Moving to Portugal in 2026: the step-by-step checklist and the real cost of living

What do you need before you move? A fact box

	EU, EEA or Swiss citizen	UK, US or other non-EU citizen
Visa	None	Residence visa from a Portuguese consulate before you go, for stays beyond 90 days in any 180
Typical route for retirees and people living on savings	Registration certificate at the town hall	Residence visa for retirement or passive income (often called the D7): income of at least €920 a month in 2026 for one adult
Visa fee and decision time	–	€110; the consulate has 60 days to decide
After arrival	Register at the Câmara Municipal (town hall) within 30 days after your first three months: €15	Apply to AIMA (the immigration agency) for a residence permit while the 4-month visa is valid
Residence document lasts	5 years	2 years, then renewable for 3 years at a time
Permanent residence	After 5 years	After 5 years of temporary residence
Healthcare	Register with the SNS (national health service); EU pensioners can bring an S1	Register with the SNS; UK State Pensioners can bring an S1
Tax resident	More than 183 days in any 12 months, or a home kept as your habitual residence	Same

Sources: Portuguese consulates (vistos.mne.gov.pt), AIMA, gov.pt and GOV.UK, all checked in October 2026.

Do you need a visa to move to Portugal?

EU, EEA and Swiss citizens do not. You can live here on your passport or national ID card. If you stay longer than three months, you must request a registration certificate (certificado de registo) from the town hall where you live, within 30 days after those first three months. The gov.pt guide puts the fee at €15 (€7.50 for children under six) and the fine for not registering at €400 to €1,500. The certificate lasts five years, or for your planned stay if shorter. Irish citizens follow these rules.

UK citizens have needed a visa since Brexit, unless they were already resident before 2021 and hold a Withdrawal Agreement card. As a visitor you are limited to 90 days in any 180 across the Schengen area, now recorded by the EU’s Entry/Exit System. Time spent on a residence visa or card does not count towards those 90 days.

US and other non-EU citizens follow the same route as the British.

Portugal issues residence visas for several purposes. The ones most movers use:

Visa	Who it suits	Income test in 2026
Retirement or passive income (D7)	Pensioners, people living on rent, dividends or savings	At least the minimum wage: €920 a month for one adult, plus 50% for a second adult and 30% per child
Remote work (D8)	Employees or freelancers working for clients outside Portugal	Four times the minimum wage: €3,680 a month
Job or self-employment	People with a Portuguese job offer or business	Set by the contract or activity
Study	Students	Means for the length of the course

The income ladder for a D7 household works like this: one adult €920 a month; a couple €920 + €460 = €1,380; a couple with one child €1,380 + €276 = €1,656. These figures come from the consulates’ means-of-subsistence rules. For the full document list, see our D7 visa guide.

Buying a home does not give you a right to live here. The Golden Visa route through property ended on 7 October 2023.

The moving checklist, step by step

The order matters, because each step needs a document from the one before.

Step	What you do	Where	What you need
1	Get a NIF (tax number)	A tax office, or through a lawyer or representative	Passport; proof of address abroad
2	Open a Portuguese bank account	Any bank	Passport, NIF, proof of address, proof of income or profession
3	Secure an address in Portugal	Lease or property deed	NIF; the consulate wants proof of accommodation
4	Apply for the visa (non-EU)	Portuguese consulate or its visa centre in your country	Passport, income proof, accommodation, criminal record certificate, travel insurance, €110
5	Move and apply for residence	AIMA (non-EU), town hall (EU)	Visa in passport; NIF; address
6	Register for healthcare	Your local centro de saúde (health centre)	Residence document, passport, NIF; S1 if you have one
7	Update your tax address	Portal das Finanças	NIF and password
8	Sort your driving licence	IMT (the transport authority)	Licence, residence card, NIF, medical certificate
9	Bring your belongings and car	Customs, Portal das Finanças	Inventory, proof of previous residence

1. Get a NIF

The número de identificação fiscal is your tax number. You need it to rent, buy, open a bank account, sign up for utilities and file a tax return. Non-EU residents living abroad either appoint a fiscal representative or sign up for the tax office’s electronic notifications. Our NIF guide explains both.

2. Open a bank account

Banks must identify you under Banco de Portugal rules. Expect to show your passport, NIF, proof of address and proof of profession or income, such as a pension statement. A Portuguese account makes rent, utilities and tax payments much simpler.

3. Find an address

You need somewhere to live before the consulate grants the visa. A 12-month lease is the usual answer. Some applicants use a property they already own. See “Should you rent or buy first?” below.

