MATLAW

🇬🇧🇵🇹 Since Brexit, moving from the UK to Portugal requires special attention.

British citizens are third-country nationals in Portugal and that changes every step of the process, from the visa application to the path to citizenship.

Below, we walk through what every British national should understand before starting the move in 2026.

The costliest mistakes British citizens make when moving to Portugal happen before arrival, not after — when the wrong visa is chosen, tax residency is misjudged, or the citizenship timeline is misunderstood.

Portugal‘s Digital Nomad Visa as a route.

Portugal has cemented its place in the top 10 of the world’s leading destinations for digital nomads, thanks to its climate, safety, good internet and the D8 visa (Digital Nomad Visa).

The D8 visa is intended for people who work remotely for:
A foreign employer.
Foreign clients.
A foreign company.
An independent entity or business located outside Portugal.

The D8 income requirement is set at four times the Portuguese minimum wage.
With the minimum wage now at €920/month, the threshold for the main applicant in 2026 is:
• €3,680/month of net income from foreign sources
• €11,040 in savings (12 times the minimum wage)
• +50% of the income requirement per spouse
• +30% per dependent child

This does not necessarily result from a specific amendment to Article D8; it stems from the annual update to the minimum wage. The 2026 RMMG has been officially set at €920 for mainland Portugal.

⚠️ The tax dimension often overlooked
The D8 does not, by itself, trigger Portuguese tax residency.
But spending more than 183 days in Portugal in any calendar year does and that means being taxed on worldwide income, at rates from 14% to 48%.

Digital nomads who plan their move without addressing tax residency in the country of origin, treaty relief, and the interaction with pension, dividend, and freelance income structures frequently discover the fiscal consequences only after the fact.

The D8 Visa is not a lifestyle product. It is a residence status with defined income thresholds, a specific documentary trail, an explicit path — and, since 2026, a longer one — to permanent residence and Portuguese citizenship.

For those who intend to build a genuine legal and fiscal foundation in Portugal, the D8 is a starting point.
...

If you need any advice on this matter just talk to us:

📞 (+351) 210 434 150
✉ [email protected]

EU Long-Term Resident Status - a open door to live in Europe?

EU Long-Term Resident Status is a harmonised European status designed to strengthen the integration of third-country nationals with long-term ties to an EU Member State.

In Portugal, it grants the same stability as Permanent Residence + facilitated residence in other EU countries under specific conditions.

For anyone whose plans span more than one European country, EU Long-Term Resident Status is a complementary layer of stability to Permanent Residence that turns a Portuguese immigration decision into a European one.

If you‘re a foreign living in Portugal and planning to have a child here, there‘s a new requirement worth knowing about.

Under the revised Nationality Law, children born in Portugal to foreign parents only acquire Portuguese nationality automatically if, at the time of birth, both parents have at least 5 years of legal residence in the country.

What changed (and why it matters for you)?

𝗕𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 (𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟬–𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲): A child born in Portugal to foreign parents could acquire Portuguese nationality at birth if one parent was legally resident or had been residing in Portugal for at least one year (even without formal status).

𝗡𝗼𝘄 (𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝟭𝟵 𝗠𝗮𝘆 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲): The default route at birth requires five years of documented, continuous legal residence by one parent at the time of the child’s birth.

Non‑retroactive: The rule applies to births from the law’s entry into force. Children born earlier are assessed under the law in force at their birth date

For investor and expat families living in Portugal, this means the parents‘ residency timeline now has a direct effect on the child‘s legal status, not just on the parents‘ own process.

Practical steps to plan now:
Map your residence timeline.
Keep evidence ready.
Residence permit for the newborn.

If you‘re consider the impact of recent changes in your household, it‘s worth mapping out the timeline in advance.
Talk to us.
📞 (+351) 210 434 150 · 📧 [email protected] ·

Every year, the same pattern.

From July to September bring MATLAW a very particular kind of enquiry: from people who spent their summer holidays in Portugal and went home thinking, “What if we actually moved here?“

It‘s not a coincidence. For many prospective expats, summer holidays are the first real, extended contact with the country, the moment living in Portugal stops being an abstract idea.

Enquiries about residency visas rise visibly between August and October, right after that first hands-on experience.

But not every visa fits every profile. A quick map:

D7 Visa — for those with stable passive income (pension, rental income, dividends). Minimum
Every year, the same pattern.

July to September bring MATLAW a very particular kind of enquiry: from people who spent their summer holidays in Portugal and went home thinking, “what if we actually moved here? “

It’s not a coincidence. For many prospective expats, summer holidays are the first real, extended contact with the country and becomes the moment when living in Portugal stops being an abstract idea.

