- Portugal just released the requirements for its new “digital nomad visa” launching Oct 30.
- Remote workers who make at least four times the local minimum wage can apply. That amounts to about $2,750 a month.
- Recipients can live and work in Portugal for one year, or apply for residency and stay longer.
Portugal recently released the requirements for its highly-anticipated “digital nomad visa,” allowing remote workers who make four times the national minimum wage to live and work in the picturesque European nation. That calculates to about $2,750 a month.
Starting Oct 30, remote workers can apply for either a temporary stay visa of up to one year or a residency permit that can be renewed for up to five years.
You can apply at a Portuguese Consulate in your home country, or Portugal’s immigration agency, Serviço de Estrangeiros e Fronteiras. On top of showing proof of income for the last three months, applicants must submit tax residency documents and a contract of employment (or evidence of self-employment).
One of the program’s most significant selling points is that recipients can travel visa-free throughout the Schengen Area, a region containing 26 European Union member countries where travelers can move freely without dealing with border control.
Portugal has already seen an influx of foreign residents since the pandemic, many of whom have used the D7 visa, or “passive income visa” to set up shop in the country.
One of the most affordable programs of its kind, the D7 visa requires applicants to make only €7,200 — or about $7,011 — per year to qualify. But unlike the digital nomad visa, the income must be the result of passive investment streams, such as real estate or equity in a company, as opposed to a monthly salary.
The popularity of Portugal among remote workers is due to several reasons, including the low cost of living, mild weather, an abundance of co-working spaces, connections to major European cities, and the country’s fluency in English, the head of an investment migration firm with a strong presence in the Portuguese market, told Insider.
