Portugal Immigration from UK

Work Visa (D1 and D3 Visa)

A D1 employment visa is available for individuals with a job offer and employment contract in a subordinate role within a Portuguese company. This visa also gives the holder access to family reunification.

A D3 visa is the closest equivalent that Portugal immigration has to the British Skilled Worker visa. It is designed for Highly Qualified Professionals. It comes with fast-tracked permanent residency and a pathway to citizenship after just five years in Portugal.

D3 visa holders can also apply for an EU Blue Card. This scheme acts as a streamlined work and residence permit for all of the European Union (excluding Denmark and Ireland). You will need to submit a further application for the Blue Card, and it comes with additional qualification, job offer and salary threshold requirements.

Entrepreneurship Visa (D2 Visa)

For the independently minded, the Portuguese government has implemented the D2 visa. It is aimed at entrepreneurs, freelancers and independent service providers who want to live and work in Portugal.

One critical requirement of this visa type is that you will need to provide a robust business plan. This shows that your business has a clear pathway to growth and sustainability, and will make meaningful contributions to Portugal’s economy, society and culture.

Study Visa (D4 and D5 Visa)

Portugal is a popular destination for British citizens who want to study abroad or participate in a student exchange. Each year, around 75,000 foreign nationals enrol in Portuguese higher education, coming for the nation’s great weather, culture, and the high standard of some of its educational institutions.

The nation has two types of student visas. The D5 visa is common for those participating in long-term courses. It applies for those involved in a study or a student exchange that will last longer than 90 days.

This visa also allows holders to work for up to 20 hours a week during semesters and full-time during the holidays. However, you will need permission from the Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF) before you engage in any employment.

Meanwhile, a D4 visa is for students participating in short-term study in Portugal that will last less than 90 days. It is part of the C Schengen visa category. Some nations are exempt from requiring the D4 visa for short-term courses. Examples include Australia, the US and Canada, but, since Brexit, British citizens require this visa.

Both visa types will require you to provide a letter of acceptance from a registered Portuguese institution, proving that you have a place on the course.

Passive Income and Retirement Visas (D7 Visa)

The D7 visa is aimed at those who can survive in Portugal and contribute to the local economy through their income earned passively. This is most common among retirees.

The visa has a comparatively low minimum income threshold to qualify for just €870 per month. This is the same as the country’s national minimum salary.

Once you have moved to Portugal with this visa, you can apply for a residence permit with a one-year validity. Make sure to renew this to get an additional two-year period of the right to remain in Portugal.

Digital Nomad Visa (D8)

Portugal is also incredibly popular among digital nomads, individuals who work remotely while travelling. Around 16,000 of these people live and work in Lisbon alone, with thousands more who live in Portugal. They are attracted by the low cost of living and the high standard of living.

To conduct this type of work in Portugal legally, you will need a Digital Nomad visa. This visa type lasts for up to one year and can be renewed a further four times. Please note that this time spent in the country cannot contribute to permanent residence.

This visa also has some of the strictest financial requirements in Portuguese law. The current requirement is to earn €3,480 a month, which is four times the minimum wage.

Portugal Family Visa (D6)

Another pathway to immigrating to Portugal for British citizens is the D6 Family Reunification visa, which can be used by people who are family members of someone with Portuguese citizenship or residency. You will need to have a spouse, civil partner, parent, grandparent, descendant (child or grandchild), or sibling who is a Portuguese national or resident.

Having family members who are Portuguese citizens or residents of Portugal alone is not enough to be eligible. The sponsor also needs to have been living in Portugal for at least five years and has sufficient finances and accommodation to support you. You will also need to prove you have a basic level of Portuguese to apply for the Family Reunification visa.

Golden Visa

Another pathway to residence in Portuguese law is the Golden visa, which is the nation’s residence-by-investment program. You will need to make a sizable financial investment, with the exact amount required varying depending on the type of investment you make. The following minimum investment thresholds apply:

• €500,000 if the money is invested in qualifying investment funds, scientific or technological research, or is a business investment that will create at least five jobs
• €250,000 if the money is a donation to arts, cultural heritage, or national reconstruction
• €280,000 if the money is invested in properties in need of renovation that are located in sparsely populated areas
• €350,000 if you invest in scientific research activities or make a capital transfer to establish a company that will create at least five jobs

Portuguese Working Regulations

While working in Portugal, you have rights under Portuguese working regulations. You will also need to follow these regulations if you hire workers for your Portuguese business. Standard working conditions are as follows:

• The minimum wage is €870
• Full-time work should usually be 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week
• Overtime must be compensated with time in lieu or additional pay
• Workers have a minimum of eleven consecutive hours between shifts and at least one full day off a week, generally Sunday
• The work day should have a rest period of one to two hours, and the employee should not work for more than five consecutive hours
• The workplace must be healthy and safe
• Workers are protected from discrimination, and pay must be equitable across demographic characteristics

On top of the legal minimums, workers will often expect a range of additional benefits. These can include company health insurance, contributions to your pension, a bonus scheme, and a company car.

Tax Implications of Moving to Portugal

As a resident in Portugal, you need to contribute to the government’s treasury through tax contributions.

Portugal has a variable rate of income tax depending on your earnings. This ranges from 12.5% on earnings between 0 euros and 8,059 euros to 48% on earnings over 83,696 euros. For couples who are married and de facto married, joint taxation options are available.

For the highest earners, an additional ‘solidarity rate’ applies. Those earning over 80,000 euros must pay 2.5%. This increases to 5% for those earning over 250,000 euros. Meanwhile, the lowest earners benefit from the subsistence level, which means that everyone earning a living through work, business, or their pension have a guaranteed minimum level of income.

Finally, Portugal also charges taxes on business income. The corporate tax rate is 20% for profits over 50,000 euros. A lower reduced rate of 16% for the first 50,000 euros of profit also applies, which is targeted at start-ups and small to medium sized businesses.

Cost of Living in Portugal

Many people decide to move to Portugal because it has a much lower cost of living than the UK and many other EU countries. The Portuguese cost of living is 37.3% lower than in the UK. This drops to 34.4% when rent is included. The low cost of living is driven by 27.4% lower rents and 29.8% lower grocery prices.

However, the low cost of living doesn’t necessarily mean that your money will go further in Portugal. Significantly lower wages mean that local purchasing power in the UK is 84.8% higher than in Portugal. That means that moving to Portugal could make you poorer unless you have pre-existing passive income or work outside of the country.

Setting Up a Portuguese Bank Account

Life in a new country almost always requires you to establish a bank account in the country, making it far easier to withdraw, spend and earn money, as well as paying taxes. Set up a bank account in Portugal by following these steps:

1. Obtain a NIF (Número de Identificação Fiscal). This is your Portuguese tax number. Get it from the tax office (Finanças).
2. Choose a bank. The largest banks, such as Millennium BCP and Novo Banco, will offer support for English speakers.
3. Gather your proof of address and income documents.
4. Attend a branch or complete the application procedure online.
5. Make a small deposit to open the bank account.

You may also need to verify your identity by receiving an SMS, which may require you to have a Portuguese SIM card.

Importing Personal Belongings

Moving house is always a stressful experience. Things get more chaotic when you have a large number of personal items to move across the border of the European Union customs union. If you have owned the items for longer than six months, you will usually not need to pay customs.

To ship your possessions tax-free, you will need two documents. Firstly, the Certificado de Bagagem is a baggage certificate that confirms you haven’t owned the goods for longer than six months. Secondly, your Atestado do Residençia is issued locally and confirms that you have a Portuguese address and are entitled to live in Portugal.