Retiring to Portugal in 2026: visas, pension tax after NHR, healthcare, care and inheritance

Your passport decides the route. EU, EEA and Swiss citizens have free-movement rights: after three months you register at the Câmara Municipal where you live and receive a registration certificate (CRUE) valid for five years. A retiree registers on the basis of sufficient resources and health cover; a state pensioner can use the S1 from the pension country as that cover.4 sources4 sources

If you are not an EU citizen, check first whether you already have a family right to live here. Dual nationals of an EU country register as EU citizens. A non-EU spouse, partner or other qualifying family member of an EU citizen, and under the same law of a Portuguese citizen, needs no D7: after the first three months they apply to AIMA, by appointment, for a family member's residence card valid for up to five years.3 sources3 sources

Retirees with no such right need a residence visa from a Portuguese consulate before moving. For most of them that is the D7, the visa for pensioners and people living on their own income. It needs proof of the pension and of its availability in Portugal through a Portuguese bank account, 12 months of secured accommodation, a criminal record certificate issued under 90 days before you apply, and travel insurance covering medical expenses, urgent care and repatriation. The fee is €110 per applicant.2 sources2 sources

Britons who were living in Portugal before 1 January 2021 keep Withdrawal Agreement rights and should hold the special residence card; British retirees arriving since then are non-EU nationals and, without an EU passport or an EU or Portuguese spouse, use the D7. The same goes for Americans. After the visa, AIMA issues a two-year first residence permit, renewed for three years at a time; our residence-permit guide covers renewals.4 sources4 sources

The D7 test is built on the national minimum wage, €920 a month in 2026 under Decreto-Lei n.º 139/2025. The first adult needs 100% of it, each further adult 50% and each child 30%. The US consulates' checklist adds savings covering at least 12 months: 12 minimum wages for one adult, plus the same percentages for family members.4 sources4 sources

The figure moves every January. The 2025-2028 tripartite agreement sets €970 for 2027 and the government confirmed that figure in October 2026, but until the decree-law is published the 2026 numbers apply. At €970, a single retiree would need €970 a month and a couple €1,455.3 sources3 sources

Once you are tax resident, Portugal taxes your worldwide income, and pensions are Category H. Each person who receives a pension deducts €4,587.09 in 2026 (8.54 times the IAS of €537.13), or the whole pension if it is smaller. What remains goes through the same progressive scale as salaries: on the mainland, from 12.5% on the first €8,342 to 48% above €86,634. Madeira has its own lower scale, from 8.75% to 33.6% in 2026, and the Azores apply regional reductions to the national rates; the figures in this guide are mainland figures.6 sources6 sources

There is no separate surcharge on large pensions in the Código do IRS today. The general solidarity rate applies to all taxable income: 2.5% between €80,000 and €250,000 and 5% above. Couples can file jointly, in which case the scale and the surcharge are applied to half of their combined income and the result doubled; test both options every year.3 sources3 sources

The famous 10% flat rate on foreign pensions belonged to the Non-Habitual Resident regime, which closed to new applicants from 1 January 2024. Its replacement, IFICI, is for researchers and qualifying skilled jobs and explicitly leaves pension income out of its foreign-income exemption. A retiree arriving in 2026 pays the normal scale.3 sources3 sources

Foreign tax is relieved by a credit. Where a treaty lets the paying country tax a pension too, Portugal deducts the foreign tax, up to the share of Portuguese tax that relates to that income. Where a treaty gives the paying country the only right, Portugal exempts the pension but may count it to set the rate on your other income.3 sources3 sources

2026 rates may still fall. Lei n.º 64-B/2026, published on 22 October 2026, authorises the government to cut the rates of brackets 1 to 6 to between 12.2% and 34.6%, which it says will apply to all 2026 income; the decree-law fixing them had not been published when we checked on 28 October. Meanwhile, Portuguese payers on the mainland withhold only half the usual tax on salaries and pensions paid in November 2026, except on the highest withholding bands. Foreign pensions have no Portuguese withholding, so you see the cut, if it is enacted, when you file in 2027.3 sources3 sources

You file the Modelo 3 return between 1 April and 30 June for the previous year and pay by 31 August. The 2027 State Budget proposal raises the brackets by 3.88% and does not change how pensions are taxed; it is not law until the final vote scheduled for 24 November 2026. Our tax guide has the full brackets, deductions and calculator.4 sources4 sources

