Last updated: September 2026. Visa rules and income thresholds change annually — always confirm current figures with your local Portuguese consulate or VFS Global before applying.
If you’re an American, Canadian, or British citizen planning a move to Portugal, you’ve probably run into two visa names over and over: the D7 and the D8. They’re often lumped together in Facebook groups and YouTube videos, but they’re built for two different kinds of applicants, and — more importantly for your sanity — they require two different document files.
Picking the wrong one, or assembling the wrong paperwork for the right one, is one of the most common reasons applications get delayed at the consulate. This guide breaks down exactly what separates the two visas, what documents each one actually requires, and where things like criminal record checks and apostilles fit into the process.
The Short Answer
- D7 Visa is for people living on passive income — pensions, dividends, rental income, royalties. Think retirees and investors.
- D8 Visa (the “Digital Nomad Visa”) is for people earning active income remotely — salaried remote employees, freelancers, and business owners billing foreign clients.
Both lead to the same place: a residence permit issued by Portugal’s immigration agency, AIMA (Agência para a Integração, Migrações e Asilo), which replaced the former SEF in 2023. But the income you have to prove, and therefore the documents you have to gather, are quite different.
D7 vs. D8 at a Glance
| D7 Visa | D8 Visa | |
|---|---|---|
| Who it’s for | Retirees, investors, anyone with passive income | Remote employees, freelancers, business owners |
| 2026 minimum monthly income | €920 (Portugal’s minimum wage) | €3,680 (four times the minimum wage) |
| Income source | Pensions, dividends, rental income, royalties | Employment contract or client/freelance income earned abroad |
| Minimum savings shown | Roughly €11,040 for a single applicant | Roughly €11,040 for a single applicant, plus proof of the income above |
| Typical processing time | 60–90 days at consulate, plus AIMA appointment | 30–90 days at consulate, plus AIMA appointment |
| Best for | People who don’t need to actively work to support themselves | People who need to keep working while living in Portugal |
Both figures are tied to Portugal’s national minimum wage, which the government revises each January — the Portuguese Consular Portal is the definitive source once the new decree is published, so treat any number you read (including the ones above) as a planning reference and confirm it before you apply.
The D7 Visa: Documents You’ll Need
The D7, sometimes called the “Passive Income Visa” or informally the “Retirement Visa,” was designed for people whose income doesn’t depend on showing up to a job. Most consulates ask for a fairly standard set of documents, though exact requirements vary by jurisdiction, so always check your specific consulate’s checklist as the final word.
Identity and administrative documents
- Valid passport (with at least six months of validity beyond your intended stay)
- Completed national visa application form
- Two recent passport-style photos
- Portuguese tax number (NIF)
Financial documents
- Proof of stable, recurring passive income (pension statements, dividend records, rental agreements, royalty statements) meeting the €920/month threshold
- Bank statements showing sufficient savings, generally around €11,040 for a single applicant, with additional amounts for a spouse or dependents
- Portuguese bank account statement showing funds have been deposited
Personal and legal documents
- Criminal record certificate from your country of citizenship, and from any country where you’ve lived for more than a year — for US citizens this typically means an FBI background check, and for Canadians an RCMP check
- Proof of accommodation in Portugal (a lease, deed, or formal invitation letter from a resident host)
- Proof of health/travel insurance
- A cover letter explaining your relocation plans is requested by some consulates
The D8 Visa: Documents You’ll Need
The D8, launched in October 2022 as Portugal’s answer to the digital nomad trend, is for people who are still actively earning — just not from a Portuguese employer. It comes in two forms: a temporary stay visa (up to one year, doesn’t count toward permanent residency) and a residence visa (leads to a renewable two-year residence permit and, eventually, permanent residency or citizenship).
Identity and administrative documents
- Valid passport (at least six months of validity beyond your intended stay)
- Completed D8 visa application form
- Two recent passport-style photos
- Portuguese NIF
Proof of remote work
- Employment contract (for remote employees), or
- Client contracts, invoices, or a company registration document (for freelancers and business owners) showing your income comes from outside Portugal
Financial documents
- Bank statements or pay slips showing average monthly income of at least €3,680 over the preceding three months for a single applicant, with additional amounts required per family member added to the application
- Proof of savings, generally around €11,040, again scaling up with dependents
Personal and legal documents
- Criminal record certificate — an FBI check for Americans, an RCMP check for Canadians, or the equivalent for UK applicants (an ACRO Police Certificate)
- Proof of accommodation in Portugal (rental agreement of at least four months for the temporary visa, or longer for the residence route)
- Proof of health insurance
Notice how similar the two lists look at first glance — passport, NIF, criminal record, accommodation, bank account. The real difference is what kind of income documentation backs up the file: passive income statements for the D7, active work contracts and invoices for the D8. Consulate officers are specifically checking that your income type matches the visa you’re applying for, so mixing the two up (for example, submitting a D7 application supported mainly by freelance invoices) is a common cause of requests for additional documents or outright refusal.
