Money · the real total
How much money do you need to move to Portugal?
Almost every answer online quotes one number. There are two, and they are unrelated: the monthly income your visa route has to prove, and the one-off cash the move itself eats before life settles.
The short answer
A single applicant on the passive-income route must prove €870 a month; on the remote-work route, €3,480. On top of that, budget for the move itself — fees, documents, flights, shipping, deposit, furnishing and a living buffer — which for most households lands between €8,000 and €20,000.
Your household
Fees and insurance come from our reference table, verified 8 September 2026. Flights, shipping, furnishing and documents use typical mid-range assumptions you can refine in the full budget tool.
1 · Monthly income the consulate must see
€1,305a month
- Main applicant (1x minimum wage)€870
- 1 additional adult (50% each)€435
Plan on holding about €15,660 in savings as well — twelve months of the threshold is what officers commonly expect to see behind the income.
2 · One-off cash the move consumes
€13,305
- Consular visa fees€180
- Residence permit fees€340
- Documents, apostilles and translations€700
- Travel and health insurance (4 months)€360
- Flights€900
- Shipping and excess baggage€1,500
- Rental deposit and first month€3,300
- Furniture and appliances€2,500
- Living buffer (3 months)€3,525
Where the monthly cost actually lands
The visa threshold is a legal minimum, not a living wage for the city you pick. Lisbon and Porto rents move the whole budget; inland and northern cities move it back. Each city page itemises rent, groceries, transport and utilities with the source and date beside every figure.
The four costs people forget
- Apostilles and sworn translations. Birth and marriage certificates, criminal record checks and qualifications each need legalisation and often a certified translation. Budget per document, per person.
- Double housing. Most people pay rent or a mortgage at home while paying deposit and first month in Portugal. That overlap is one to three months.
- Private health insurance. Required for the visa and needed until you are registered with the public system, which takes weeks after arrival, not days.
- Re-issuing short-lived documents. Criminal record certificates and bank letters expire in months. A delayed appointment means paying for them twice.
Questions people actually ask
- Do consulates want savings as well as income?
- In practice yes. The legal test is monthly income, but officers routinely expect to see roughly twelve months of that threshold sitting in an account, because it shows the household survives a gap in income.
- Does the money have to be in a Portuguese bank?
- No. At the visa stage your own bank statements are what is read. A Portuguese account and a NIF become necessary after you arrive, for the lease, utilities and the immigration appointment.
- Can I count a partner's income?
- Yes, when the partner is on the same application. The household threshold rises with each adult and child, and the combined income is assessed against that higher figure.
- How long before my first Portuguese income arrives?
- Assume three to four months of living costs with nothing coming in: the lease, the deposit, furnishing a flat, the immigration appointment and the wait for a tax number and bank account all land before anything is settled.
Official sources
Criteria last updated 8 September 2026