Portuguese visa for digital nomads

The Portuguese digital nomad visa is a temporary residence permit allowing the foreigner to reside in Portugal for approximately 1 year and to exercise his/her professional activity remotely.

This visa is useful for people who do not have the nationality of any country belonging to the European Union, since people who do have it can move freely within Portuguese territory.

This type of visa aims, among others, to increase the arrival of foreign people to Portuguese territory as the country presents a high decrease in the birth rate since 2018.

The application for this type of visa for Portugal during the year 2023 has increased compared to previous years.

Portugal offers two types of visas of this type:

• For self-employed digital nomads or freelancers: refers to workers who have income that they earn from the activity they perform but do not have employment contracts (an example of this are photographers).
• 
  For digital nomads, entrepreneurs or businessmen:
  Refers to those who wish to open a company or business in Portugal.

Permanence period

The visa allows the foreigner to reside in Portugal for 1 year but can be extended for up to 5 years if renewals are made.

Requirements

• Application form duly filled out (it can be accessed through the following link: https://vistos.mne.gov.pt/pt/modelos#vistos-longa-dura%C3%A7%C3%A3o).
• Payment of mandatory fees for processing costs.
• Bank certificate proving a monthly income of at least 580 euros.
• Certificate that the foreigner is a remote worker and can perform his duties virtually.
• Certificate of travel insurance (for foreigners who are not nationals of a country belonging to the European Union).
• Certificate of criminal record.

In addition, there are specific requirements that depend on the type of digital nomad the foreigner is:

Self-employed or freelancer:

• Original valid passport (valid for at least 6 months prior to the procedure).
• Competent authority certificate of professional competence for the specific activity.

Entrepreneur or businessman:

• Contract signed with Startup incubator in Portugal.

Portuguese Visa procedure for digital nomads

Once the requirements have been met, the foreigner must request an appointment at the Portuguese consulate closest to his/her place of residence (the appointment can be requested at the following link: https://pedidodevistos.mne.gov.pt/VistosOnline/). To request an appointment you must create a profile (with username and password).

Once the appointment has been assigned, the foreigner must submit the requested information in person. The duration of this procedure is not established in any regulation but it may take approximately 60 days.

Costs and duration of the procedure

The processing fee required to obtain this visa is approximately 83 euros and the residence permit costs approximately 72 euros.

Benefits:

• After 5 years (maximum renewal period of this visa), the foreigner may choose to apply for a permanent residence permit.
• There are no nationality or work activity restrictions for the granting of this visa.

Request

Through the competent embassy in the place of residence.

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