The Portugal D7 visa is for people who can support themselves on steady passive income, and the main thing you have to prove is that your income clears a set monthly floor. In 2026 that floor is EUR 920 a month for a single applicant, roughly EUR 11,040 a year, and it rises if your spouse or children come with you. On top of the income, you show savings in a Portuguese bank account, a place to live, private health insurance, and a clean criminal record. That is the whole shape of the requirement, and the rest of this guide fills in the exact numbers.
This page is the deep dive on eligibility and income. It does not re-run the full price tag (see our Portugal D7 visa cost guide), the processing timeline (see D7 vs D8 processing time), or the retiree angle in detail (see D7 for US retirees on Social Security). For the complete route from start to finish, use the Portugal D7 visa guide.
What are the requirements for the Portugal D7 visa?
At its core, the D7 asks you to prove three things: that you have enough recurring passive income, that you have somewhere to live in Portugal, and that you are a low-risk applicant with savings, insurance, and a clean record. It is a residence visa built for people who fund their life from pensions, rent, dividends, or similar income rather than from a salary or an investment placement. Portugal created it under its immigration law, Lei 23/2007, and it is processed by the consular network abroad and by AIMA, the immigration agency, once you arrive (AIMA, aima.gov.pt; national-visa portal, vistos.mne.gov.pt).
In practice the checklist comes down to six pillars. Each one has a section below, so this is the map, not the detail:
- Passive income at or above the annual floor (EUR 920 a month for a single applicant in 2026), with more for family members.
- Savings of roughly twelve months of that income, held in a Portuguese bank account.
- Accommodation in Portugal, shown by a twelve-month lease or a property deed.
- Private health insurance valid in Portugal.
- A clean criminal record, evidenced by an apostilled certificate from your home country.
- A Portuguese tax number (NIF) and bank account, which you set up before you apply.
Getting help with this A D7 application turns on assembling income evidence, proof of accommodation, and a clean consular file, then registering with AIMA on arrival. Applicants who enjoy paperwork and have time often file it themselves. Where a rejection would cost a planned move date, or where the income math for a couple with children needs to be laid out cleanly for the consulate, the practical advantage of the assisted route is getting the file right the first time. Roots Global prepares and files D7 applications and handles the AIMA stage for clients, remotely where possible.
How much passive income do you need for the D7 visa?
You need stable passive income at least equal to the Portuguese minimum wage, which is EUR 920 a month in 2026, or about EUR 11,040 across the year for a single applicant. That figure is not a fixed D7 number: it tracks the national minimum wage (the salário mínimo), so it moves up when the minimum wage is raised. It rose from EUR 870 a month in 2025 to EUR 920 in 2026, and you should expect small annual increases going forward (national-visa portal, vistos.mne.gov.pt; Lei 23/2007, dre.pt).
Across more than 2,200 Roots Global client engagements since 2019, approved Portugal D7 applicants show income well above that legal floor: the median approved household reported about EUR 3,900 a month in gross passive income, with the middle half falling between roughly EUR 3,000 and EUR 5,100.In other words, clearing the EUR 920 minimum on paper is the legal test, but the files that sail through comfortably exceed it. Consulates look for income that is stable and clearly sufficient for your household, not just income that scrapes the line, so treat the minimum as a floor rather than a target.
| Measure (gross monthly passive income) | Observed value |
|---|---|
| Median approved Portugal D7 household | ~EUR 3,900 |
| Middle half (25th to 75th percentile) | ~EUR 3,000 to EUR 5,100 |
| Files measured | n = 726 |
Source: Roots Global internal client data, aggregated and anonymized from more than 2,200 client engagements (completed visa and residency applications plus consultation records, 2019 to June 2026). These figures describe Roots Global's clients, not all applicants, and are not official government statistics.
For families, the floor scales up. You add 50% of the minimum for a spouse or other adult dependent, and 30% for each child. The table below runs the 2026 math so you can see the actual monthly and annual targets for common household shapes.
| Household | Monthly income required (2026) | Annual equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| Single applicant | EUR 920 | ~EUR 11,040 |
| Couple (applicant + spouse) | EUR 1,380 | ~EUR 16,560 |
| Couple + one child | EUR 1,656 | ~EUR 19,872 |
| Couple + two children | EUR 1,932 | ~EUR 23,184 |
| Each additional child | + EUR 276 | + ~EUR 3,312 |
These are the legal minimums. A couple who can show two pensions, or a pension plus rental income, usually clears the couple line without any trouble, which is one reason the D7 fits retired households so well. If your income sits close to the floor, strengthening the file with additional savings and a clean, well-documented income history matters more.
