Portugal Digital Nomad Visa (D8): The 2026 Guide

The Portugal digital nomad visa, commonly called the D8, allows you to live in Portugal while working remotely for companies or clients based outside the country. In 2026 the income requirement is 3,680 euros per month, four times the Portuguese minimum wage, proved by the average of the last three months. This guide sets out the requirements, the documents and the deadlines, with the legal basis for each point.

One detail decides most applications and is missing from nearly every guide in circulation: the D8 is not one visa, it is two. Portuguese law creates two separate routes for the same remote activity, with different document lists and very different consequences for anyone planning to stay. Choosing the wrong one costs months, and sometimes the right to remain.

What is the D8 digital nomad visa in Portugal?

Digital nomad visa is not the official name. Portuguese law calls it the visa for professional activity carried out remotely for outside national territory, created by Law no. 18/2022, which added Article 61-B to Law no. 23/2007. The D8 code comes from the visa sticker classification, not from the statute.

Article 61-B is short and sets out the core rule. The visa is granted to employees and to self-employed professionals, for activity carried out remotely for individuals or companies domiciled or headquartered outside national territory, and the employment relationship or the provision of services must be evidenced.

The decisive words are outside national territory. The D8 is for people who live in Portugal and work for elsewhere. Anyone holding an offer from a Portuguese company is on the wrong route and should look at the Portugal work visa instead.

The two D8 routes: temporary stay and residence

The same remote activity gives rise to two different visas:

• The temporary stay visa, under Article 54(1)(i) of Law no. 23/2007, with the documents listed in Article 18-B of Regulatory Decree no. 84/2007. It is granted for the duration of the stay and is valid for multiple entries. It suits a season in Portugal, not a permanent move;

• The residence visa, under Article 61-B of the same law, with the documents listed in Article 31-A of the Regulatory Decree. This is the route for people relocating, because only this one leads to the residence permit applied for at AIMA, the Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum, after arrival.

Three practical differences matter more than the labels suggest:

• The temporary stay route accepts preliminary paperwork. Article 18-B allows a promise of an employment contract and a written proposal for a services contract. The residence route, in Article 31-A, allows neither. It requires a signed employment contract or an employer declaration evidencing the relationship, or else articles of association, a services contract, or a document evidencing services provided to one or more entities;

• The decision deadline is 30 days for the temporary stay visa, under Article 54(3), and 60 days for the residence visa, under Article 58(4);

• The temporary stay visa requires a return travel ticket, under Article 52(2). The residence visa does not.

Someone holding only an unsigned services proposal can file for temporary stay and cannot file for residence. It is the most avoidable refusal in the whole D8 process.

What is the income requirement for the D8 visa in 2026?

The threshold is identical in both routes: average monthly income over the last three months of at least four times the guaranteed monthly minimum wage. Article 18-B(c) and Article 31-A(1)(c) of Regulatory Decree no. 84/2007 use the same wording.

With the Portuguese minimum wage set at 920 euros per month in 2026, the threshold is 3,680 euros per month. Three points cause most of the confusion:

• What you prove is the three month average, not a single statement or accumulated savings. One strong month does not carry the application;

• The income must come from the professional activity, employed or self-employed, carried out for outside Portugal. That is the income the law requires you to evidence;

• The figure tracks the minimum wage. Every time the minimum wage is updated, the D8 threshold rises with it, without any change to the immigration rules themselves.

Which documents are required?

Beyond the general conditions in Article 52 of Law no. 23/2007, which apply to any visa, the D8 application is supported by the documents specific to the chosen route. The general conditions include a valid travel document, travel insurance, means of subsistence and no alert for the purposes of refusal of entry. A visa is refused to anyone convicted of an offence punishable in Portugal by more than one year of imprisonment.

The D8 specific documents are:

• For employees, an employment contract or an employer declaration evidencing the relationship, with a promise of contract accepted only in the temporary stay route;

• For self-employed applicants, articles of association, a services contract, or a document evidencing services provided to one or more entities, with a written contract proposal accepted only in the temporary stay route;

• Evidence of average monthly income over the last three months;

• A document certifying tax residence.

The tax residence document is the one applicants forget, and it appears expressly in both lists. It shows where you are taxed at the time of the application. It says nothing about your future tax position in Portugal, which is a separate question and needs its own analysis.

