D7 Passive Income Visa (residence visa for retirees and people with own income) (Portugal): Requirements
Portugal residence route
D7 Passive Income Visa (residence visa for retirees and people with own income)
Retirees and anyone living on pensions, Social Security, rental income, dividends, annuities or royalties.
- Income threshold
- $1,003 / month
- For a couple
- $1,504 / month
- Minimum age
- None
- Validity
- The consular visa is valid for four months and two entries. It exists to get you into Portugal for your AIMA appointment.
- Permanent residence
- Five years of legal residence
- Processing
- Budget 9 to 18 months from starting document collection to holding a residence card, driven mainly by AIMA appointment availability rather than by the consulate
The legal basis
Law 23/2007 of 4 July, as amended, covering residence for holders of adequate own means of subsistence.
The financial test in detail
Indexed to the Portuguese national minimum wage, which rose to 920 euros per month on 1 January 2026 under Decree-Law 139/2025. The requirement is 100 percent of the minimum wage for the main applicant, plus 50 percent for a spouse and 30 percent for each dependent child.
Savings
In practice consulates also want to see savings of roughly twelve months of the minimum wage per adult, about 11,040 euros, held in an account in your own name, reduced proportionally for dependants. This is administrative practice rather than a statutory number, and different consulates apply it with different strictness.
What the status gives you
- Renewal
- The residence permit issued after arrival is currently granted for two years and renewed for successive three-year periods, subject to continuing to meet the income condition.
- Work rights
- Yes. Unlike the Spanish non-lucrative visa, the D7 does not forbid work. You may take employment or work independently in Portugal, although the visa is granted on the strength of your passive income.
- How much time you must spend there
- You may not be absent for more than six consecutive months, or eight non-consecutive months, within each permit period.
- Citizenship
- Eligibility currently arises after five years of legal residence plus an A2 Portuguese language test. This rule has been the subject of active legislative proposals to lengthen it. Verify the position in force at the time you would apply.
- Government fees
- Visa: 90 EUR. Residence permit: 170 EUR. Plus roughly 85 euros per residence permit renewal. Consular fees are collected in U.S. dollars at the consulate posted rate.
- 1 Get a Portuguese tax number (NIF) You can obtain a NIF remotely through a fiscal representative before you ever leave the United States. Nothing else works without it: you cannot open a bank account, sign a lease or pay for anything official. Start here.
- 2 Open a Portuguese bank account Several Portuguese banks open non-resident accounts remotely once you have a NIF. Fund it with enough to demonstrate the savings expectation, and let it season for a few months before you file.
- 3 Secure accommodation A twelve-month lease or a property deed. Consulates increasingly reject short-term rental bookings. The address on the lease is also where AIMA will expect to find you.
- 4 Order and authenticate documents FBI Identity History Summary through the U.S. Department of State, and state-issued vital records through the relevant Secretary of State. Then have the authenticated set translated into Portuguese.
- 5 Book the consular appointment Portugal uses VFS Global for U.S. filings. Consular jurisdiction is by your state of residence. Appointment slots are the real bottleneck, so book as soon as you have a target date.
- 6 Attend the appointment and file Bring originals plus a full set of copies, the completed form, photographs, proof of income, proof of accommodation, insurance and the authenticated and translated documents.
- 7 Receive the D7 visa and travel The visa is valid for four months and two entries, and it will normally carry a pre-booked AIMA appointment date.
- 8 Attend the AIMA appointment in Portugal Biometrics and document verification. This is where the residence permit itself is granted.
- 9 Register locally Register with your local health centre for an SNS number, confirm your NIF address, and register with the U.S. embassy through the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program.
Your action Documents and authentication Government processing
Your document checklist for this route
12 documents in total, of which 5 need authentication: 2 through the U.S. Department of State and 3 through a Secretary of State. All authenticated documents also need certified translation into Portuguese.
- U.S. passport Identity and the physical book the visa is placed in. Lead time: Routine renewal takes weeks; check current published times
- Passport-format photographs Every application. Specifications differ by country and are enforced strictly. Lead time: Same day
- National long-stay visa application form The core filing. Almost always country-specific and often only valid if printed from the consulate portal. Lead time: Same day
- FBI Identity History Summary (background check) U.S. Department of State, Office of Authentications (federal) Apostille Almost every retirement and long-stay residence visa requires a national-level police clearance. For Americans that means the FBI Identity History Summary, not a local police letter, because consulates want a federal record covering all 50 states. Lead time: 1 to 10 days to obtain, then federal authentication
- Certified birth certificate Secretary of State for the issuing state Apostille Proves identity, nationality and, where relevant, family relationships for dependants. Lead time: 3 to 20 days depending on state
- Certified marriage certificate Secretary of State for the issuing state Apostille Required whenever a spouse is included as a dependant, and to prove joint income or joint savings. Lead time: 3 to 20 days
- Social Security benefit verification letter U.S. Department of State, Office of Authentications (federal) Apostille The single most-used proof of "guaranteed lifetime pension" for pensionado-style visas. Panama, Costa Rica, Colombia and Ecuador all key on it. Lead time: Same day online
- Private pension, annuity or 401(k)/IRA income letter Secretary of State for the issuing state Apostille Used where Social Security alone does not meet the threshold, or where the visa requires a lifetime guaranteed payment. Lead time: 5 to 20 days
- Bank and brokerage statements Proof of savings or liquid assets, used either instead of income or alongside it. Lead time: 1 to 10 days
- Proof of accommodation in the destination country Italy, France, Spain and Greece in particular want to see where you will actually live. Lead time: Varies
- Private international health insurance certificate Nearly universal. Schengen countries usually require a minimum of EUR 30,000 of coverage valid across the zone; other countries set their own floor. Lead time: 1 to 3 days
- Certified translation of the authenticated set Non-English-speaking destinations require the document and its apostille translated by a translator they recognise. Lead time: 2 to 7 days
Why applications on this route fail
- Filing with fewer than twelve months of savings on top of the income. Many refusals are for "insufficient means" even when monthly income clears the minimum wage.