Enquiries about residency visas rise visibly between August and October, right after that first hands-on experience.

But not every visa will fit your profile. A quick map:

D7 Visa — mainly for those with stable passive income (pension, rental income, dividends). Minimum reference: €11,040/year.

D8 Visa — for digital nomads with an employment or service contract abroad. Minimum: €3,680/month.

D2 Visa — for entrepreneurs looking to invest in and run their own business in Portugal.

Golden Visa — for investors who don’t intend to live in Portugal full-time. Today, without the real estate route: investment funds (€500,000) or a donation to approved cultural projects (€200,000–€250,000).

Tech Visa - targets companies operating in the global market with headquarters or a permanent presence in Portugal that wish to attract highly qualified professionals from outside the European Union.

Start-up Visa - for foreign entrepreneurs without permanent residence in the Schengen Area who wish to develop an entrepreneurial and innovative project in Portugal, to obtain a residence visa and permit.

Choosing the wrong pathway costs time and often means starting the process over from scratch.

Check our moving to Portugal and visa Guides or talk to us to understand what’s the best visa option is for you.

Full guide here >> https://www.matlaw.pt/news/moving-to-portugal-guide/

📞 (+351) 210 434 150 · 📧 [email protected]

Five years of legal residence in Portugal opens two very different doors.
Most applicants don’t realise they can walk through both.

After completing five years of legal residence in Portugal, foreign nationals reach a defining moment in their immigration journey.
Temporary permits - with their renewals, deadlines, and administrative friction - give way to long-term solutions.

But there are two of them. And they are not interchangeable.

1. Permanent Residence
A national status governed exclusively by Portuguese law.
It grants the right to live, work, and study in Portugal without further temporary renewals.
The residence card is renewed every five years, but the underlying right of residence has no fixed validity.

Its greatest practical advantage: greater flexibility for time spent outside Portugal - a decisive factor for internationally mobile individuals and families.

2EU Long-Term Resident Status
A harmonised European status designed to strengthen the integration of third-country nationals across the EU.

This status grants permanent residence and makes it easier to move to other EU countries, but it does not grant complete and automatic freedom to live and work in any EU country.

And not every residence permit qualifies. Only permits reflecting stable, long-term residence count. Study, traineeship, volunteering, temporary protection and short-term mobility permits are excluded.

Both are accessed at the five-year mark.
Both require clean criminal record, means of subsistence, adequate accommodation, and basic Portuguese language proficiency.
EU Long-Term Resident Status additionally requires proof of health insurance.

How to choose?
Depends on your goals.
• Permanent Residence consolidates your life in Portugal.
• EU Long-Term Resident Status extends that stability into the wider European framework.

They are complementary, not competing. Both may be pursued in parallel once eligibility is met and for individuals whose plans span more than one Member State, that is often the smarter path.

Reaching the five-year milestone is not the finish line.
It is the point at which the right decision - Portugal-focused, EU-focused, or both - begins to shape everything that comes next.
..

At MATLAW, we advise foreign nationals, families, and internationally mobile individuals on the strategic decisions that follow five years of legal residence in Portugal.

📞 (+351) 210 434 150
✉ [email protected]

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Want to know how to get permanent residence in Portugal?
We answer all your questions.

See the link in the comments or contact us directly:

[email protected]
(+351) 210 434 150 [WhatsApp]

Estamos a contratar para reforçar a nossa equipa no Algarve:

Assistente administrativa(o) e de Client Care
Local de trabalho: Almancil
Horário: Segunda a Sexta-feira, das 09h00 às 18h00
Entrada Imediata

REQUISITOS:

Competências Técnicas:

- Habilitações mínimas ao nível do 12º ano escolaridade

- Experiência de 1 a 2 anos em funções administrativas ou similares

- Domínio do Excel e Word e das restantes ferramentas Microsoft Office na ótica do utilizador

- Excelente capacidade de comunicação

- Fluência em Inglês falado e escrito

- Apresentação cuidada

Competências Comportamentais:

- Elevado sentido de responsabilidade, organização e iniciativa

- Proatividade e orientação para a resolução de problemas

- Capacidade de análise e sentido crítico;

- Capacidade para trabalhar em equipa

- Pontualidade e assiduidade;

- Boa capacidade de comunicação e atendimento ao Cliente;

- Boa capacidade de gestão de prioridades e tarefas múltiplas;

- Flexibilidade;

- Carta de condução e viatura própria.

- Disponibilidade imediata.

