Remote workers who make at least $2,750 a month can apply to Portugal’s new ‘digital-nomad visa’ starting October 30. Here’s how it stacks up to similar programs in Europe.

Portugal recently released the requirements for its highly anticipated “digital-nomad visa,” allowing remote workers who make four times its national minimum wage to live and work in the picturesque European nation. That calculates to about $2,750 a month.

Starting October 30, remote workers can apply for either a temporary-stay visa of up to one year or a residency permit that can be renewed for up to five years.

You can apply at a Portuguese Consulate in your home country or at Portugal’s immigration agency, Serviço de Estrangeiros e Fronteiras. On top of proof of income for the past three months, applicants must submit tax-residency documents and a contract of employment (or proof of self-employment).

One of the program’s biggest selling points is that recipients can travel visa-free throughout the Schengen Area, a region containing 26 European Union member countries where travelers can move freely without dealing with border control.

Portugal has had an influx of foreign residents since the pandemic started, many of whom have used the D7 visa, or “passive-income visa,” to set up shop in the country.

One of the most affordable programs of its kind, the D7 visa requires applicants make only 7,200 euros — or about $7,011 — a year to qualify. But unlike the digital-nomad visa, the income must be the result of passive investment streams, such as real estate or equity in a company, as opposed to a monthly salary.

The popularity of Portugal among remote workers is due to several reasons, including the low cost of living, mild weather, an abundance of coworking spaces, connections to major European cities, and the country’s fluency in English, Joana Mendonça, the head of legal at Global Citizen Solutions, an investment-migration firm with a strong presence in the Portuguese market, told Insider.

Ezzedeen Soleiman, a managing partner at Latitude Residency & Citizenship, told Insider in May that Portugal was one of the most in-demand “golden-visa” programs for wealthy American investors.

“Portugal is the next California,” he said. “You have tremendous talent going there, tremendous wealth going there.”

Source: INSIDER