The D7 is the route most people in their fifties and sixties take into Portugal. It is built for people living on income they do not have to clock in for: a pension, rental income, dividends, annuities. Get the visa choice right and the rest of the move is logistics. Get it wrong and the application stalls at the consulate.
Who the D7 is for
The D7 requires you to show stable, regular income from passive sources outside Portugal. Pensions, rental property, dividends, royalties, annuities and trust distributions all count. Active employment income does not, if you work remotely for a salary, you want the D8 instead.
The income you need to show
The threshold is tied to the Portuguese minimum wage and rises every January. As of April 2026 a single applicant needs to demonstrate at least €920 per month, with 50% added for a spouse and 30% per dependent child. Always confirm the current figure at vistos.mne.gov.pt before you apply, because it moves each year.
The savings you need in the bank
On top of income, you are expected to hold about twelve months of minimum wage in a Portuguese bank account, currently around €11,040. This has to be deposited before your consulate or VFS appointment, not after. Opening a Portuguese account from abroad can take four to six weeks even with a fiscal representative, so start that early.
What the visa leads to
The D7 leads to a residency permit (Título de Residência) issued for two years, then renewed in three-year increments. Permanent residency opens at the five-year mark. Citizenship becomes possible at year six, subject to the CIPLE A2 Portuguese language test and the standard residency requirements.
Two articles worth memorising
Article 81(3) of the Aliens Act says you may work in Portugal while your permit application is pending, for delays not your fault. You are not in legal limbo while you wait. Article 82 sets the deadlines: 60 days to decide a new application, 30 days for a renewal. If they miss it through no fault of yours, the decision is treated as favourable. AIMA will not print a card on day 31, but the article is what you cite when you escalate or appeal.
Where and how you apply
National visas are applied for from your country of legal residence, through VFS Global. In the US that means Washington DC, New York, Boston, Houston, Miami or San Francisco; in the UK, London, Manchester or Edinburgh; in Canada, a mix of VFS Vancouver and the consulates in Toronto and Ottawa. Once the visa is issued you have a four-month window to enter Portugal and book your AIMA residency appointment.
How long the whole thing takes
From gathering documents to holding your residency card is typically twelve to eighteen months. The slowest items are the police clearance certificate (FBI, ACRO or RCMP, with apostille), the bank account, the VFS appointment, and the AIMA appointment after arrival. The single most useful thing you can do today, whenever you plan to move, is apply for your police clearance, it can take eight to twelve weeks to issue.
Get the step-by-step Bureaucracy Blueprint
This is a factual overview drawn from official Portuguese government and EU sources (Lei n.º 23/2007, Lei n.º 61/2025, vistos.mne.gov.pt, aima.gov.pt). Thresholds change annually. It is not legal advice; verify current figures before you apply.
