Living in Portugal: residency permits and the Golden Visa in 2026

In short: If you want to live in Portugal as a non-EU citizen, the three best-known routes are the D7 (for people with passive income), the D2 (for entrepreneurs and freelancers) and the Golden Visa / ARI (for investors, under art. 90.º-A of Lei n.º 23/2007). Two big reforms reshaped the landscape: the «Mais Habitação» law (Lei n.º 56/2023) stripped real estate out of the Golden Visa in October 2023, and Decreto-Lei n.º 37-A/2024 ended the "regularise after you arrive" shortcut in June 2024. CourtStairs answers Portuguese and EU immigration questions like these in plain language, with citations to the Diário da República you can open and check yourself.

Portugal remains one of Europe's most popular destinations for foreigners who want to relocate, retire or invest. But the rules that governed the last decade have changed sharply, and a lot of online guidance is out of date. This post explains the three main residency routes as they stand in 2026, what each one requires, and how they compare — in plain English for expats, foreigners and Portuguese readers who search in English.

The 2023–2024 reforms: what actually changed

Two laws did most of the reshaping.

First, the «Mais Habitação» package — Lei n.º 56/2023, de 6 de outubro — entered into force on 7 October 2023. Its aim was housing, not immigration, but it amended the Golden Visa regime in Lei n.º 23/2007 to remove real-estate purchase and pure capital transfer as qualifying investments. For years, buying property had been the dominant path, used by the large majority of applicants. That door is now closed for new files.

Second, Decreto-Lei n.º 37-A/2024, de 3 de junho abolished the «manifestação de interesse» procedure — the mechanism that had let many people enter as tourists and then regularise from inside Portugal by showing a work contract. As a rule, you now need a proper residence visa issued by a Portuguese consulate before you move. People who had already opened a manifestação-de-interesse process are safeguarded.

The three main routes at a glance

Here is how the three headline routes compare. All are grounded in Lei n.º 23/2007 (the Lei de Estrangeiros), and all lead, in time, to permanent residence and citizenship.

The numbers above are practical anchors, not fixed statutory figures — the D7 income test tracks the minimum wage, which rises most years, and the D2 has no set investment minimum at all.

D7 — the passive-income route

The D7 is the classic choice for retirees and anyone who can live on income they don't have to actively work for: a pension, rental income, dividends, royalties or intellectual property. It is a national residence visa under Lei n.º 23/2007, regulated by Decreto Regulamentar n.º 84/2007.

There is no magic number in the statute, but in practice you must show stable, regular income at least equal to the Portuguese national minimum wage (€920 per month in 2026), with an uplift of about 50% for a spouse and 30% per child. You will also need proof of accommodation in Portugal (a lease or property), a NIF (tax number), a Portuguese bank account with some savings, and a clean criminal record. The initial permit runs two years and renews for three. If you are still setting up your paperwork, our guides to getting a NIF and opening a business and booking an AIMA appointment walk through the practical steps.

D2 — the entrepreneur route

The D2 is for people who want to build or run a business in Portugal, or work as independent professionals and freelancers. It comes from the residence-visa provisions for entrepreneurs and independent activity (arts. 60 and 89 of Lei n.º 23/2007).

Unlike the Golden Visa, the D2 has no fixed minimum investment. What authorities weigh is whether your proposed activity is economically viable and whether you have the means to sustain it — so a clear, credible business plan is the heart of the application. You generally show either that you have set up (or are ready to set up) a company operating in Portugal, or that you hold the resources to do so, plus enough to support yourself (roughly twelve times the minimum wage for a year). Like the D7, it starts as a two-year permit renewable for three.

The Golden Visa (ARI) after Mais Habitação

The Golden Visa — properly the Autorização de Residência para Investimento (ARI) under art. 90.º-A of Lei n.º 23/2007 — still exists, but it looks very different since Lei n.º 56/2023. Its defining feature survives: you can keep your life elsewhere and only spend a few days a year in Portugal (a minimum of 7 days in the first year and 14 days in each subsequent two-year period) while the five-year clock to citizenship runs.

What changed is what you can invest in. Buying property and a plain capital transfer no longer qualify. The routes that remain focus on the productive economy — the amounts below are commonly cited, but confirm the current figures with AIMA before committing:

Applications lodged before 7 October 2023 are protected by grandfathering and may proceed under the old rules, including the property route. For everyone else, the ARI is now a fund-and-enterprise programme, not a real-estate one.

From temporary permit to citizenship

Whichever route you take, the path afterwards is broadly the same: a temporary permit, renewals, then the option of permanence.

1. Residence visaObtained at a Portuguese consulate before you move (required for most routes since Decreto-Lei n.º 37-A/2024).
2. Initial residence permitGranted by AIMA after you arrive; valid for 2 years for the D7, D2 and ARI.
3. RenewalRenewed for a further 3 years, provided you still meet the route's conditions (income, activity or investment).
4. Permanent residence or citizenshipAfter 5 years of legal residence you may apply for permanent residence or naturalisation, subject to the Nationality Law and its language and integration tests.

The Golden Visa is attractive precisely because that five-year clock runs while you spend only days a year in Portugal; the D7 and D2, by contrast, expect you to actually build a life here.

Where CourtStairs fits

Choosing between these routes is exactly the kind of question CourtStairs is built for: it gives a plain-language answer and links each point to the primary source — art. 90.º-A of Lei n.º 23/2007 for the ARI, Lei n.º 56/2023 for the Mais Habitação changes, Decreto-Lei n.º 37-A/2024 for the end of the manifestação de interesse — so you can open the Diário da República and read it yourself. It works in English and Portuguese and has a free tier.

This is general information, not legal advice. Immigration thresholds, eligible investments, minimum-wage figures and processing rules change often and turn on your exact circumstances and nationality, and short deadlines can be unforgiving — so confirm anything important against the primary source, AIMA, or a qualified immigration lawyer before you act.