Portugal's D8 Digital Nomad Visa

Portugal introduced the D8 ("digital nomad") visa on 30 October 2022 for non-EU/EEA remote workers and freelancers, requiring proof of income of at least four times the national minimum wage plus accommodation and health insurance. It sits alongside the longer-established D7 passive-income visa but targets active remote employees and contractors.
Within its first year, Portuguese immigration data reported by Portugal Resident and SchengenVisaInfo.com showed over 2,600 D8 visas issued, with US, Brazilian and British nationals the largest recipient groups (Americans alone accounted for roughly 22% of issuances in 2023). The scheme continued operating under AIMA (which absorbed SEF's functions in 2023) and remained active into 2026.
The D8 visa's income and paperwork requirements mean it functions as a selective, income-gated pathway rather than a broad-based inclusion measure, and no independent economic-impact evaluation (e.g. tax revenue or local spending generated) was found alongside the issuance counts — the reported evidence covers visa volume, not downstream outcomes.

Read the full analysis: https://www.portugalresident.com/over-2600-visas-granted-to-digital-nomads-in-one-year-in-portugal/