What counts as passive income for the D7 visa?
Passive income is money that keeps arriving without you working for it, and the D7 is built around exactly that kind of income. The clearest qualifying sources are a pension or retirement benefit, US Social Security, rental income from property you own, dividends and interest from investments, annuity payments, royalties, and income from intellectual property. What ties them together is that they are recurring and do not depend on you holding down a job.
Common income types that count toward the D7:
- Pensions and retirement income, including private, occupational, and state pensions.
- US Social Security and equivalent state retirement benefits.
- Rental income from real estate you own, in Portugal or abroad.
- Dividends and interest from shares, funds, and savings.
- Annuities and structured payouts.
- Royalties and licensing income from intellectual property.
The grey area is active income. A salary from an employer or fees you bill clients for ongoing work are not passive income, and they point you toward a different visa. If you earn a remote salary or freelance fees rather than living off investments or a pension, the sibling route is usually the D8 digital-nomad visa, which is built for active remote work. Social Security and pensions are the reason the D7 works so cleanly for American retirees; how that income is then taxed once you live in Portugal is a separate question, covered in the D7 for US retirees on Social Security guide.
Recurring income you do not work for, such as a pension, Social Security, rent, or dividends, is what the D7 is built around.
Consulates want to see that the income is stable and likely to continue, so a pension letter or a year or more of consistent statements carries more weight than a single recent payment. Mixed income is fine: many approved files combine a pension with rental income or dividends to clear the household floor.
What savings and proof of funds do you need?
Beyond the monthly income, you need a pot of savings in a Portuguese bank account, and this is a separate test that applicants often confuse with the income requirement. The widely applied standard is that you hold roughly twelve months of the minimum wage in the account, which works out to about EUR 11,040 for a single applicant in 2026. It demonstrates that you can support yourself from day one, before your income starts arriving in Portugal (The Sovereign Group, D7 overview as a secondary reference; consular practice under Lei 23/2007, dre.pt).
The practical sequence trips people up, so it is worth being clear about the order. You need a Portuguese tax number (NIF) and a Portuguese bank account before you file, because the savings have to sit in a Portuguese account and the account application needs the NIF. Many US applicants set both up remotely through a representative rather than flying over first. Once the account exists, you transfer in the savings and gather the statement that shows the balance.
Two separate money tests, in plain terms:
- The income test: recurring passive income at or above the monthly floor (EUR 920 single in 2026), shown with pension letters, benefit statements, or investment and rental records.
- The savings test: a lump sum of roughly twelve months of the minimum wage sitting in your Portuguese bank account (about EUR 11,040 single), shown with a recent bank statement.
Clearing one does not excuse the other. A retiree with a strong pension still needs the savings in the account, and an applicant with a large lump sum still needs to show recurring income.
What documents do you need for the D7 visa?
The document set proves each requirement above, and getting it complete and correctly legalized is where most avoidable delays happen. The consulate assesses your file against a checklist, and a missing apostille or an out-of-date certificate is a common reason a file is sent back. The table sets out the core documents and what each one is for.
| Document | What it proves | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Passport (valid 6+ months) plus passport photos | Identity | Two recent photos, standard biometric format |
| National visa application form | The application itself | Signed; specific to the D7 / residence visa |
| Proof of passive income | You meet the income floor | Pension letters, benefit statements, rental or investment records |
| Portuguese bank statement | You meet the savings test | Account in your name showing ~12 months of the minimum wage |
| Proof of accommodation | You have somewhere to live | 12-month registered lease or property deed |
| Private health insurance | Medical cover in Portugal | Valid in Portugal; commonly EUR 30,000 minimum cover |
| Criminal-record certificate | Clean background | Home-country certificate (FBI check for US citizens), apostilled, recent |
| NIF (Portuguese tax number) | Tax registration | Obtained before applying, often via a representative |
| Cover letter | Your purpose and plan | States your intent to reside on passive income |
A few of these deserve a closer look. Accommodation must be a genuine, longer-term arrangement: a twelve-month lease registered with the tax authority, a property deed, or in some cases a notarized letter from a host. A hotel booking does not satisfy it. Health insurance must be private cover valid in Portugal for the initial period, and a policy with at least EUR 30,000 in coverage is the figure most consulates expect; once you are a resident you can register with the public health service (SNS) and switch. The criminal-record certificate must be apostilled under the Hague Convention so Portugal recognizes it, and it has to be recent, usually issued within the last three months.
The flow below shows how the requirements stack into a single decision. If any branch fails, the file is not ready to submit.
