D7 vs D8: the confusion that gets visa files rejected
In visa groups the two get muddled constantly. Someone earning a remote salary applies down the D7 track; a pensioner tries to prove "digital nomad" income they do not have. The distinction is simple once you see it — and getting it wrong costs weeks, because you assemble the wrong evidence for the wrong visa and only find out when the file is bounced.
The one-line difference
D7 is for passive income — pensions, rental income, dividends. D8 is for active remote income — a salary or freelance earnings you actively work for, paid from outside Portugal. That single word, passive versus active, is what decides which track is yours, and everything else follows from it.
D7: income roughly around the Portuguese minimum wage (€920 in 2026) for the main applicant, plus family top-ups. Verify the current threshold.
D8: ~4× the minimum wage, so ≈ €3,680/month, plus savings of ≥ €11,040.
Both: need a NIF, a Portuguese bank account, accommodation and private health insurance; both are booked at the consulate in your country of residence.
What trips people up
- A remote employee is usually a D8 case, not D7 — active income, not passive. People pick D7 because the income threshold looks lower and then cannot prove the income type.
- Family adds to the income threshold: roughly +50% for a spouse and +30% per child.
- Overall the D7/D8 journey commonly runs 6–9 months, with the consulate booking taken early because slots go fast — some people wait weeks just for the appointment.
- The number-one cause of delays and refusals is an incomplete or sloppy file, where every error means being called back to the consulate in person.
It helps to think about what each visa is really testing. The D7 wants to see that money will keep arriving whether or not you lift a finger — a pension keeps paying, a tenant keeps paying rent, dividends keep landing. The D8 wants to see that you have active work you can do from anywhere and that it pays well above the local floor. Once you frame it that way, most people can place themselves in about ten seconds, and the whole "which visa" agonising evaporates.
Beyond the visa itself, both routes lead into the same downstream steps — NIF, a Portuguese bank account, accommodation, insurance, and eventually AIMA after you arrive. So the earlier you fix which track you are on, the sooner you can start assembling a coherent file instead of a hopeful one. Getting the category right is not a detail; it is the decision every other document hangs off.
Compare them side by side in D7 vs D8, or read each in full: D7 and D8. Still unsure which is yours, run the visa finder.
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Guidance, not legal or tax advice — verify your case with official sources.