Portugal · Digital nomad
D8 Residence Visa (Digital Nomad / Remote Work Visa)
Open
Last verified July 2026
Open. Income threshold is 4x the national minimum wage, which rose to EUR 920/month in January 2026, taking the requirement to EUR 3,680/month.
The D8 is the only Portuguese route where IFICI genuinely bites, because it presupposes active professional income — but only if that income is restructured through a qualifying Portuguese activity. A D8 holder billing foreign clients as a foreign freelancer typically does not qualify for the 20% rate.
Qualifying routes
€44.2k
Remote employment or freelance income from non-Portuguese clients
EUR 3,680/month (4x minimum wage). Add 50% of minimum wage for a spouse (to roughly EUR 4,140/month) and 30% per child. Savings buffer of roughly EUR 11,040 expected, higher with dependants.
The facts
- Qualifying figure
- €44.2k
- Total landed cost
- EUR 3–8k in consular, AIMA and legal fees for a family
- Timeline
- 4–14 months — consular stage 2–6 months, plus AIMA residence appointment
- Physical presence
- substantive — same absence limits as the D7; this is a residence visa, not a nomad permit
- 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
- non-EU/EEA/Swiss nationalremote employment contract or freelance contracts with non-Portuguese entitiesincome at or above 4x minimum wage for 3 months precedingproof of accommodation in PortugalNIF and Portuguese bank accountclean criminal recordhealth insurance
What can go wrong
- IFICI eligibility is not automatic and is the whole point for a high earner. It requires a qualifying activity, a qualifying employer category, EQF level 6+ or a PhD, and registration by 15 January of the year following your first year of residence. Miss that date and you lose the regime.
- AIMA applies the minimum-wage threshold in force at your appointment date, not your filing date — the threshold ratchets every January.
- Full Portuguese tax residency follows, including CFC rules and worldwide reporting.
- The same AIMA scheduling backlog that afflicts the Golden Visa applies here.