At a glance
- The D7 is Portugal’s residence visa for non-EU nationals who can support themselves from regular passive or remote income: pensions, dividends, rents, royalties, or salary from a foreign source.
- For 2026 the baseline income to show is the national minimum wage of EUR 980 per month (about EUR 11,040 per year) for the main applicant, plus 50% for a second adult and 30% for each dependent child.
- The process runs in two stages: a visa application at the Portuguese consulate in your country of residence, then a residence-permit appointment with AIMA after you arrive, in Madeira‘s case at the AIMA office in Funchal.
- The first residence permit is valid for two years and renews for successive three-year periods; permanent residence becomes available after five years of legal residence.
- Madeira applies the same national immigration law as the mainland, so the D7 route into Funchal is identical in substance, with a regional tax and cost-of-living profile that often works in the applicant’s favour.
If you intend to settle in Funchal on regular income rather than active local employment, knowing how to apply for a D7 visa is the first practical step, and the sequence matters because the two stages run in different countries and on different clocks. This guide sets out who the D7 is for, the income and documents you need, the step-by-step process, and what changes once you are resident in Madeira. MCS assists clients through the Portuguese side of this process, subject to each applicant’s circumstances.
What the D7 visa is, and who it suits
The D7 is a national residence visa created for non-EU, non-EEA and non-Swiss nationals who hold sufficient, regular income generated outside active work in Portugal. It is often called the passive-income or retirement visa, but the category is broader than retirees: pensioners, holders of dividend and rental income, owners of intellectual-property royalties, and increasingly remote earners whose income is stable and foreign-sourced all use it. Where income comes from genuinely location-independent remote work, the D8 digital-nomad visa is the more natural fit, and part of the early advice is choosing correctly between the two.
The D7 suits an applicant who can demonstrate that their living costs in Portugal are already covered by income they do not have to earn locally. For Madeira specifically, the profile is common: retirees drawn to the climate and the safety of Funchal, and remote-income households relocating from higher-cost European cities.
How to apply for a D7 visa: the income and savings you must show
The income test is anchored to the Portuguese minimum wage, which for 2026 is EUR 980 per month, or roughly EUR 11,040 across the year, for a single applicant. The family uplifts are layered on top: add 50% of the baseline for a second adult, about EUR 460 per month, and 30% for each dependent child, about EUR 276 per month. A couple with one child should therefore plan to evidence income in the region of EUR 1,656 per month.
Alongside recurring income, consulates expect to see accumulated savings in a Portuguese bank account, in practice around twelve months of the minimum wage (approximately EUR 11,040), with the same percentage uplifts for accompanying family members. These figures are statutory minimums. A consulate assessing an application will look for a comfortable margin rather than a figure that only just clears the threshold, so building in headroom is sensible.
How to apply for a D7 visa: the documents you will need
The documentary core is consistent across consulates, though each post can ask for additional items, so confirming the local checklist before booking is worth the time. You will generally need:
- A completed national visa application form and a valid passport with at least two blank pages.
- Two recent passport photographs.
- A Portuguese tax number (NIF) and proof of a Portuguese bank account.
- Evidence of regular income and of accumulated savings, typically through bank statements, pension confirmations, dividend or rental records.
- Proof of accommodation in Portugal, a rental contract or property deed.
- A criminal-record certificate from your country of residence, apostilled or legalised, with a certified Portuguese translation.
- Private health insurance valid in Portugal until you register with the national health service.
- Proof of regular travel or repatriation insurance for the initial entry.
Two of these, the NIF and the Portuguese bank account, are usually arranged before the consular appointment, and a non-resident applicant from a third country normally appoints a fiscal representative to obtain the NIF. This is the point at which most applicants engage local assistance.
How to apply for a D7 visa: the two-stage process step by step
The process is sequential, and the order is fixed.
First, you apply at the Portuguese consulate, or the VFS Global office that handles Portuguese visas, in the country where you legally reside. You cannot start the D7 from inside Portugal as a tourist. You book the appointment, submit the file in person, and wait for a decision that typically takes around sixty to ninety days, though it can run longer.
Second, on approval the consulate issues a temporary entry visa valid for 120 days, with two entries. This visa is not the residence permit; it is the document that lets you enter Portugal lawfully to complete the second stage.
Third, within that 120-day window you attend an appointment with AIMA, the Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum, the body that replaced SEF. For an applicant settling in Madeira, this appointment is held at the AIMA office in Funchal. Your biometrics are collected and the residence application is finalised.
Fourth, after the AIMA appointment your two-year residence-permit card, the título de residência, is produced and posted to your Portuguese address, usually within one to two months.
Plan for a total timeline of roughly six to nine months from first consular appointment to card in hand. The two variables that move that figure most are consular processing speed in your home country and AIMA appointment availability, which can be quicker in less crowded posts than in the largest mainland cities.
Living in Madeira on a D7 visa
Madeira applies the same Portuguese immigration framework as the mainland, so nothing in the legal architecture of the D7 changes because you choose Funchal over Lisbon. What changes is the surrounding profile. The Region operates its own health service, SESARAM, which you register with once resident; the cost of living, particularly housing, is generally lower than in Lisbon or the Algarve; and the Region applies reduced regional rates of personal income tax on the lower brackets compared with the mainland, which can matter once you become tax resident.
