Portugal D2 Visa Requirements for Americans and Britons

Portugal has no visa officially named “D2” on the pages we read: the foreign ministry lists a residence visa for independent professional activity or for emigrant entrepreneurs, including the Startup Visa, and that is what people search for as the D2 visa. To get it you need either a service contract for a liberal profession or, as an entrepreneur, an investment, funds available in Portugal or a project in a certified incubator, plus the general residence visa file. For the wider picture of how the visa types fit together, start with the overview of residence routes.

This guide is an overview of what the official pages say on the day we read them, not legal advice. The consular post that receives your file decides what it needs.

Why is it called the D2 visa if the official pages never say D2?

None of the ministry, AIMA or Foreigners Law pages we read uses the code. The ministry’s page on visa types lists, under residence visas for work, a line for “Trabalho independente” (independent work), described as a residence visa “para o exercício de actividade profissional independente ou para emigrantes empreendedores, incluindo Startup Visa”. That wording is the ministry’s. Article 60 of the Foreigners Law is titled in nearly the same terms, with “imigrantes empreendedores” where the ministry writes “emigrantes”.

The code is how readers, forums and many vendors refer to the visa, and we use it only so you can find this page. We do not know where the letter comes from and the pages do not say. At the consular post, and on any form, use the official wording.

The same ministry page also lists a temporary stay visa for independent activity, valid for a stay under one year. This guide covers the residence visa, which is the one that leads to a residence permit, and says briefly what the temporary version asks for.

Who can get it, according to the law?

Article 60 of the Foreigners Law (Lei n.º 23/2007) has two parts. Paraphrasing the text:

• Independent professional. A third-country national who has a contract, or a written proposal for a contract, for the provision of services within the liberal professions, and who is qualified to carry on the independent activity wherever that applies.
• Emigrant entrepreneur who wants to invest in Portugal. The visa is granted if the person has made investment operations; or shows financial means available in Portugal, including those from financing obtained from a financial institution in Portugal, and shows by any means the intention to make an investment operation in Portuguese territory; or develops an entrepreneurial project, including setting up an innovation-based company, within an incubator certified under a ministerial order.

Americans and Britons are both third-country nationals for this purpose. Nothing on the pages we read treats the two nationalities differently, so the file is the same.

The law lists general conditions for any residence visa in article 52, among them means of subsistence, a valid travel document and travel insurance, and it refuses a visa to someone convicted of a crime that in Portugal carries a prison term of more than one year. Read article 52 itself if your record is not clean; this guide does not interpret it.

What documents does the ministry list?

The ministry’s page on documents for a residence visa gives the general file for every residence visa: the signed form, two photographs, a passport valid at least three months beyond the planned stay, proof of lawful status if you apply outside your country of nationality, valid travel insurance, a criminal record certificate with an apostille or legalized, and proof of means of subsistence. The overview of residence routes lists them in full.

On top of that, the page lists these documents for the purpose of the stay:

The ministry also says the documents are the base documents and the consular post may ask for more. This guide did not read the Startup Visa rules themselves (the Despacho Normativo or the incubator list), so it says nothing on who qualifies for an incubator or what it costs.

For the temporary stay version, the ministry lists a company contract or a service contract for independent activity of a temporary character, and, where applicable, a statement from the body that checks the requirements for a profession subject to special qualifications.

How much money do I need to show?

The ministry’s page on means of subsistence says the test takes as its reference the guaranteed monthly minimum wage, 920 euros in 2026 (Decree-Law 139/2025 of 29 December), net of social security contributions, counted per household member: 100% for the first adult, 50% for each further adult, and 30% for each child under 18 and each dependent adult child.

The page lists, as means to take into account, income from grants, scholarships, an employment contract or promise of one, a company contract, or a contract or written proposal for a service contract. For a residence visa for subordinate or independent professional activity it says the means must be available in Portugal, “designadamente” through an employment contract or promise of one. The line says the means must be assured “por um período não inferior ao máximo admissível, da mesma lei” (for a period not shorter than the maximum the same law allows) and gives no figure, so we do not interpret it here.

For an investor the page sets a period of not less than 12 months. It lists that under investment activity, and it does not say whether the same period applies to an entrepreneur under article 60. Ask your consular post what period it uses, and read the retirees and passive income guide for how the same ministry page treats income-based files.