4 and 5. Visa, then AIMA

A residence visa allows two entries and lasts four months. Within that time you must apply to AIMA for a residence permit. The first permit lasts two years and is then renewable for three years at a time (Lei 23/2007, the foreigners’ law). After five years you can apply for permanent residence. You must carry your residence document; you can be fined if you cannot show it.

Book the AIMA appointment as early as you can, keep copies of everything, and keep proof of the appointment.

6. Register with the SNS

Every registered resident can join the national health service on the same terms as Portuguese citizens. Take your residence document, passport and NIF to your local health centre and ask for a número de utente (health user number).

User fees are now mostly gone. GOV.UK’s healthcare page still quotes €5 for a GP visit and €15 for A&E. That is out of date. Since June 2022, fees (taxas moderadoras) are charged only at hospital A&E when you arrive without a referral from the SNS 24 phone line or your health centre, and not if you are admitted. Prescriptions still carry a co-payment, and dental care is mostly outside the SNS.

UK State Pensioners can get an S1 form, which makes the UK pay for their Portuguese state healthcare. Register the S1 at a Segurança Social (social security) office and at your health centre. With a registered S1 you can also keep a UK GHIC for trips elsewhere in Europe. Other UK residents cannot use or renew a UK GHIC. See retiring to Portugal for more.

Private health insurance is optional once you are a resident, but the visa application needs travel or health cover.

7. Tax residence

Under article 16 of the IRS Code you become Portuguese tax resident if you spend more than 183 days in Portugal in any 12-month period, or if you have a home here that you appear to intend to keep as your habitual residence. Residence can start part-way through a year.

From then on Portugal taxes your worldwide income at 12.5% to 48% in 2026. The returns are filed between 1 April and 30 June for the previous year. The old NHR regime is closed to newcomers; see NHR ending. Update your address on the Portal das Finanças as soon as you move. US citizens also keep filing US returns, because the US taxes by citizenship. Take advice from a tax adviser who knows both countries before you move.

8. Driving licences

Licence	What you can do as a resident
EU or EEA	Drive on it until it expires
UK	GOV.UK says registered residents can drive on a UK licence until it expires, under the Portugal–UK agreement in force since 31 December 2023. You can exchange it at IMT, normally without a test
US and other OECD countries	IMT says you can keep driving without exchanging if you are under 60, the licence is valid, and it was issued or last renewed less than 15 years ago. You can exchange it without an exam

IMT’s own page also sets a general rule for licences from convention countries: drive for up to 90 days after your residence permit is granted while you apply to exchange; after that you can still exchange for two years but cannot drive on the foreign licence; after two years you need a practical test. The rules for your licence depend on where it was issued, so check with IMT before your first 90 days are up.

9. Belongings, car and pets

Moving from outside the EU, you can bring personal belongings free of import duty and VAT under EU Regulation 1186/2009, if:

• you lived outside the EU for at least 12 consecutive months;
• you owned and used the goods there for at least six months;
• you declare them within 12 months of moving; and
• you do not lend, hire out or sell them for 12 months.

Alcohol, tobacco, commercial vehicles and work equipment are excluded. GOV.UK says UK movers may need a baggage certificate from the Portuguese Consulate General in London.

A car can come in free of vehicle tax (ISV) if you owned it for at least six months and lived abroad for at least six months. Apply online on the Portal das Finanças within 12 months of moving. The exemption covers one vehicle per person and the request is free.

Dogs and cats from Great Britain need a microchip, a rabies vaccination at least 21 days before travel, and an animal health certificate for each trip. A GB pet passport is not accepted.

What about schools?

State schools are free and teach in Portuguese. Most English-speaking families moving to the Lisbon area look at the international schools around Cascais, Carcavelos, Linhó in Sintra, Barcarena in Oeiras and central Lisbon. See international schools and where to buy near them. Confirm a place before you commit to a house.

Should you rent or buy first?

Rent first, for most people. Three reasons:

1. Tax. Since 25 May 2026, buyers who are not Portuguese tax resident pay a flat 7.5% IMT (property transfer tax) on a home (Decree-Law 97/2026). On a €400,000 home that is €30,000, against €18,236.65 for a resident buying a main home (8% × €400,000 − €13,763.35): €11,763.35 more. You can reclaim the gap if you become resident within two years, but only if you apply within six months. See buy before or after residency.
2. The visa needs an address anyway. A lease does the job.
3. You learn the area. A winter in Lagos or a summer in Lisbon tells you more than any guide.

Buying first can still make sense if you have found the right house and will move within two years. Our buying cost calculator shows both tax scenarios. For the process, see how to buy property in Portugal.

