Portugal D7 vs D8: Income Types, Requirements, and Key Differences

Quick answer: The first question is how you will support yourself while living in Portugal. The route commonly called D7 concerns retirees and people living from their own income. The remote-work route, often called D8, concerns professional work performed remotely for outside Portugal. Use the official descriptive route name when selecting an application category. Your income type, supporting evidence, and intended activity matter alongside the amount you earn.

The main distinction

Question	D7, retirement or own income	Remote-work route, often called D8
What income is the route concerned with?	Pension and qualifying own-income sources	Income from qualifying remote employment or independent professional work
What should you investigate first?	How your income arises and remains available	Your work relationship, remote arrangement, and professional income evidence
What financial rule needs checking?	Applicable household means-of-subsistence requirements	The professional-income test, plus the other applicable requirements

Portugal's Embassy in New Delhi D7 checklist describes pensions and own-income sources such as property rents and dividends. It is useful evidence of the route's purpose; its local document procedures apply to that jurisdiction.

Explore routes matching my inputs

Use your circumstances to identify published routes for further research.

How the remote-work income test works

Article 31-A of Portugal's visa regulation requires evidence of average monthly employment or independent professional income over the previous three months equal to at least four guaranteed minimum monthly wages.

Decree-Law 139/2025 sets the mainland minimum wage at €920 for 2026. Applying the four-times rule gives €3,680 average monthly professional income. This is a calculation from the cited rules, rather than a separately quoted euro amount from the application authority.

For an arithmetic example, professional income of €3,500, €3,700, and €4,000 averages approximately €3,733 per month. That example explains the average. The authority still determines whether the evidence and all application conditions are satisfied.

Household members, currency conversion, income classification, and the accepted evidence need their own checks. Use the current instructions of the authority handling your application before relying on a figure.

What to check for D7 financial evidence

Portaria 1563/2007 establishes the means-of-subsistence framework. Its household scale is 100% for the first adult, 50% for each additional adult, and 30% for a child under 18 or dependent adult child. It references the minimum wage, with the nature and regularity of resources considered net of social-security contributions. For retirees and own-income applicants, it addresses evidence covering at least 12 months and availability in Portugal.

Confirm the current euro calculation and evidence required for your household with your application authority. A headline monthly figure alone does not explain how a particular pension, rental arrangement, portfolio distribution, or mixed income will be documented and assessed.

Prepare evidence that explains the income

For your own planning, make a short record for every income source:

Who receives it and who pays it.
Whether it comes from work, retirement, property, investments, or another source.
Its amount, currency, and payment pattern.
Which documents demonstrate the source and receipt.
Whether it is expected to continue after the move.

For the remote-work route, Article 31-A specifies employment-contract or employer-declaration evidence for employees; company, service-contract, or evidence-of-services alternatives for independent professionals; professional-income evidence; and a document attesting tax residence. These route-specific documents sit alongside the general application requirements.

Collect the official general checklist for your jurisdiction as well. Check its instructions for passport, background, accommodation, insurance, authentication, translation, and any family evidence that applies. Record the exact accepted format and timing for each requested item.

What if you have several income sources?

Keep them separate in your research. A salary, a pension, and money withdrawn from savings describe different financial circumstances.

Write down the activity you intend to continue after moving, then identify the official questions that remain unresolved. If income classification or your working arrangement is unclear, take that specific issue to the responsible authority or a qualified immigration professional.

There is no need to force your circumstances into a route based only on a lower headline threshold. Begin with a route whose published purpose aligns with the move you intend to make.

Turn the comparison into a planning task

Your useful next step is to identify a route to investigate, obtain the current official instructions, and list any missing evidence or unanswered questions.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between Portugal's D7 and D8 routes? D7 concerns retirees and people living from their own income, such as pensions, rents, or dividends. The remote-work route, often called D8, concerns professional work performed remotely for outside Portugal, such as salaried remote employment or independent professional work.

How much income do I need for Portugal's remote-work route? Article 31-A requires average monthly employment or independent professional income over the previous three months equal to at least four guaranteed minimum monthly wages — €3,680 based on the 2026 minimum wage of €920. Confirm the current figure and accepted evidence with your application authority.

What documents does the remote-work route require? Article 31-A specifies employment-contract or employer-declaration evidence for employees, company or service-contract evidence for independent professionals, professional-income evidence, and a document attesting tax residence, alongside the general application requirements.

What if my income comes from several sources? Keep each source separate in your research — a salary, a pension, and savings withdrawals describe different financial circumstances. Take unresolved income-classification questions to the responsible authority or a qualified immigration professional.