If you want a salary-based comparison for remote workers, the ministry asks them for average income of at least four times the minimum wage over three months; that rule is in the remote work visa guide and the pages we read do not apply it to independent professionals or entrepreneurs under article 60.

What does the application cost and how long does it take?

The ministry gives the administrative fee for a national visa application as 110 euros, with listed exemptions such as children up to six years old. The decision period for a residence visa is 60 days, except where the law says otherwise. The law adds that granting a residence visa comes with a pre-authorization of residence that includes provisional tax, social security and national health service numbers.

The visa itself is valid for two entries and four months, during which you must ask AIMA for a residence title.

What do I have to do in Portugal after the visa?

For the residence permit, AIMA asks for proof that you started your activity. Article 89 of the Foreigners Law requires, for an independent professional, that you have set up a company under the law, declared the start of activity with the tax administration and Social Security as an individual, or signed a service contract for a liberal profession; that you be qualified to practice where applicable; that you have means of subsistence; and that you be registered with Social Security. Where required, a statement from the professional body is also needed.

AIMA’s page for the permit with a residence visa lists the documents. Besides the passport, the valid visa and the form, it names:

• proof of the start of activity with the tax administration and Social Security
• a service contract, or proof that a company was set up (the permanent company certificate), or the latest receipts issued
• a sworn statement of your address in Portugal, with the owner’s property registry certificate or, for a tenant, a statement from the landlord
• proof of registration with the tax administration and with Social Security
• where applicable, a statement from the professional body, or proof that you may practice a profession subject to special qualifications

For an entrepreneur under the Startup Visa route, AIMA’s page lists the passport, a criminal record certificate, the address statement, proof of registration with the tax administration and Social Security and, where applicable, the professional body statement. It cites article 89, paragraph 4, which grants the permit to a person who develops an entrepreneurial project in a certified incubator, provided the general conditions of article 77 are met, with the exception of the condition in point (a) of its first paragraph, which is the possession of a valid residence visa or a job search visa.

Both pages say the request is made by appointment (or through an electronic platform that is being rolled out for holders of a residence visa), in person, at an AIMA store. The permit is valid for two years from the issue of the title and renewable for successive periods of three years. You will need a tax number first: see the guide to the NIF.

How do I start activity with the tax authority?

The government portal’s page on opening activity says a self-employed worker or freelancer must do it before starting the activity on their own, at the latest on the day given as the start date, and that the service is run by the tax authority. The tax authority’s own answers say the declaration of start of activity is submitted before activity begins, and that it can be sent electronically through the Finanças portal, given verbally at any tax office, or, for individuals, at a Loja do Cidadão. For entities subject to commercial registry, there is a 15-day rule after the registration filing, but always before activity starts.

Does Social Security register me?

The Social Security institute’s practical guide for independent workers says the tax administration passes the start of activity to Social Security, which registers the worker and places them in the independent workers scheme, then notifies them. The guide (version 1.14, published 16 May 2025) adds that the first placement takes effect on the first day of the 12th month after the start of activity. Whether that matches AIMA’s proof of Social Security registration for your file is something to confirm at the AIMA appointment, since the pages we read do not connect the two.

What changed in the law most recently?

On 18 October 2026, the consolidated text of the Foreigners Law on the Lisbon district prosecutor’s legislation site (version updated, listing Law 62/2026 of 10 September 2026 as the latest amendment) shows article 89, the residence permit for independent activity and entrepreneurs, as last amended by Law 62/2026 of 10 September 2026. Article 60, the visa itself, was last amended by Decree-Law 41/2023 of 2 June 2023. We did not compare versions to say what Law 62/2026 changed in article 89, so check the current text of the article and the AIMA and ministry pages before you pay for translations and apostilles.

The date used for this guide’s update line, 10 September 2026, is that of Law 62/2026.

For the wider picture of working in Portugal, see working in Portugal as an American or a Briton.

Official pages read for this guide, all on 18 October 2026: the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ national visa pages (types of visa, documents for residence and temporary stay, means of subsistence, deadlines, fees); the consolidated Foreigners Law (Lei n.º 23/2007) on the Procuradoria-Geral Distrital de Lisboa site; AIMA’s pages on the residence permit for independent professional activity with a residence visa and for the Startup Visa; the government portal’s page on opening activity with the tax authority and the tax authority’s answers on the declaration of start of activity; and the Social Security institute’s guide for independent workers.