What does it cost to live in Portugal?

There is no official “monthly budget” for a foreign household, and we do not invent one. These are the official reference figures.

Item	2026 figure	Source
Minimum monthly wage	€920	Consulates’ means-of-subsistence page
Median rent, new leases, Portugal	€10.17/m² a month (Q2 2026), up 10.2% in a year	INE, released 29 Sept 2026
Grande Lisboa	€15.24/m²	INE, Q2 2026
Lisbon municipality	€17.79/m²	INE, Q2 2026
Cascais municipality	€16.83/m²	INE, 12 months to June 2026
Oeiras municipality	€15.75/m²	INE, 12 months to June 2026
Funchal	€14.49/m²	INE, Q2 2026
Madeira	€12.78/m²	INE, Q2 2026
Algarve	€11.56/m²	INE, Q2 2026
Porto metropolitan area	€10.83/m²	INE, Q2 2026

These INE figures are medians of rents actually agreed in new leases, not asking prices. Portal asking rents run well above them. Figures as reported by ECO and Postal from INE’s local rent statistics; INE revised its rent method in 2026, so older figures are not comparable.

Worked example: rent for an 80 m² flat at the median

Area	€/m²	× 80 m²	Monthly rent
Lisbon	17.79	17.79 × 80	€1,423
Cascais	16.83	16.83 × 80	€1,346
Funchal	14.49	14.49 × 80	€1,159
Algarve	11.56	11.56 × 80	€925
Portugal	10.17	10.17 × 80	€814

A newly let flat in central Lisbon or a sea-view villa will cost more than the median. Compare that monthly rent with the price of buying in the same area on our best places to buy page, where homes sold for a median €5,192/m² in Lisbon and €3,631/m² in Porto over the 12 months to June 2026.

We have not found an official, comparable source for household electricity, water or food bills by area, so we do not quote them.

Where do people move to?

Foreign residents concentrate on the coast. AIMA counted 1,543,697 foreign residents at the end of 2024; 71.3% lived in the districts of Lisbon, Faro, Setúbal and Porto. British citizens were 48,238 of them, Americans 19,258 and the Irish 6,081.

For a comparison of areas on healthcare, airports, schools, climate and cost, see the best places to live in Portugal. If you want help finding a home once you know the area, buyer’s agents in Portugal work for the buyer, and our estate agents directory lists agencies by area. Or tell us what you’re looking for and we will point you to two or three that fit. Moving to the Silver Coast? See relocation agents on the Silver Coast.

Frequently asked questions

Can I move to Portugal without a job?

Yes. The retirement and passive-income visa (D7) is designed for people who live on pensions, rents, dividends or savings. You must show regular income of at least €920 a month for one adult in 2026. EU citizens need sufficient resources and health cover, or a job, to register.

How long does it take to move?

The consulate has 60 days to decide a residence visa. You then have four months to enter and apply to AIMA. Allow several months from the first NIF request to holding a residence card, and longer if AIMA appointments are scarce.

Can I keep my UK or US driving licence?

Often, for a while. GOV.UK says UK licence holders resident in Portugal can drive on it until it expires. IMT says US and other OECD licences can be used if you are under 60 and the licence was issued or renewed within 15 years. Check IMT’s current rules for your licence.

Is healthcare free in Portugal?

Mostly, for residents. The SNS no longer charges user fees for GP visits; fees remain only for A&E visits without an SNS referral that do not end in admission. Prescriptions carry a co-payment and dental care is mostly private.

Do I pay tax in Portugal as soon as I arrive?

You become tax resident from the first day you meet the test: more than 183 days in 12 months, or a home kept as your habitual residence. From then on Portugal taxes your worldwide income, subject to tax treaties.

Should I sell my home abroad before I move?

That depends on your home country’s tax rules on the sale and on your plans. Selling after you become Portuguese resident can bring the gain into Portuguese tax. Take advice in both countries before you set a moving date.

Key points

• EU citizens need no visa; they register at the town hall after three months (€15). UK, US and other non-EU citizens need a residence visa first, usually the D7 at €920 a month of income in 2026.
• The order is NIF, bank account, address, visa, AIMA residence permit, SNS registration, tax address, driving licence.
• You become tax resident after 183 days in 12 months or once you keep a home as your habitual residence.
• Non-residents pay 7.5% IMT on a home since 25 May 2026, so renting first and buying as a resident usually saves €10,000–€15,000.
• INE’s median new-lease rent was €10.17/m² nationally in Q2 2026, from €11.56 in the Algarve to €17.79 in Lisbon.