Key figures — as of 2026-10-13: Portugal's national minimum wage rose to €920/month in January 2026 — pushing the D7/D2 savings benchmark to €11,040 (up from €10,440 in 2025) and the D8 digital-nomad income floor to €3,680/month, €200 more than 2025's €3,480 — and consulates and AIMA require the savings sit in a Portuguese bank account, not Wise, Revolut or another e-money institution.
The number that matters
Anyone filing a D7, D8 or D2 application this year needs to clear a higher bar than last year's applicants did. Portugal raised its statutory minimum wage to €920 a month for 2026, up €50 from €870 in 2025. Because Portugal's main residence visas peg their financial thresholds directly to that wage, the increase cascades through every income and savings figure immigration lawyers quote prospective movers.
For the D7 — the passive-income route favoured by retirees and remote rentiers — the Ministry of Internal Affairs updates the reference figure whenever the Portuguese minimum wage changes, and in January 2026 the minimum wage rose to €920 per month. The savings cushion consulates expect moved in lockstep: on top of monthly income, the main applicant needs bank savings of at least €11,040 — roughly 12 months of the minimum wage, to show you can cover yourself if your income drops temporarily.
The D8 digital nomad visa climbed too. For a single applicant the savings amount is €11,040, one year of the Portuguese minimum wage, while the minimum monthly income is €3,680 for one applicant, averaged over the previous three months. That's a jump from 2025's €3,480 floor — €2,400 more annually than 2025.
Why it has to be a Portuguese bank, not a fintech app
The detail that catches people out isn't the amount — it's where the money has to live. You need a Portuguese bank account in your name with the required savings deposited; Wise, Revolut, and other electronic money institutions are usually not accepted as a substitute. Several banks will open accounts for non-residents before they arrive — Millennium BCP and Novo Banco are common picks.
One lawyer's account of the AIMA interview stage is blunt about how literally this is enforced: you applied for the D7 by displaying savings in a foreign bank account, but AIMA does not care about offshore wealth. The inspector wants a freshly printed statement from a domestic Portuguese bank showing a balance at or above roughly twelve times the current minimum wage.
GrowIN's analysis: what the rise actually costs a family
The headline €600 jump in the single-applicant savings target (€10,440 → €11,040) understates the impact once dependents are added. Running the household scale — 100% of the minimum wage for the main applicant, +50% for a spouse, +30% per child — against both years' figures shows a couple with one child needed roughly €18,792 in savings under the 2025 wage. Under the 2026 wage the same household needs €19,872: an increase of €1,080 in a single year, before accounting for rent, insurance, or the NIF and legal fees that typically run alongside a visa file. That's GrowIN Portugal's own calculation, derived from the published household multipliers rather than quoted directly from any single source.
"Every January the goalposts for a Portugal visa move with the minimum wage — budget for next year's number, not this year's," says GrowIN Portugal Editorial.
What this means in practice
Applicants who started gathering documents in late 2025 under the old €870 baseline may find their file assessed against the higher 2026 figures if their consulate appointment or AIMA renewal lands after the new year took effect. The D7 baseline for a single adult rose from €870 to €920 per month, with the savings requirement rising from €10,440 to €11,040. Lawyers advising on the D7/D8 track generally recommend padding savings 10–20% above the official thresholds to protect against exchange-rate swings or unexpected interpretation changes.
The practical sequence hasn't changed: get a NIF, open the Portuguese account, wire the full savings figure into it, and only then book the consulate or AIMA appointment — moving the money after the fact rarely satisfies an inspector checking a same-day statement.
What to watch next
The minimum wage is reviewed annually, usually announced in the State Budget cycle each autumn for the following January, so expect another upward revision to land before 2027. Outcomes always depend on the individual consulate and AIMA officer reviewing the file — treat every figure here as a floor, not a guarantee. For the full breakdown of D7, D8, D2 and Startup Visa thresholds, including family add-ons, see our visas hub, and talk to our team via services if you need help opening a compliant Portuguese account before you apply.
Figures track the published 2026 minimum wage; always confirm the current threshold with AIMA or a licensed adviser before filing.