Where Apostilles, Background Checks, and Translations Actually Fit In
This is the part of the process that trips up even well-organized applicants, because it’s the one step that happens outside Portugal, often while you’re juggling a full-time job or a cross-country move.
Your criminal record certificate needs to be authenticated for it to mean anything in Portugal. A plain FBI Identity History Summary or an RCMP certificate, printed at home, isn’t automatically valid for use abroad. Because the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom are all members of the Hague Apostille Convention, the standard way to authenticate these documents for use in Portugal is to obtain an apostille — an internationally recognized certification that confirms the document is genuine and was issued by the authority it claims to be from. Portugal does not require documents to be re-legalized through an embassy; an apostille from the issuing country is sufficient.
For US citizens, that means:
- Requesting an FBI Identity History Summary Check through the FBI’s official channel
- Having it apostilled by the US Department of State, since FBI checks fall under federal authentication rather than a state-level process
For Canadian citizens, that means:
- Requesting an RCMP-certified criminal record check, generally through fingerprint-based screening
- Having it authenticated and apostilled through Global Affairs Canada, since Canada joined the Apostille Convention in January 2024
For UK citizens, the equivalent is an ACRO Police Certificate, apostilled through the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office.
Translation is the second piece. Portuguese consulates and AIMA generally require documents that aren’t in Portuguese (or sometimes English, depending on the office) to be translated by a certified or sworn translator, and in many cases the translation itself also needs to be notarized or apostilled to be accepted. A translation done by a friend, or a machine translation, typically won’t be accepted — Portuguese authorities want a translation with a formal certification attached, tying the translator’s credentials to the accuracy of the document.
Where things get genuinely confusing is the timing. An FBI check is only considered valid for a limited window (most consulates want one issued within the past 90 days to six months), and the apostille and translation steps both add time on top of that. Applicants who leave this until the week before their consulate appointment are often the ones who end up requesting extensions or missing their travel window. Building in four to six weeks for background checks, fingerprinting, apostilles, and translation — done in parallel with the rest of your document file — is a realistic buffer for either visa.
Common Mistakes That Delay Applications
- Applying for the wrong visa type. If your income comes from freelance clients but you apply for the D7 because the income threshold is lower, expect the consulate to ask for the correct documentation or reject the application outright.
- Using an expired criminal record certificate. Most consulates have a validity window; if your apostilled document ages out during processing, you may need to redo the entire chain.
- Skipping the apostille and assuming notarization is enough. A notarized document and an apostilled document are not the same thing, and Portuguese authorities specifically require the latter for foreign public documents.
- Translating documents without certification. A grammatically correct translation isn’t the same as a legally certified one.
- Underestimating AIMA appointment wait times. Getting the visa approved at the consulate is only step one — the in-Portugal residence permit appointment with AIMA has, at various points, involved significant backlogs, so build that into your overall relocation timeline.
The Bottom Line
The D7 and D8 aren’t interchangeable — they’re built around two different definitions of income, and Portuguese consulates check for that distinction closely. Once you’ve confirmed which visa fits your situation, the document list itself is fairly predictable: identity documents, proof of income, proof of accommodation, and an authenticated criminal record certificate.
That last piece — getting an FBI or RCMP background check properly apostilled and translated — is the step most applicants have never done before and don’t have a local process for, simply because it isn’t something you’d ever need to do while living in the US, UK, or Canada. If you get stuck on that part of your document file, it’s worth working with people who handle apostilles, fingerprinting, and certified translation for Portugal specifically, since the requirements (and the acceptable formats) differ from what you’d need for most other countries.
This article is for general informational purposes and reflects publicly available guidance as of September 2026. It is not immigration or legal advice. Visa requirements, income thresholds, and processing times change; always verify current rules with the Portuguese Consular Portal, AIMA, or a licensed immigration attorney before applying.
About the Author
Gabriel has worked in document authentication, official translation, and notary services since 2010. He leads a multi-pronged business ecosystem that has processed thousands of background checks, apostilles, and notarizations, along with tens of thousands of certified translations, for clients navigating jurisdictions including the US, UK, Canada, UAE, Spain, Portugal, Nigeria, South Africa, Brazil, and Mexico. Gabriel is not an immigration attorney, and this content is not legal advice — but few people have seen as many document files cross their desk. Read more about Gabriel →