Moving to Lisbon as a Brit: the visa and residence routes that work in 2026

Before Brexit you could fly into Humberto Delgado with a suitcase and stay. Now you need a route, and for almost everyone it starts with a visa applied for from the UK.

The short version

• Without residence, Brits can spend 90 days in any 180 across the Schengen area, Portugal included [2].
• If you lived in Portugal legally before 1 January 2021, you're covered by the Withdrawal Agreement and should hold a Withdrawal Agreement residence card; if you don't, apply now through AIMA [1][3].
• Newcomers apply for a national visa from the UK, through VFS in London, Manchester or Edinburgh. The fee is EUR 110 (about £90) [5].
• The routes Brits use most: the D7 for pensions and passive income, the digital nomad visa for remote workers, plus work, study and family visas [4].
• Portugal tightened its immigration law in October 2025 and its nationality law in May 2026, so check the current rules before you plan [7][8].

Two kinds of Brit in Portugal

Portugal now treats Brits in two very different ways, and it pays to know which camp you're in.

Withdrawal Agreement residents. If you moved to Portugal before 1 January 2021 and have lived there legally since, you and your family keep rights under the Withdrawal Agreement [1]. The FCDO says you should have a Withdrawal Agreement residence permit and, if you don't, you "must get one now" by emailing AIMA at brexit@aima.gov.pt with proof that you lived in Portugal before 2021 [1]. AIMA (the Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum, which replaced SEF in 2023) also runs a Brexit phone line on +351 214 236 709 on weekday mornings [3]. After five years you can move to permanent residence, and the FCDO says the card has to be renewed through AIMA's online portal [1].

Your rights are sturdy but not unlimited. AIMA says temporary absences of up to six months a year don't break your residence, and once you hold permanent residence under the Withdrawal Agreement you only lose it after five consecutive years away [3]. A biometric residence card also keeps you out of the EU's Entry/Exit System checks at the border [1].

Newcomers. Everyone who arrived after Brexit is a third-country national, treated like a Canadian or an American. That means a visa first, then a residence permit from AIMA. Buying a flat in Alfama no longer gets you a golden visa either: property was removed from that scheme in 2023 [9].

The 90/180-day rule

Without a visa or residence permit, you can stay up to 90 days in any 180-day period in the Schengen area, and days in Spain or France count towards the same 90 [2]. Overstaying can lead to a ban of up to three years [2]. Your passport must have been issued less than 10 years before you arrive and be valid for at least three months after you plan to leave [2]. Time on a Portuguese long-stay visa or residence card doesn't count towards the 90 days [1].

The Entry/Exit System is being rolled out, so expect fingerprints and a photo at passport control rather than a stamp, and a record that lasts three years [2].

The routes, side by side

Pound conversions use the Bank of England spot rate of 5 November 2026 (£1 = EUR 1.2002).

D7: the retiree's route

The D7 is officially the residency visa for retirement or for people living from passive income [5]. You show a pension statement or proof of income from property, savings or investments [4]. The yardstick is the Portuguese minimum wage, EUR 920 a month in 2026, and you need it for 12 months [4]. Our guide to Portugal's D7 visa for Brits goes through the paperwork.

Remote work: the digital nomad visa

Often called the D8, this one is for people working remotely for an employer or clients abroad. It comes as a temporary stay visa of up to a year or as a residency visa that leads to a residence permit [5]. You need four times the minimum wage, and a document showing where you're tax resident [4]. See Portugal's digital nomad visa (D8).

Work, study and family

A job offer opens the subordinate work route, and highly qualified roles have their own visa. A new skilled job seeker visa was written into the law in 2025, but when we checked on 8 November 2026 the consulates said it was "not yet available" while its regulations are awaited [4].

Family reunification got harder in October 2025. Law 61/2025 generally requires the resident to have held a residence permit for two years before family can join, with exceptions for minor children, for some partners and for holders of highly qualified, investment and EU Blue Card permits [8]. If your partner and children are moving with you, apply for their accompanying family member visas at the same time as yours [4].

Applying from the UK

1. Pick your route on the Portuguese visa portal, vistos.mne.gov.pt, which lists every type [5].
2. Get your documents together: passport valid three months beyond your stay, two photos, an ACRO police certificate with an apostille, proof of means and travel insurance [4]. UK State Pensioners with an S1 may not need the insurance, as the visa portal names the UK S1 as an exception [4].
3. Book with VFS in London, Manchester or Edinburgh and pay the EUR 110 fee [5].
4. Wait for a decision: the official target is 60 days for residency visas and 30 days for temporary stay visas [5]. Book the appointment well ahead of your move.
5. Travel within four months. A residency visa is valid for two entries over four months, and during that time you attend AIMA to apply for your residence permit [5].

Your first month in Lisbon

Each step leans on the one before, so the order matters. Lisbon is AIMA's busiest patch, so expect queues and book early.

1. Get a NIF, the tax number, if you didn't before you left. You need it for a lease, a bank account and a phone contract [1].
2. Find a home. Our guide to renting in Lisbon covers contracts and deposits.
3. Attend your AIMA appointment and give your biometrics. Carry your residence document once you have it: the FCDO notes it's a legal requirement in Portugal [1].
4. Register for healthcare at your local health centre for a utente number (NNU), with your residence certificate, passport and NIF [1].
5. Sort your driving licence. Brits with a UK licence who are registered residents can drive on it until it expires, or exchange it at IMT with a DVLA check code [1].

NIF, NISS and AIMA explains the numbers and the appointment system.

Don't forget the UK end

Leaving Blighty properly saves headaches later. Tell HMRC you've gone: on form P85 if you don't do Self Assessment, or on the SA109 residence pages if you do [6]. Check whether split-year treatment applies, and remember that rent from a UK flat stays taxable in the UK. The UK–Portugal double taxation agreement stops you paying tax twice on the same income [1], and a tax adviser who knows both countries can check your case. Our moving abroad checklist has the full list.

Good news on citizenship: Portugal accepts dual nationality, so you can become Portuguese one day without giving up your British passport [1]. The wait is now 10 years for most Brits under the law in force since 19 May 2026 [7]; Portuguese citizenship for Brits has the detail.

The British Embassy in Lisbon and the Vice Consulate in Portimão can't help with visas or residence applications, so go to AIMA, the Portuguese consulates in London or Manchester, or an English-speaking lawyer [1]. Want to hear how the AIMA queue really works? Our community group for Brits in Portugal is full of people who've just done it.

Sources

1. GOV.UK (FCDO): Living in Portugal (last updated 10 July 2026)
2. GOV.UK (FCDO): Portugal travel advice – entry requirements (updated 11 August 2026)
3. AIMA: Brexit and absences under the Withdrawal Agreement
4. Vistos MNE: Necessary documentation, means of subsistence and skilled job seeker visa (checked 8 November 2026)
5. Vistos MNE: Type of visa, fees, deadlines and external service providers
6. GOV.UK (HMRC): Tax if you leave the UK to live abroad
7. Diário da República: Lei Orgânica n.º 1/2026, de 18 de maio
8. Diário da República: Lei n.º 61/2025, de 22 de outubro (Article 98) (read 11 November 2026)
9. AIMA: Residence permit for investment – Art. 90.º-A

Keep reading

• Portugal's D7 visa for Brits
• Renting in Lisbon
• NIF, NISS and AIMA: Portugal's numbers and the immigration agency
• Brits in the EU after Brexit: residence rights and the 90/180-day rule