Since October 2023, buying property has opened no right of residence in Portugal: the property golden visa route was closed by the Mais Habitação package. What remains — and what commercial pitches happily blur — are two ordinary-law residence routes, serious and documented: the D7 visa, for those living on their own income, and the D8 visa, for those working remotely. Their thresholds are public, indexed on the Portuguese minimum wage (RMMG), and set by texts anyone can read in the Diário da República.
Key points
- The D7 targets holders of own income — pensions, financial or property income, intellectual property, investments — secured over at least twelve months and receivable in Portugal.
- Its scale (Portaria No. 1563/2007) is indexed on the RMMG, set at EUR 920 per month for 2026: the full amount for the first adult, half per additional adult, under a third per child.
- The D8 (art. 61.º-B of Lei 23/2007) requires an average monthly income of at least four RMMG over the last three months — EUR 3,680 in 2026 — for work performed remotely for entities outside Portugal.
- The actual path has two stages: the visa at the consulate of your country of residence, then the residence permit before AIMA — an initial two-year title, renewable for three-year periods.
- For the residential market, these flows replace speculative demand with use demand: actual residents, renting or buying to live.
The D7: living on your income, and proving it
The D7 addresses retirees and holders of own income. The rule is not a single figure but a household scale, set by Portaria No. 1563/2007: one hundred percent of the RMMG for the first adult, fifty percent per additional adult, thirty percent per child. With the 2026 RMMG raised to EUR 920 by Decree-Law No. 139/2025, a couple with one child must therefore evidence roughly EUR 1,656 of stable monthly income. Two requirements decide files at examination stage: means must be secured over at least twelve months, and their receipt must be demonstrable in Portugal — dormant wealth is not enough, a flow is required.
The D8: remote work as a residence title
Introduced in 2022 at article 61.º-B of Lei 23/2007, the D8 addresses employees and independents whose work is performed remotely for entities established outside Portugal. The threshold, set by Decreto Regulamentar No. 84/2007 (art. 31.º-A), is an average monthly income of at least four RMMG over the three months preceding the application — EUR 3,680 in 2026. The file requires proof of the professional relationship (employment or service contract, employer declaration) and evidence of tax residence. As thresholds are indexed on the RMMG, they are revised every January.
The actual path: consulate, then AIMA
Both routes follow the same two-step mechanics: a residence visa issued by the consulate of your country of residence, allowing entry, then a residence permit examined by AIMA (the agency that succeeded SEF), which reassesses the conditions — including means of subsistence, under article 77.º of Lei 23/2007. The initial title runs two years and renews for three-year periods. One point files tend to neglect: documents accepted at the consulate may have expired by the AIMA appointment — everything must be current.
What these flows change for real estate
Our trade is not migration services — we structure property operations. But the depth of a residential market reads in its residents. D7/D8 demand is use demand: it rents year-round, buys to live, settles for the long run — the opposite of the speculative demand the golden visa had attracted. It then meets the questions we document elsewhere: the new resident's taxation under the IFICI regime, the full cost of an acquisition — IMT, IMI, stamp duty — and the actual state of prices, which the INE data for the Algarve measure quarter after quarter. The overall framework is set out in our Investing in Portugal guide, and our Algarve base describes our local anchoring.
The house reading
The end of the property golden visa did not close Portugal: it sorted intentions. The remaining routes require real income, living evidence and a disciplined administrative path — precisely the kind of filter that stabilises residential demand. For an investor, the conclusion is counter-intuitive but documented: a market people join to live in is healthier than one people buy into for a passport.
General, non-personalised information, based on the official texts cited and accurate at the consultation date; a relocation project calls for licensed Portuguese immigration counsel.