Moving to Portugal: the step-by-step guide for newcomers

Can I move to Portugal, and what do I need first?

Your passport decides the route. EU and EEA citizens have a right to live in Portugal. Everyone else applies for a national visa before travelling, and then for a residence permit with AIMA, the migration agency.

Portugal is a large destination for its size. In 2024, AIMA reported 1,543,697 foreign residents (Wikipedia, citing AIMA, a secondary source). The same source says Portugal closed its former border and immigration service, SEF, in October 2023 and replaced it with AIMA, which inherited a backlog of cases.

Before you book anything, answer three questions. Which route are you on? Do you have a NIF? Do you have somewhere to live that a landlord and an authority will both accept?

What do EU and EEA citizens do?

AIMA says citizens of all EU countries, and of the EEA states, have the right to enter, stay and live in Portugal under Law 37/2006, and that no body can demand a residence permit from them: proof of nationality is enough (AIMA). So there is no visa and no AIMA appointment for you. You still need a NIF, a lease and a bank account for daily life. We did not read the local registration rules of town councils, so ask yours what it wants to see.

Which visa routes exist if I come from outside the EU?

The visa portal of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs lists two families of national visa. A temporary stay visa covers stays under one year. A residence visa is valid for four months, allows two entries, and obliges you to apply for a residence permit with AIMA during that time (visa portal, types). The categories include subordinate work, independent work and entrepreneurs, highly qualified activity, study, family, remote work for digital nomads, and a residence visa for retirement or people living from passive income.

Agencies call the last two “D7” and “D8”. Here is what the official pages ask for:

• Retirement or passive income (“D7”). A document that certifies the pension, or the revenue from movable or immovable property or financial assets, plus the general documents (documents list).
• Remote work (“D8”). A work contract or a statement from your employer, or for the self-employed a services contract, plus proof of an average monthly income over the last three months of at least four times the monthly minimum salary, and a document attesting your fiscal residence.
• General documents for every residence visa. A valid passport, a criminal record certificate, proof of financial resources and travel insurance covering medical expenses and repatriation. The insurance can be waived where a bilateral agreement applies, the portal names Brazil and the United Kingdom (S1) as examples.

The reference amount is the minimum monthly salary, EUR 920 in 2026 net of social security, from Regulatory Decree 139/2025. For a family, the first adult counts 100%, each further adult 50% and each child 30% (means of subsistence). A national visa application carries a processing fee of EUR 110 (fees), and the deadline to decide a residence visa is 60 days, or 30 days for a temporary stay visa (deadlines). These are summaries: your consulate can ask for more.

AIMA’s own site also lists a residence authorisation for investment, under article 90-A (AIMA, living in Portugal). We did not verify which types of investment it covers now, so we say nothing about the “golden visa”.

What if my family joins me?

Two paths exist on the visa portal. If you are already a legal resident of Portugal, your family applies for a family reunification visa after AIMA authorises the reunification, and the visa application must be filed within 90 days of that decision, or the right is forfeited. If you and your family move together, an accompanying family member applies for a residence visa with proof of family ties and proof of stable means for the stay or for 12 months, whichever is shorter (documents list). Children count as 30% of the means-of-subsistence reference and a second adult as 50%. We did not read the school admission rules, so ask the school or the town council for the calendar before you pick a neighbourhood.

What is the NIF, and why does it come first?

The NIF (número de identificação fiscal) is the tax number. The consumer association DECO, summarising the Tax Authority’s rules, says a Portuguese NIF is needed to open a bank account, take out credit, sign an employment contract or rent a home, and that requesting it is free, online or in person at a tax office or a Loja de Cidadão. A non-resident does not need a fiscal representative when the NIF is issued. A person who lives outside the EU, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein must appoint one within 15 days of entering a tax relationship in Portugal, such as owning property or signing an employment contract, unless they join the electronic notification system (DECO PROteste, 9 Jul 2024). Check the rule for your case on the Tax Authority’s own portal.

What does the first month look like?

1. Before you leave. Non-EU citizens: visa application, with the documents above. Everyone: a NIF, which can be requested from abroad through a representative with a power of attorney.
2. Week 1. A place to live, even temporary. Read how to find an apartment in Lisbon.
3. Weeks 1 to 4. A bank account, and a lease that the authorities will accept as proof of address.
4. Within the four months of a residence visa. An appointment with AIMA for the residence permit. See our settling-in guide.
5. After you hold a residence permit. Registration at a health centre, and a driving licence exchange if you drive on a foreign licence.

How long does the residence appointment take?

We found no official waiting time. Wikipedia, a secondary source, reports that AIMA took over from SEF in October 2023 and inherited a backlog, that delays for biometric appointments rose to 2 to 3 months under the new system, and that by late 2024 many applicants were reporting waits of 4 to 12 months, particularly in special categories (Wikipedia, Immigration to Portugal). Plan for the visa and the appointment to take months, and book the appointment as early as the process allows.

Which city, and what do rents look like?

Most agencies work in Lisbon or Porto. ReloFinder lists 17 agencies with a Portuguese office: 11 in the Lisbon area, 8 in the Porto area and 3 in the Algarve, some with several offices (Portugal directory, data export of 7 Oct 2026).

The national statistics office measured these median rents on new leases in the second quarter of 2026 (INE, 29 Sep 2026):

• Lisbon city: EUR 17.79 (+5.1% on a year earlier).
• Greater Lisbon: EUR 15.24.
• Porto metropolitan area: EUR 10.83.
• Algarve: EUR 11.56.
• Portugal: EUR 10.17 (+10.2% on a year earlier).

For scale, a 60 m2 flat at the Lisbon city median is about EUR 1,067 a month (60 x 17.79). INE counted 35,407 new leases nationally in the quarter.

What about health cover and driving?

Foreign nationals with a residence permit can register at a health centre of the national health service, and a user number is given at registration if you do not have one (gov.pt, updated 12 May 2026). Visas ask for travel insurance until then. For a licence from a country that has an agreement, the transport institute says you may keep driving on it for up to 90 days from the issue of your residence permit, and must file the exchange in that time (IMT). The settling-in guide has the rest.

What does moving to Portugal cost?

The agency fee is one line. The rest is the visa fee, the first months of rent, travel insurance, the move and the agency’s expenses. Our cost guide shows the three agency price lists we could read and what each includes.

Where does a relocation agency help?

An agency earns its fee on three jobs: the NIF and visa file for a non-EU move, a home search that you cannot do in person, and the AIMA appointment. Of the 17 agencies listed, all list home search, 16 list settling-in help and 14 list immigration support (Portugal directory). Those are the services agencies say they offer, not a promise for your case. To compare, read how to choose a relocation agency in Lisbon, then get matched. Your request goes to one agency, or to up to three if you ask to compare. See also the Portugal hub.

What we could not source

We did not find an official waiting time for AIMA appointments, the AIMA fee for the residence permit, or the Civil Code limits on deposits and rent in advance, which we did not read at the law’s text. We did not verify which investments the residence-by-investment route covers today, the nationality law, school admission rules, bank-account rules or the NIF rules on the Tax Authority’s own page: the NIF facts come from a consumer association’s summary. The number of foreign residents is a secondary source’s quotation of AIMA.