D7 or the Digital Nomad Visa — the question is what kind of income you have.
Both are Portuguese residency routes. Both can include family. Both lead to residency in the same country. What separates them is not how much you earn — it is whether your income arrives because you work for it, or because you own something that produces it.
The distinction that actually decides it
D7 is generally aimed at people whose income arrives without ongoing work — a pension, rental income, dividends, and similar recurring sources. D8 is generally aimed at people who are actively working remotely, as an employee or a freelancer, for an employer or clients based outside Portugal.
Put simply: D7 asks what your income is. D8 asks what your work is. Someone retired on a pension is looking at D7. Someone employed by a company abroad while living in Portugal is looking at D8.
Amounts matter, and they are a second question rather than the one that decides the route. Choosing the wrong route is not a small administrative correction — it means assembling the wrong evidence against the wrong criteria.
How the two routes differ.
General positioning, not eligibility criteria. Which route applies to you depends on your own facts, and the decision rests with the Portuguese authorities.
| Comparison criteria | D7 | Digital Nomad Visa (D8) |
|---|---|---|
| Typical applicant | Retirees, people with rental or investment income, and families relocating on income that does not depend on continuing work. | Remote employees, freelancers and self-employed professionals whose clients or employer sit outside Portugal. |
| Where the income comes from | Passive or recurring sources — pension, rent, dividends, similar. | Active work performed remotely, paid from outside Portugal. |
| What has to be evidenced | That the income is genuine, regular and likely to continue — which usually means a documented history rather than a recent snapshot. | That the working relationship is real, that the work is performed remotely, and that the payer is outside Portugal. |
| Working in Portugal | Built around income that does not depend on local employment. Working for a Portuguese employer is generally outside what the route contemplates. | Built around continuing your existing remote income after the move. |
| Family | Dependants can generally be included, subject to the applicable rules. | Dependants can generally be included, subject to the applicable rules. |
| Document themes | Income history, proof of the underlying asset or entitlement, accommodation, criminal record certificate, NIF. | Contracts or client agreements, invoices and payment history, accommodation, criminal record certificate, NIF. |
| The journey after approval | Entry visa, then arrival, then a residence-permit appointment in Portugal, then the practical registrations. | The same. Approval is the midpoint of a residency case, not the end of it. |
| Talk to us if… | Your income would continue unchanged if you stopped working tomorrow. | Your income depends on work you will keep doing from Portugal. |
Typical applicant
- D7
- Retirees, people with rental or investment income, and families relocating on income that does not depend on continuing work.
- Digital Nomad Visa (D8)
- Remote employees, freelancers and self-employed professionals whose clients or employer sit outside Portugal.
Where the income comes from
- D7
- Passive or recurring sources — pension, rent, dividends, similar.
- Digital Nomad Visa (D8)
- Active work performed remotely, paid from outside Portugal.
What has to be evidenced
- D7
- That the income is genuine, regular and likely to continue — which usually means a documented history rather than a recent snapshot.
- Digital Nomad Visa (D8)
- That the working relationship is real, that the work is performed remotely, and that the payer is outside Portugal.
Working in Portugal
- D7
- Built around income that does not depend on local employment. Working for a Portuguese employer is generally outside what the route contemplates.
- Digital Nomad Visa (D8)
- Built around continuing your existing remote income after the move.
Family
- D7
- Dependants can generally be included, subject to the applicable rules.
- Digital Nomad Visa (D8)
- Dependants can generally be included, subject to the applicable rules.
Document themes
- D7
- Income history, proof of the underlying asset or entitlement, accommodation, criminal record certificate, NIF.
- Digital Nomad Visa (D8)
- Contracts or client agreements, invoices and payment history, accommodation, criminal record certificate, NIF.
The journey after approval
- D7
- Entry visa, then arrival, then a residence-permit appointment in Portugal, then the practical registrations.
- Digital Nomad Visa (D8)
- The same. Approval is the midpoint of a residency case, not the end of it.
Talk to us if…
- D7
- Your income would continue unchanged if you stopped working tomorrow.
- Digital Nomad Visa (D8)
- Your income depends on work you will keep doing from Portugal.
Minimum income levels exist for both routes, are set by the Portuguese authorities, and are revised from time to time. We deliberately do not publish figures that would go stale — we confirm the current position for your circumstances during a consultation.
When both appear to fit
Mixed situations are common and deserve a real conversation rather than a coin toss. A freelancer who also receives rental income, or someone semi-retired with consulting work alongside a pension, genuinely has a decision to make.
The right answer is usually whichever income is stable enough and evidenceable enough to carry the application on its own — not whichever route looks easier. If the strongest evidence sits with the pension, D7 may be the better case even for someone who still does some work.
Either way, the first steps are the same
Whichever route applies, the early practical work overlaps almost entirely: a Portuguese tax number, then banking, then accommodation arrangements, then the personal documents and their attestation.
That means you can start the sequence before the route is finally settled — and it is usually worth doing, because the tax number is the bottleneck almost everything else waits on.
Not sure which one fits?
Tell us where your income comes from and we will work out which route your case belongs on.