One technical point on the income test: the D7 threshold is indexed to the national minimum wage of EUR 920, not to Madeira’s higher regional minimum wage, so the figure you evidence to the consulate is the national one. The regional minimum wage is relevant to local employment, not to the visa threshold.
After arrival: tax residency, renewal, permanent residence and citizenship
Holding a D7 residence permit and obliging you to spend meaningful time in Portugal, the route carries a minimum-stay condition: you should not be absent for more than six consecutive months, or eight non-consecutive months, across the permit’s validity. Living in Madeira comfortably satisfies this; the condition mainly catches applicants who treat the permit as a flag of convenience.
Spending more than 183 days in Portugal, or maintaining your habitual home here, makes you Portuguese tax resident. At that point your worldwide income falls within the Portuguese system. Depending on your profile, you may qualify for the IFICI regime (the successor to non-habitual residence) if you carry on a qualifying high-value activity, and if not, you are taxed under the ordinary progressive rates, which in Madeira carry the regional reduction on lower brackets. Mapping the tax position before you arrive, rather than after, is the part of the move where early advice pays for itself.
On renewal, the first permit lasts two years and then renews for successive three-year periods, provided the income and residence conditions continue to be met. After five years of legal residence you may apply for permanent residence. Citizenship by naturalisation follows the residence-based timeline set by the 2026 reform of the Nationality Law: ten years of legal residence for most third-country nationals, reduced to seven years for nationals of Portuguese-speaking (CPLP) countries.
Practical takeaways
- Decide between the D7 and the D8 before anything else; the D7 is for regular passive or foreign income, the D8 for location-independent remote work.
- Evidence the 2026 baseline of EUR 980 per month for the main applicant, plus 50% for a second adult and 30% per child, and build in a comfortable margin above the minimum.
- Obtain your NIF and open a Portuguese bank account first; a third-country applicant usually needs a fiscal representative for the NIF.
- Apply at the consulate in your country of residence, never from inside Portugal as a tourist.
- Use the 120-day entry visa to attend your AIMA appointment in Funchal; the card follows by post.
- Respect the minimum-stay condition and plan your tax position, including a possible IFICI application, before you become resident.
- Count on six to nine months end to end, and treat consular and AIMA scheduling as the main timing risks.
Where MCS can assist
MCS supports D7 applicants on the Portuguese side of the process: obtaining the NIF and acting as fiscal representative where required, assisting with the opening of a Portuguese bank account, preparing and reviewing the documentary file against the relevant consular checklist, coordinating the AIMA appointment in Funchal, and advising on the tax-residency consequences and any IFICI eligibility before arrival. We can assist with the structuring and the compliance steps, subject to each applicant’s circumstances and to the documentation available; the visa decision itself rests with the consular authorities and AIMA.
Frequently asked questions
How to apply for a D7 visa if I am already in Portugal as a tourist? You cannot begin the D7 from inside Portugal on a tourist stay. The application must be lodged at the Portuguese consulate, or the VFS Global office, in the country where you legally reside, and only after approval do you enter Portugal to complete the AIMA stage.
How much income do I need to apply for a D7 visa in 2026? The baseline is the national minimum wage, EUR 920 per month for the main applicant, with 50% added for a second adult and 30% for each dependent child, alongside accumulated savings of roughly twelve months of that wage in a Portuguese account.
Can my family apply with me on the D7? Yes. A spouse or partner, dependent children, and dependent parents can be included, with the income and savings thresholds increased by the family uplifts described above.
Does applying for a D7 visa in Madeira differ from the mainland? No, the legal process is identical, because Madeira applies the same national immigration law. The practical difference is that your AIMA appointment is held in Funchal and your tax and cost-of-living profile is the Region’s.
How long does the D7 process take? Plan for roughly six to nine months in total, driven mainly by consular processing time in your home country and AIMA appointment availability in Portugal.
When can I apply for citizenship after the D7? Citizenship by naturalisation follows ten years of legal residence for most third-country nationals under the 2026 Nationality Law, reduced to seven years for CPLP nationals, with permanent residence available after five years.
This article is provided for general information only and does not constitute legal, tax or immigration advice, nor does it create a client relationship. Immigration thresholds and procedures change: the D7 income requirement is indexed to the Portuguese minimum wage and moves each year; consular documentary checklists vary by post; AIMA practice, appointment availability and processing times are subject to change; and the residence, permanent-residence and citizenship timelines reflect the law as amended in 2026 and may be further revised. Any decision should be taken on the basis of advice tailored to your circumstances and to the rules in force at the time of application. The visa and residence-permit decisions rest with the Portuguese consular authorities and AIMA. Madeira Corporate Services assists with the Portuguese-side steps described here, subject to engagement and to the documentation provided.
Catarina graduated in Law in 2021 from the Faculty of Law of the University of Coimbra. She has been a member of the Bar since 2023.