- Using a short-term rental booking as proof of accommodation. Get a registered twelve-month lease.
- Translating documents before they are apostilled. The apostille must be inside the translation.
- Assuming the non-habitual resident tax regime still applies. It is closed to new arrivals.
- Treating the four-month visa as the residence permit. It is only the entry document.
Apply here
- Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs visa portal The authoritative national list of visa types and requirements.
- AIMA: Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum The agency that issues and renews residence permits inside Portugal.
- Embassy of Portugal in Washington, D.C. Consular jurisdiction map and current U.S. filing instructions.
- VFS Global Portugal (United States) Appointment booking and the current document checklist for U.S. applicants.
- 1 Obtain the record Order certified copies from the issuing authority. Do not use photocopies, scans or hospital souvenir certificates.
- 2 Notarise if required Letters and affidavits need a notary acknowledgement before any state can authenticate them. Government-issued vital records do not.
- 3 County clerk (some states) A handful of states require the county clerk to certify the notary commission before the Secretary of State will act.
- 4 Authenticate State-issued documents go to the Secretary of State of the issuing state. Federal documents go to the U.S. Department of State Office of Authentications.
- 5 Apostille or legalise Hague Convention destination: an apostille finishes the chain. Non-Hague destination: the document then goes to that country embassy or consulate for legalisation. For Portugal the apostille ends the chain.
- 6 Certified translation Translate the document together with its apostille. Translating first means paying twice.
- 7 File with the consulate Book the appointment at the consulate with jurisdiction over your state of residence and bring originals plus copies.
The expensive mistake: translating before the document is authenticated. The apostille or legalisation certificate is itself part of what the receiving government reads, so it has to be inside the translation. Do it the other way round and you pay for the same translation twice.
D7 Passive Income Visa (residence visa for retirees and people with own income): common questions
How much income do I need for the D7 Passive Income Visa (residence visa for retirees and people with own income)?
The published threshold is about $1,003 a month for a single applicant and $1,504 for a couple. Indexed to the Portuguese national minimum wage, which rose to 920 euros per month on 1 January 2026 under Decree-Law 139/2025. The requirement is 100 percent of the minimum wage for the main applicant, plus 50 percent for a spouse and 30 percent for each dependent child.
Do I need savings as well as income?
In practice consulates also want to see savings of roughly twelve months of the minimum wage per adult, about 11,040 euros, held in an account in your own name, reduced proportionally for dependants. This is administrative practice rather than a statutory number, and different consulates apply it with different strictness.
Can I work on this visa?
Yes. Unlike the Spanish non-lucrative visa, the D7 does not forbid work. You may take employment or work independently in Portugal, although the visa is granted on the strength of your passive income. This is the field applicants most often misread, and in several countries remote work for a U.S. employer counts as work performed locally.
What documents need an apostille?
For this route we count 5 documents needing authentication: 2 federal, through the U.S. Department of State, and 3 state-issued, through the Secretary of State of the issuing state. Portugal is a Hague Convention country, so an apostille completes the chain.
How long does it take?
Budget 9 to 18 months from starting document collection to holding a residence card, driven mainly by AIMA appointment availability rather than by the consulate Consular decision is usually the fast part. AIMA appointment availability inside Portugal is what stretches the timeline.
How much time must I spend in the country?
You may not be absent for more than six consecutive months, or eight non-consecutive months, within each permit period.
Does it lead to permanent residence?
Permanent residence: Five years of legal residence. Citizenship: Eligibility currently arises after five years of legal residence plus an A2 Portuguese language test. This rule has been the subject of active legislative proposals to lengthen it. Verify the position in force at the time you would apply..
Verified Sep 7, 2026 Primary sources: vistos.mne.gov.pt, aima.gov.pt
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This resource is provided free by Federal Apostille as an educational tool. It is not legal, tax, immigration or financial advice, and no attorney-client relationship is created by using it. Immigration rules, income thresholds, fees and processing times change frequently and often without notice, and consulates apply them differently. Always confirm current requirements with the official government source and the specific consulate that has jurisdiction over your U.S. state of residence before you act. Every figure on this site carries the date we last verified it and a link to the primary source.
