Moving to Portugal: The Complete 2026 Guide
This is the map for your move to Portugal. Every guide below is written from lived experience and checked against official Portuguese sources, with dates, so you can trust the figures. Start wherever you are, the visa choice, the paperwork, the money, or settling in once you arrive.
Moving country is really a sequence of smaller decisions in the right order. The guides here walk through that order: choosing your visa, getting your NIF and bank account, gathering and apostilling documents, attending AIMA, then building an actual life once you land. If you are not sure where to begin, take the free two minute quiz, which tells you your next step.
Choosing your visa
- D7 vs D8 visa: which is right for you
- D7 vs Golden Visa (and what changed in 2026)
- Americans moving to Portugal: the 2026 guide
- Moving to Portugal from the UK
- How long Portuguese residency takes
Paperwork and money
- How to get a NIF (tax number)
- NIF or bank account first? The right order
- Open a Portuguese bank account as a foreigner
- Apostille your documents so they are accepted
- Portugal tax: NHR, IFICI and what changed
Arriving and settling in
- Getting an AIMA appointment
- Exchanging your driving licence (IMT 2026)
- Do you need to speak Portuguese?
- Cost of living in Portugal
- Retiring in Portugal
The long game and the borders
Free tools to start
Money, healthcare and where to live
- How much money you need to move to Portugal
- Healthcare in Portugal for foreigners (SNS and insurance)
- Algarve vs Lisbon: where should you live?
Want it all mapped for you?
The Discovery Plan puts every step in sequence, the Move Plan adds the settling-in detail and vetted contacts, and the Personalised Fit Plan gives you a one to one call and a plan built around you.
Last updated June 2026. By Claire Lawrence, who moved to Portugal and now helps others do the same. Every guide cites official Portuguese sources.