NHR status lasts ten consecutive years, and people already registered, resident by the end of 2023, or arriving in 2024 with qualifying earlier ties keep it for the rest of that period. If you became resident in 2019, for example, 2028 is your last NHR year and from 2029 your pensions move to the normal scale.3 sources3 sources

Which pension rule you have depends on when you joined. Since the 2020 budget, foreign pensions of NHR holders are taxed at a flat 10% on the pension left after the deduction. Pensioners who were already resident and applied by the March 2020 or 2021 deadline under the transitional rule keep the older exemption method, under which many foreign pensions were not taxed in Portugal, and may opt for 10% instead.2 sources2 sources

Article 20 of the US-Portugal treaty decides most of it. Private pensions paid for past employment are taxable only in the country of residence, so Portugal taxes your 401(k) and pension distributions. US Social Security 'may be taxed' by the United States, which does not stop Portugal taxing it too as your country of residence; Portugal then credits the US tax.2 sources2 sources

Pensions for US government service (federal, state or local) are taxable only in the United States under Article 21, unless you are both resident in and a national of Portugal. Annuities bought for value are taxable only where you live.1 source1 source

Because of the saving clause in the treaty's Protocol, the US keeps taxing its citizens on everything. On income the treaty gives to Portugal, such as a 401(k), the US gives you a credit for the Portuguese tax. On Social Security, which the US may tax as the source country, Portugal gives the credit, up to the Portuguese tax on those benefits.1 source1 source

So you file in both countries: the Modelo 3 in Portugal, and Form 1040 in the US with the automatic extension to 15 June for citizens abroad, plus FBAR and Form 8938 where the thresholds are met. IRAs built from your own contributions and Roth accounts are not named in the treaty; take cross-border advice before large withdrawals. Our tax guide covers US filing in detail.3 sources3 sources

The 2025 UK-Portugal Double Taxation Convention, in force since 29 December 2025, applies in Portugal from 1 January 2026 and replaces the 1968 treaty. Under Article 17, pensions paid to a resident of one country are taxable only in that country, so a Portuguese resident's UK State Pension and workplace or personal pensions are taxed in Portugal.2 sources2 sources

Government-service pensions are the exception. Under Article 18, a pension paid by the UK government or a UK local authority for services to it, such as a civil service or armed forces pension, is taxable only in the UK. If you are a Portuguese national and not a British one, both countries may tax it. Portugal can still take an exempt pension into account to set the rate on your other income.2 sources2 sources

To stop UK tax being deducted at source from a private pension, apply to HMRC with form DT-Individual. Your UK State Pension can be paid into a Portuguese account and rises every year while you live in the EEA, which includes Portugal. Our tax guide has a second UK worked example.3 sources3 sources

UK inheritance tax does not end on the day you leave. Since 6 April 2025 it depends on long-term UK residence: someone resident for at least 10 of the previous 20 tax years stays within it for 3 to 10 years after leaving, depending on how long they lived in the UK.1 source1 source

Once you are a legal resident, the SNS (the national health service) treats you on the same terms as a Portuguese citizen, and most care is free at the point of use. Your user record needs your NIF, address and residence permit to be 'atualizado'; as a retiree you do not need a NISS. In June 2026, 15.5% of registered users had no family doctor, so save the SNS 24 line, 808 24 24 24.4 sources4 sources

UK State Pensioners can ask the NHS Business Services Authority for an S1, register it at Segurança Social and then at the health centre; the UK then pays for SNS care and issues a UK GHIC for trips elsewhere in the EU. EU pensioners whose pension comes from another member state ask their pension country for the S1 and register it here. An S1 does not cover private care.3 sources3 sources

For the D7, the consulate asks for travel insurance covering necessary medical expenses, urgent care and repatriation; no minimum amount is set for residence visas, unlike the €30,000 for short-stay Schengen visas. Once your residence card arrives, the SNS is your cover.3 sources3 sources

Private cover gets hard to buy with age. Allianz's main policy takes new members up to 65, Multicare 60+ from 61 to 70, UNA's senior range up to 74 and Médis Vintage from 55 to 75; we found no verified product that accepts a new member at 77. Multicare 60+ and Allianz exclude pre-existing conditions, while Médis says they are considered under Vintage.5 sources5 sources

Premiums rise steeply and cheap policies have low limits. In DECO PROteste's August 2024 survey, at 70 Médis Vintage cost €515 a year with a €2,500 hospital limit, Multicare 2 cost €2,373 with €200,000, and UNA Plano 2 cost €4,070 with €200,000. Prices have risen since. Our healthcare guide has the full table and an insurance finder.3 sources3 sources