CONTRAPARTIDA:

- Contrato de trabalho por tempo indeterminado

- Remuneração compatível com a experiência e a responsabilidade da função a desempenhar

- Subsídio de Alimentação e Seguro de Saúde (após período experimental)

- Integração numa equipa jovem, dinâmica e informal, num ambiente de trabalho estimulante, exigente e internacional.

CANDIDATURA:

- A candidatura deve ser apresentada até 22 de junho de 2024 (inclusive), por via eletrónica, através do e-mail [email protected] com a referência: MATLAW_Assistente Administrativo_Almancil

- Todas as candidaturas devem considerar o CV do(a) candidato(a) e uma carta de motivação.

- Podem ser solicitados elementos adicionais que atestem as informações apresentadas no CV e as competências do(a) candidato(a).

O programa Mais Habitação aprovou um conjunto de restrições ao alojamento local (AL) e criou incentivos aos senhorios para o arrendamento de longa duração, com o objetivo de combater a crise de oferta no mercado habitacional em Portugal.

Para ajudar os seus clientes e parceiros a MATLAW criou um artigo que explica as principais alterações que irão acontecer.

Pode ler o artigo em: https://tinyurl.com/baedumbt
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The Mais-Habitação Program approved a set of restrictions to the short-term touristic rental activity, known as Alojamento Local or simply AL, and created incentives to long term rental schemes for landlords with the aim of fighting the housing crisis in Portugal.

To help its customers and partners, MATLAW created an article that explains the main changes that will happen.

You can read the article here: https://tinyurl.com/27ftbnu8

New special tax on AL activity: CEAL or Contribuição Extraordinária sobre o Alojamento Local The New Special Tax on the all Activity: Ceal or Contribuição Extraordinária sobre o Alojamento LocalThe extraordinary contribution on short-term...

📢 Estamos a contratar para reforçar a nossa equipa em Lisboa e no Algarve

ADVOGADO(A) OU CONSULTOR(A) | IMOBILIÁRIO

DESCRIÇÃO DA FUNÇÃO:

O(a) Advogado(a) ou Consultor(a) Jurídico(a) de Imobiliário é responsável pela prestação de serviços jurídicos especializados no âmbito de transações imobiliárias, bem como pela assessoria regular aos clientes da MATLAW (investidores singulares, coletivos, institucionais, outros, nacionais e estrangeiros). Com pensamento crítico e uma capacidade sólida para operar nas várias áreas do direito que são convocadas no desempenho das suas funções, identifica e antecipa as necessidades dos clientes, e promove uma advocacia preventiva e proativa.

PRINCIPAIS RESPONSABILIDADES:

- Operações imobiliárias sob as mais diversas modalidades (compra e venda, permuta, locação, dação, empreitada, etc.)
- Negociação e redação de contratos civis e comerciais (compra e venda, empreitada, arrendamento, etc.)
- Legal Due Diligence de asset & share deals
- Constituição, house keeping, operações societárias e de OIC’s
- Consultoria jurídica nas diversas áreas convocadas no setor imobiliário

REQUISITOS:

Competências Técnicas
- Licenciatura em Direito
- Experiência profissional relevante
- Domínio da língua Inglesa (falado e escrito)
- Formação Pós-graduada ou Especializada nas áreas de prática solicitadas (fator preferencial)
- Domínio de outros idiomas (francês, espanhol, holandês, alemão) (fator preferencial)

Competências comportamentais
- Responsabilidade e client focus
- Capacidade para gerir o tempo e estabelecer prioridades, garantindo o cumprimento de prazos inerentes à função
- Proatividade para apresentação de novas ideias e resolução de problemas
- Espírito de entreajuda e de formação dos mais jovens
- Forte capacidade de comunicação oral e escrita e de relação interpessoal
- Elevados padrões de ética e deontologia profissional

CONTRAPARTIDA:

- Retribuição compatível com a experiência e a responsabilidade da função a desempenhar, de acordo com o plano de carreiras em vigor na MATLAW.
- Aposta na formação e crescimento profissional
- Integração numa equipa jovem, dinâmica e informal, num ambiente de trabalho estimulante, exigente e internacional.

CANDIDATURA:

- A candidatura deve ser apresentada até 16 de fevereiro de 2024 (inclusive), por via eletrónica, através do e-mail [email protected] com a referência: MATLAW_Associado_Fev2024
- Todas as candidaturas devem considerar o CV do(a) candidato(a) e uma carta de motivação.
- Podem ser solicitados elementos adicionais que atestem as informações apresentadas no CV e as competências do(a) candidato(a).