How the D7 requirements get assessed, and what happens next
Once your file is complete, the consulate reviews it against the requirements and, if it is satisfied, issues a four-month entry visa that lets you travel to Portugal and complete residency with AIMA. The requirements do not end at approval. To keep the residence permit, you have to actually live in Portugal: the standard rule is spending at least sixteen of your first twenty-four months in the country, and not being absent for more than six consecutive months (AIMA, aima.gov.pt).
The honest picture is that the paperwork is manageable but exacting, and the hardest part is precision rather than difficulty. The most common avoidable problem we see is documentary: an income record that does not clearly show the floor is met, a criminal-record certificate without the apostille, or savings that are not yet in a Portuguese account at the time of filing. The pure-queue delays, such as consular appointment availability and the AIMA backlog after arrival, are covered in our D7 vs D8 processing time guide, and the full fee schedule sits in the Portugal D7 visa cost breakdown.
A complete, correctly legalized document set is the single biggest thing within your control.
Meeting the requirements is also the start of a longer path. The D7 leads to a renewable residence permit, then to permanent residency after five years of legal residence, and citizenship comes later on a separate and longer clock. We keep that path in its own guide because the rules changed in 2026; the short version is in the FAQ below, and the detail is in our path to citizenship guide.
Meeting the D7 requirements starts a path to permanent residency after five years, then citizenship on a longer clock.
See also
- Portugal D7 visa guide
- Portugal D7 visa cost
- D7 vs D8 processing time
- D7 for US retirees on Social Security
- path to citizenship
Frequently asked questions
How much income do you need for the Portugal D7 visa in 2026? A single applicant needs stable passive income of at least EUR 920 a month, about EUR 11,040 a year, which matches the Portuguese minimum wage for 2026. Add 50% for a spouse and 30% for each child, so a couple needs about EUR 1,380 a month. The figure rises each year with the minimum wage, so verify the current number before you apply (vistos.mne.gov.pt).
Does US Social Security count as passive income for the D7? Yes. US Social Security is treated as qualifying passive income for the D7, along with pensions, rental income, dividends, and annuities. It keeps paying while you live in Portugal, which is part of why the D7 works so well for American retirees. A couple with two benefit checks clears the household floor more easily than a single retiree. How the income is taxed is a separate question, covered in our D7 for US retirees on Social Security guide.
How much savings do I need in a Portuguese bank account? Roughly twelve months of the minimum wage, which is about EUR 11,040 for a single applicant in 2026. This savings test is separate from the monthly income test: you need both. The money has to sit in a Portuguese bank account in your name, which is why you set up a NIF and an account before you file, often remotely through a representative.
What proof of accommodation does the D7 require? A genuine, longer-term arrangement in Portugal: usually a twelve-month lease registered with the tax authority, a property deed if you have bought, or in some cases a notarized letter from a host. A short-term booking such as a hotel or a two-week rental does not satisfy the requirement. The accommodation does not need to be luxurious, but it does need to be real and documented.
Do I need private health insurance for the D7? Yes, for the initial period. You show private health insurance valid in Portugal, and most consulates expect coverage of at least EUR 30,000. Once you are a legal resident you can register with the Portuguese public health service (SNS) and use it, but you still need private cover in place at the application stage (SNS, sns.gov.pt).
What happens after five years on a D7 visa? After five years of legal residence you can apply for permanent residency, provided you have kept the permit valid and met the stay requirement. Citizenship is a separate, longer track: since Lei Orgânica 1/2026 came into force, naturalization generally takes about ten years of legal residence, or seven years for nationals of EU or Portuguese-speaking (CPLP) countries, counted from when your first residence card is issued. The full route is in our path to citizenship guide.
Is the D7 income requirement going up? It moves with the minimum wage, so it tends to rise a little each year rather than jumping. It went from EUR 870 a month in 2025 to EUR 920 in 2026. Because the requirement is defined as the minimum wage rather than a fixed euro figure, the number to check each year is simply the current Portuguese minimum wage, then apply the 50% and 30% uplifts for family members.
Disclaimer
This article is for general information only and is not legal or tax advice. Visa rules and income thresholds change frequently, and the D7 figures track the annual minimum wage, so verify current requirements with the relevant authority or a qualified professional before acting. Last updated: July 2026.
[AUTHOR BOX] Vanessa Mororó, Head of Legal, Portugal, Roots Global Vanessa Mororó leads Roots Global's Portuguese legal practice, advising HNWI and US cross-border clients on Portuguese nationality, residency, and immigration matters, including AIMA residence permits and the D7 passive-income visa. [PLACEHOLDER: bio prose, years of experience, and alma mater to be confirmed by Vanessa before Gate 2.] LinkedIn: https://pt.linkedin.com/in/vanessamororo/pt
