We get this question a lot from people staying with us longer-term: "how do I actually get a visa to live here?" The D7 is usually the answer, and it's honestly not as complicated as the paperwork makes it look — it just takes patience.
What it actually is
The D7 is Portugal's passive income visa — built for people who can support themselves without a Portuguese employer. Retirees living off a pension were the original audience, but these days it's just as commonly used by people living off rental income, dividends, or savings, as long as none of it counts as active salaried work.
The income number you actually need
As of 2026, you need to show passive income of roughly €920 a month, or about €11,040 a year, for a single applicant — that figure is tied to the Portuguese minimum wage, so it moves slightly year to year. Bringing family? Add roughly 50% more for each adult dependent and 30% for each child.
What counts — and what doesn't
Pensions and retirement funds count. So does rental income from a property you own, dividends from investments (as long as you're not employed by that company), royalties, and interest from savings or fixed-income products. What doesn't count: a regular salary, or freelance and remote work income — that's a different visa route entirely, not the D7.
The paperwork you'll need
A valid passport, a Portuguese NIF and bank account, six months of bank statements, proof of your passive income, proof you have somewhere to live in Portugal, a clean criminal record, health insurance, and a motivation letter explaining your plans. None of this is unusual by visa standards — it's just a lot to gather in one go, so start early.
Who actually processes it now
This is worth knowing: SEF, the old immigration authority, doesn't exist anymore. AIMA — the Portuguese Agency for Integration, Migration, and Asylum — now handles residency processing, and that's who you'll deal with once you're in the country.
How it actually plays out, timeline-wise
You start at a Portuguese consulate (or through VFS Global) in your home country, and that stage alone can take up to four months. Once approved, you get a temporary entry visa, come to Portugal, and have up to 120 days to get your AIMA appointment for biometrics. From there, the residence card usually arrives within a few weeks. All in, plan for six to nine months from your first application to card in hand — not a fast process, but a predictable one if you start early and don't leave documents until the last minute.
Why this matters to us
A lot of the people going through this process end up needing somewhere flexible to live while it plays out — which is exactly the gap between a hotel and a full Portuguese lease that medium-term stays are built for. If you're in the middle of a D7 application and need a place to land in Porto while it processes, that's a conversation we have often.
Visa rules and income thresholds are set by the Portuguese government and change, sometimes yearly. The figures above reflect 2026 — always confirm current numbers directly with AIMA or an immigration lawyer before relying on them for an actual application.
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