From visa to residence permit

The D8 residence visa is the entry door, not the final status. Under Article 58 of Law no. 23/2007, it is valid for two entries and allows a stay of four months, within which the residence permit must be applied for at AIMA. The visa is issued together with a pre-authorisation of residence, which already includes provisional tax, social security and national health service numbers.

The temporary residence permit is valid for two years from the date the document is issued and renewable for successive three year periods, under Article 75, as amended by Law no. 61/2025. That permit, and not the visa, is what supports a long stay.

Does the D8 lead to permanent residence and citizenship?

The residence route does, over time. Portuguese citizenship by naturalisation now requires ten years of legal residence for most applicants, and seven years for nationals of Portuguese speaking countries and of European Union Member States, under Article 6(1)(b) of the Nationality Act, as amended by Organic Law no. 1/2026, in force since 19 May 2026. This is a recent change and a great deal of published guidance still refers to the previous five year rule, as explained in our summary of the new Portuguese nationality law.

Article 15(1) of the same Act treats as legally resident anyone in Portugal whose situation is regular under any of the documents, visas or permits provided for in the immigration regime. Article 15(3) requires the separate periods of legal residence to be added together, provided they fall within a maximum window of nine years for nationals of Portuguese speaking countries and the European Union, and twelve years for other nationals. How a specific history counts should be confirmed case by case.

Can you bring your family on the D8 visa?

Yes, and applying together is by far the better option. Article 58(5) provides that the residence visa also covers accompanying family members, and that the applications may be filed at the same time. The temporary stay route has an equivalent provision in Article 54(1)(h), for family members accompanying a temporary stay visa holder.

Leaving the family for later became considerably harder. Family reunification applied for from within Portugal follows Article 98, which Law no. 61/2025 tightened. It now requires a residence permit valid for at least two years, reduced to 15 months for a spouse or equivalent partner who lived with the holder for at least 18 months before the holder entered Portugal. The waiting period does not apply to dependent minors, nor to a spouse who is a parent of a dependent minor. Article 101 adds a requirement of owned or rented accommodation and of means of subsistence for the whole household without recourse to social benefits, plus integration measures that now condition renewal.

Anyone moving with a partner should weigh this before filing. The gap between applying together and applying later can be two years apart.

Frequently asked questions

Can I work for a Portuguese company on the D8 visa?

That is not what the visa is for. Article 61-B requires the activity to be provided to individuals or companies domiciled or headquartered outside national territory. Anyone who starts working for a Portuguese entity no longer meets the condition on which the permit rests, and should take advice before making the change.

What is the difference between the D8 and the D7?

The source of the income. The D8 rests on active work performed remotely for outside Portugal, and the income to be proved is income from that work. The D7 visa is for people living on passive income, such as a pension, rental income or financial investments, and its threshold is considerably lower. Applying as a D7 while actually working remotely risks having the professional activity undermine the chosen route.

Do I need a signed contract to apply?

It depends on the route. For the residence visa, yes. Article 31-A requires an employment contract, an employer declaration, articles of association, a services contract or a document evidencing services provided. For the temporary stay visa, Article 18-B accepts a promise of an employment contract and a written proposal for a services contract.

Can the D8 be applied for from inside Portugal?

The visa is applied for at the Portuguese consulate in the country of residence, before travelling. Entering as a tourist and regularising afterwards through work no longer exists, following the end of the expression of interest procedure under Decree-Law no. 37-A/2024, confirmed by Law no. 61/2025.

How long does the D8 visa take?

The statutory deadline is 60 days for the residence visa and 30 days for the temporary stay visa, counted from the point the application is properly filed. Filing a complete application from the outset is what most reliably avoids delay.

Assistance with a D8 visa application

Choosing between the temporary stay and the residence route, evidencing three months of income in the right form, and deciding when to file for family members determine the outcome, and these are decisions taken before the application is submitted, not after. Dutra & Ferrari handles immigration matters for Portugal and advises at each stage, from the consulate to the residence permit. For an initial assessment, it helps to have your passport, the contracts or documents evidencing the remote activity, and proof of income for the last three months, and then to contact the firm.