The four numbers
€920 a month. What Portugal’s D7 visa asks one person to show in 2026: 100% of the national minimum wage, with 50% more for a spouse and 30% more per child. The lowest income test in Western Europe. The D7, step by step →
€24.50 per square meter. Lisbon’s median asking rent in August 2026, level with Madrid’s. Braga’s was about €11. The city you pick changes the budget more than anything else. What Portugal costs, city by city →
Ten years. How long an American now needs to live in Portugal legally before applying for citizenship, under the law in force since 19 May 2026. It used to be five.
48%. Portugal’s top income-tax rate, which is the scale a retiree pays now that the NHR regime is closed to new arrivals.
What changed, and what didn’t
The famous version of Portugal went like this: an easy visa, a ten-year tax break on your pension, cheap rent in Lisbon, and an EU passport in five years. In 2026 only the first part is still true.
The visa is still easy. €920 a month is within reach of almost any American with Social Security, and the file is standard. The bottleneck is after the consulate: first residence appointments with AIMA, the immigration agency, have run from three months to about a year.
The tax break is gone. The NHR regime closed to new registrations, with a transition window that ended on 31 March 2025. Its replacement, IFICI, is for researchers and highly qualified workers. A retiree moving now pays ordinary Portuguese income tax, and under the US–Portugal treaty US Social Security “may be taxed” in the US, which doesn’t stop Portugal taxing it as your country of residence, with double-tax relief.
Lisbon isn’t cheap anymore. On rent it has caught Madrid. The value moved north and inland.
The passport is further away. Ten years for Americans, with new language and culture requirements.
Healthcare got cheaper. Since June 2022, the national health service has charged almost no copays. That part of the reputation is better than it was.
Who Portugal works for
- Retirees on a steady pension who want residency without a high income test, and are happy in a smaller city.
- People who value a public health system with almost no copays, and can bridge the months before they’re registered.
- Anyone who plans to stay for the life, not the passport.
Who it doesn’t
- Anyone counting on the old NHR tax break. It’s closed.
- Anyone who needs an EU passport soon. Ten years is the new baseline.
- Anyone who wants Lisbon on a Social Security budget. Rent alone takes most of an average check.
Where Americans live
| City | Rent per m² (Aug 2026) | In a sentence |
|---|---|---|
| Lisbon | about €24.50 | The capital, the flights, the expat community, and Madrid-level rents |
| Porto | about €18.60 | A real second city; rents fell about 6% on the year |
| Coimbra | about €12.90 | A university city between Lisbon and Porto, at half Lisbon’s rent |
| Braga | about €11.00 | The cheapest large city on the list, and rising fastest |
The Algarve and Silver Coast are popular with retirees too, with a strong seasonal swing: quieter and cheaper in winter, busy and pricier in summer.
Before you decide
- Price the city, not the country: rent in Lisbon and Braga differs by more than half.
- Plan for AIMA’s queue: savings for several months of short-term rent and private insurance.
- Run your taxes with a cross-border preparer. Without NHR, Portugal is a normal European tax system.
- If the passport matters, count ten years from the day you get residency.
For a country-by-country comparison of where $2,000 a month works, including Portugal, see the book How to Retire Abroad on $2,000 a Month.
