuguese residence permits and AIMA explained
What happens after the visa: the AIMA appointment, what to bring, renewals, and the road to permanent residence.
Verified 8 September 2026
How to get a NIF in Portugal
The Portuguese tax number is the key that unlocks everything else. Here is how to get one before you move.
Verified 8 September 2026
NISS and SNS: social security and healthcare numbers
The two numbers you request after arrival: social security (NISS) and the health service (SNS).
Verified 8 September 2026
How to open a Portuguese bank account
What banks ask for, what you can do from abroad, and why a Portuguese account matters for your visa file.
Verified 8 September 2026
Cost of living in Portugal: Lisbon vs Porto and beyond
Where the money actually goes, city by city, and why housing decides almost everything.
Verified 8 September 2026
Best places to live in Portugal
Six places, what each is genuinely good at, and the trade-off you accept by choosing it.
Places
Where the numbers actually land
Rent, groceries, transport and utilities city by city, with the source and the date beside every figure.
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