Portugal · Passive income

D7 Residence Visa (Passive Income / Retirement Visa)

Open Last verified July 2026

Open. Thresholds are indexed to the national minimum wage, which rose to EUR 920/month from January 2026.

The D7's income bar is trivially low for a UHNW family — the real bar is that it demands you actually live in Portugal, which means Portuguese worldwide taxation at up to 53% with no IFICI shelter for passive income. It is a lifestyle decision that carries a large tax bill, not a structuring tool.

Qualifying routes

€11k
Passive income (pension, dividends, rent, royalties)

EUR 920/month for the main applicant (12 months = EUR 11,040); add 50% (EUR 460/month) for a spouse and 30% (EUR 276/month) per dependent child

The facts

Qualifying figure
€11k
Total landed cost
EUR 3–8k in consular, AIMA and legal fees for a family, plus proof of accommodation in Portugal and roughly 12 months of income held in a Portuguese account
Timeline
4–14 months — consular visa typically 2–6 months; AIMA residence appointment adds substantially and unpredictably
Physical presence
substantive — no more than 6 consecutive months or 8 non-consecutive months absent in each residence period; in practice this is a genuine move, not a paper residency
Family
spouse or de facto partnerchildren under 18dependent children under 26 in educationdependent parents
Permanent residency
5 years
Citizenship
10 years for non-EU/non-CPLP nationals (7 for EU/CPLP), from first residence permit issuance
Language test
Portuguese language and culture test; historically A2 CIPLE, level pending re-regulation
Dual citizenship
Permitted
Requirements
stable, regular, passive income at or above thresholdproof of accommodation in Portugal (12-month lease or title)NIF and Portuguese bank account with roughly 12 months of income depositedclean criminal recordhealth insurancetax residency in Portugal is expected
What can go wrong
  • IFICI does not cover pensions. Foreign pension income is taxed at Portuguese progressive rates up to 53% — the single biggest reversal from the old NHR regime, and the reason the D7 retirement thesis is far weaker in 2026 than it was in 2019.
  • Physical presence is real. The D7 makes you a Portuguese tax resident by design; there is no low-presence version of this visa.
  • AIMA applies the minimum-wage threshold in force at the date of your appointment, not the date you filed. A 2025 filing can be assessed against 2026 numbers.
  • The D7 is scrutinised for 'disguised work' — remote employment income belongs on the D8, and consulates do reject D7s used to smuggle in active income.
Sources (2)

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