Visa for digital nomad in Portugal: how to get residency

Portugal receives more and more professionals who choose it as their base of work, even if it is only for a while. To be able to live and work in the country, you must have a digital nomad visa in Portugal, unless you have European citizenship.
And did you know that now Portugal has a visa specially created to assist those who work remotely? Well, as of the latest amendments to the Foreigners' Law in 2022, Portugal has a visa for these cases. Details about this new feature are explained in this article.

Article Content Index

What is the digital nomad visa in Portugal?
What needs to be proven to get the Digital Nomad Visa in Portugal?
Who can apply for a Digital Nomad Visa for Portugal?
What is a digital nomad?
Who can work as a digital nomad?
What has changed in the Foreigners Law on visas?
When will the changes take effect?
How to be a digital nomad in Portugal?
Portugal is one of the best countries to work as a digital nomad
Discover the Madeira Digital Nomads project
Advantages of being a digital nomad in Portugal
What is the digital nomad visa in Portugal?
The digital nomad visa (which is officially called a residence visa for carrying out a professional activity remotely outside the national territory – Article 61º-B) was approved and is now part of the Foreigners’ Law.

It is a visa specifically designed for foreign professionals who provide their services remotely, either as a subordinate worker or as an independent worker.

There is the possibility of applying for a Digital Nomad Visa for Portugal on a temporary basis, for less than one year, or as a residence visa, for more than one year.

Therefore, any foreign professional who fits into this situation and wants to live in Portugal can apply for a digital nomad visa, if he meets the requirements for this.

What needs to be proven to get the Digital Nomad Visa in Portugal?
In the case of workers with an employment contract (subordinated), these are the requirements:

Employment contract;
Promise of employment contract;
Employer statement proving the employment relationship.

In the situation of exercising an independent professional activity, one of the following documents is required, be it:

Company contract; or
Contract for services; or
Written proposal for a service provision contract; or
Document demonstrating services provided to one or more
entities.
Furthermore:

Proof of average monthly income earned in the last three
months of minimum value equivalent to four minimum wages
monthly guaranteed.
Document attesting your tax residency.
Documents for the Temporary Stay Visa for the Digital Nomad Visa:
CPLP citizens are exempt from presenting:

Subsistence; and
Return transport ticket.
Upon presentation of responsibility in the following terms:

Presentation of a term of responsibility signed by the host entity for interns or workers, as well as by the organization responsible for student exchange programs or volunteer work, with a recognized signature in Portugal; or,
Presentation of a term of responsibility, signed by a Portuguese citizen or a qualified foreign citizen, with a signature recognized in Portugal, with a document of residence in Portugal, which guarantees food and accommodation to the visa applicant, as well as the replacement of the costs of removal, in case irregular stay.

Who can apply for a Digital Nomad Visa for Portugal?
The visa can be applied for by foreigners, who prove remote work with companies outside Portugal, whether subordinated or not, and who have an income of 4 monthly Portuguese minimum wages.

If accompanied by an adult (e.g. spouse, adult child, parents over 65 years old), + 50% of the minimum wage must be added
Portuguese, and 30% of that value must be added to each child.

Find out how much the Portuguese minimum wage is here.

What is a digital nomad?
A digital nomad is a professional who works remotely and who takes advantage of this situation to live in many different places.

Think about it: since to work in this way, it is enough to have a computer and access to a good internet connection (in most cases), many people have chosen to live the experience of not having a permanent home and living as nomads.

It is quite common for digital nomads to spend, for example, just a few months in each city or country. That way, they can get to know different places at the same time that they work and guarantee their livelihood (and save money for the next trip.

Who can work as a digital nomad?
This lifestyle has become more and more popular and has been pursued by many people. Even more so nowadays, and with the increase in remote work opportunities in the world, there are many professions in which it is possible to live as a digital nomad.

Until recently, the professionals who lived this way the most were those who worked directly with the internet, such as programmers, content creators, designers, video editors, photographers, journalists and digital marketing professionals.

But nowadays, we find professionals from almost all areas working remotely, whether psychologists, teachers, coaches and civil servants, among many others.

What has changed in the Foreigners Law on visas?
In addition to the creation of the digital nomad visa, other changes were made to the legislation that regulates the entry, stay, exit and removal of foreigners from Portugal, published in Law No. 18/2022, on August 25. The main ones are:

Withdrawal of prior opinion from SEF for study visa
Another change implemented should speed up the issuance of study visas, since the requirement to issue a prior opinion from the Foreigners and Borders Service for this visa to be granted was removed - a procedure that increased the waiting time for the visa application.

According to the change, if the applicant is already admitted to a higher education institution in Portugal, the opinion will no longer be necessary.

Less bureaucracy for nationals of CPLP countries
Immigrants who are nationals of countries that are part of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) will have some facilities to obtain a visa.

The opinion of the SEF will be waived and the competent bodies for issuing the visa will consult the databases in the SIS (the Schengen Information System), which stores data to guarantee the security of the countries. It is yet another measure aimed at facilitating and accelerating the issuance of visas.

The following countries are part of the CPLP: Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Mozambique, Portugal, São Tomé and Príncipe and East Timor.

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