Portugal D7 Visa (Passive Income): A Guide for Canadians
How Canadians qualify for Portugal's D7 passive income visa: the income and savings rules, how to apply, and how it differs from the D8.
Short answer: The D7 is Portugal’s residence visa for people who live on stable income they do not have to actively work for, such as a pension, rental income, or dividends. If your passive income clears the threshold, it lets you live in Portugal legally and build toward long-term residency. Canadians apply through the Portuguese consulate that covers their province. It is often called the retirement visa, but there is no age requirement.
Who the D7 Is For
The D7 fits financially independent people whose money arrives without a job: retirees on a pension, landlords with rental income, investors living on dividends or interest. If that is you, this is usually the right route.
The line that trips people up is what counts as passive. A salary, freelance fees, and active remote-work income do not qualify on their own. If your income comes from working, even remotely, you are looking at the D8 digital nomad visa, not the D7.
The Income You Need to Show
For 2026 the minimum is €920 per month, about €11,040 a year, for the main applicant. That figure is the Portuguese minimum wage, and the D7 bar is pegged to it, so it drifts up most Januaries as the wage rises.
Adding family raises it: an extra 50 percent for a spouse or partner, about €460 a month, and 30 percent for each dependent child, about €276. So a couple looks at roughly €1,380 a month, around €16,560 a year.
Consulates want to see that this income is durable rather than a lucky quarter, so twelve months of statements that line up with your declared sources carry real weight.
The Savings You Need in the Bank
On top of the monthly income, you hold a savings cushion in a Portuguese bank account, commonly a sum equal to about twelve months of the minimum wage, roughly €11,040 for a single applicant. Family raises this too: add about 50 percent for a spouse, around €5,520, and 30 percent per child, around €3,312. Have it in the account by the time you apply.
Documents You Will Need
The exact checklist is set by the consulate covering your province, so verify the current list before booking. In general terms, expect:
- A valid passport
- Proof of your passive income and its sources, usually covering recent months
- Proof of your savings cushion
- Proof of long-term accommodation in Portugal, often a 12-month lease or property deed
- Residency-grade health insurance
- A criminal record check
- A Portuguese tax number (NIF)
- A Portuguese bank account
How to Apply, Step by Step
- Get a Portuguese tax number (NIF) and open a Portuguese bank account.
- Line up your long-term accommodation, since the lease or deed is part of the file.
- Gather your income proof, savings evidence, and the rest of the document checklist.
- Book an appointment with the Portuguese consulate that serves your province, or its VFS Global visa centre.
- Submit your application and attend your appointment.
- Once your entry visa is granted, travel to Portugal within its window, around four months, and complete your residency at AIMA. The residence permit is issued for two years, then renews for a further three.
The consular decision is often quoted at 60 to 90 days, but the AIMA residence stage adds time during the current backlog, so plan for the whole process to run several months.
Use the Portugal D7 checklist to plan each step.
What It Costs
The government fees are modest and per person: the national D visa is about €110 at the consulate, a VFS Global service fee adds roughly €38, and the AIMA residence-permit stage comes to roughly €186 to €247. Call it around €400 per person to get the visa and first permit.
The larger costs sit around the visa: document translations and apostilles, your health insurance, and any rent you carry on Portuguese accommodation before you actually move. Fees are revised periodically, and some official pages still show older amounts, so confirm at application.
D7 vs D8: Which One Fits You
These two routes cover different kinds of income, and choosing wrong means a rejected file.
The D7 is for passive income: pensions, rent, dividends, royalties, interest. You do not work for it.
The D8 digital nomad visa is for active remote income you earn by working for clients or an employer outside Portugal. Its income bar is four times the minimum wage, far higher than the D7’s.
The simple test: pension or investments points to the D7, a remote salary or freelance income points to the D8. If you are planning retirement specifically, see retiring in Europe from Canada.
If neither visa matches how you earn, our guide to moving to Portugal from Canada compares the other routes and covers family, health care, and pensions.
Health Insurance
The D7 is a residency visa, so it needs residency-grade health cover, not a travel policy. Some residency insurers set age limits on new customers, which matters if you are applying later in life, so check that a policy will accept you and that it qualifies for the residency stage before you buy.
Before You Apply
Portugal’s income and savings thresholds move with the minimum wage, the fees are revised periodically, and the exact document list is set by the specific consulate that handles your province. Portugal also revised its nationality law in 2026, which changed the residency period before citizenship eligibility, so treat any citizenship timeline you read as subject to change. Always verify the current rules with official sources, primarily AIMA and the Portuguese consulate serving your region, before you commit. This guide explains how the route works. It is not legal advice.
Ready to act on this? The Portugal D7 Passive-Income Route: Relocation Checklist walks through the documents to gather and the order to do things in.
Not sure which route fits? Take the quiz
Planning Your Move
- Moving Money
Hold Canadian dollars and euros in one account, with the fee shown before you convert.
- Health Cover
For the D7, this is for the after-arrival AIMA residency appointment, not the consulate visa-application stage. The consulate stage generally asks for Schengen travel insurance, which is a different product. At AIMA, choose Genki Native's €0 deductible option, which is what Portugal's authorities expect. Whether it satisfies a specific requirement depends on the country and the stage of your application, so confirm your certificate meets what the relevant authority asks for before you rely on it.
- First Place to Stay
Book a flexible short stay in your destination city while you view apartments and settle in, then move into a long-term rental once you are on the ground. No visa or legal step requires booking through Booking.com specifically.