Residence permit in Portugal: D7

The D7 is a national visa for financially independent people: those living on income unconnected with work in Portugal. A pension, investment income, dividends, royalties, remote work for a foreign client.

The logic of the status is simple: the state checks that the person will support themselves and will not become a burden on the system. Hence the requirements — evidenced regular income, a home in the country and a Portuguese bank account.

The income threshold is tied to the minimum wage in Portugal, and that is revised every year. Going by last year's figure will not do.

A residence permit is the right to live in a country lawfully for a limited period, with renewal. It gives no passport, no vote, and is almost always tied to its basis: once the basis is gone, the status is not renewed.

This is the main misconception around the D7, and it costs money. The preferential NHR regime was abolished for new applicants from 1 January 2024 — by Law 82/2023.

The IFICI regime that replaced it, the one called “NHR 2.0”, is built on a fundamentally different principle: it is narrow and covers only seven categories of qualified activity — science, start-ups, exporting companies and the like. A pension, investment income and dividends — the typical income of a D7 applicant — do not fall within those categories.

So calculations along the lines of “I'll move on a D7 and pay a preferential rate for ten years” no longer work. Tax status is worked out individually, before the move rather than after.