Have your pensions paid into a Portuguese account: the D7 asks for proof the income is available here, and it keeps rent and bills simple. The UK State Pension can be paid to a bank in the country where you live, every 4 or 13 weeks, converted at the exchange rate of the day after a 0.39% charge. US Social Security can be paid by international direct deposit to Portugal, but only into a euro account at a Portuguese bank.3 sources3 sources

If a bank refuses you or charges too much, ask for a serviços mínimos bancários account, which costs at most €5.37 a year in 2026. EU rules also forbid billers from refusing a euro IBAN from another SEPA country, which helps if you keep a Wise or Revolut account alongside.2 sources2 sources

Pension payers check you are alive, and missing a form stops the money. The DWP may send a UK State Pensioner a life certificate to sign in front of a witness, who can be of any nationality; payments can be suspended if it is not returned. Report changes of address or bank to the International Pension Centre by phone or post, not email.1 source1 source

The SSA mails its Foreign Enforcement Questionnaire (SSA-7162) to selected beneficiaries abroad in May and June, with 60 days to reply. Non-responders get a second notice in September with 45 days, and benefits stop with the February payment. Portugal's own prova de vida applies to people with a Portuguese pension who live abroad: in 2026 only in seven countries, from 2027 everywhere outside Portugal.2 sources2 sources

Much of Portugal's later-life care is delivered at home and in the community, often by non-profit social institutions (IPSS) under cooperation agreements with Segurança Social. The serviço de apoio domiciliário (SAD) brings personal hygiene, meals, cleaning, activities and transport to people who cannot manage alone and lack family support. Day centres (centros de dia) serve people aged 65 and over who still live at home; night centres and family foster care (acolhimento familiar) fill other gaps.3 sources3 sources

You apply through the institution itself, a Segurança Social service desk or a Balcão da Inclusão, and pay a monthly comparticipação familiar based on your income; private providers set their own prices. The Carta Social website lists every licensed facility by area and type: in 2024 it counted 7,433 day-centre, care-home and home-support services with 286,954 places.2 sources2 sources

If a family member looks after you, they can be recognised under the Estatuto do Cuidador Informal. A principal carer (a relative up to the fourth degree, or someone living with you) can claim a means-tested allowance worth up to €590.84 a month in 2026 (1.1 times the IAS), if the household's reference income is below €698.27 per person. Rest periods for the carer are part of the status.1 source1 source

A lar, officially an Estrutura Residencial para Pessoas Idosas (ERPI), offers temporary or permanent residential care with nursing for people aged 65 and over. Places run by IPSS and Misericórdias under a cooperation agreement with Segurança Social are the affordable option, and you register directly with each home or through Segurança Social.2 sources2 sources

On a supported place, the fee follows the Segurança Social rules in Circular n.º 4/2014: a percentage of the resident's monthly per capita income, between 75% and 90% depending on the degree of dependency, with only the resident counted as the household. Homes may also ask children for a written top-up where the fee and the state's share do not cover the home's average cost.1 source1 source

Supported places are scarce. Carta Social data for 2023 put occupancy in the social sector above 92% and coverage at 8.7% of people aged 75 and over, and waiting lists commonly run for years. Private homes cost more than most families say they can afford. A 2026 survey by the Lares Online directory, reported by Jornal Económico, put the average private place at €1,852 a month (€1,672 in a shared room, €2,035 in a single), about 10% more than in 2025; it does not publish its method. A July 2026 barometer from a placement agency found that half of families seeking a private place budgeted up to €1,500 a month, and most budgets were under €2,000.2 sources2 sources

Private homes need a licence from the Instituto da Segurança Social under Decreto-Lei 64/2007. A home can operate on a provisional authorisation while it completes the requirements, so ask to see the licence, check the home on the Carta Social, and visit unannounced. Care-home costs give a 25% IRS credit, up to €403.75 a year.3 sources3 sources

The Rede Nacional de Cuidados Continuados Integrados (RNCCI) covers the gap between hospital and home: convalescence units for stays up to 30 days, medium-stay rehabilitation units for 30 to 90 days, long-stay units beyond 90 days, and home-care teams. It is open to Portuguese and foreign residents with regular status.3 sources3 sources

Palliative care is a separate network: the palliative units that used to sit inside the RNCCI moved to the Rede Nacional de Cuidados Paliativos in 2017. Ask the hospital team or your family doctor for a palliative referral rather than an RNCCI one.1 source1 source

You do not apply directly. In an SNS hospital, ask the ward or the discharge team (equipa de gestão de altas); at home, ask a doctor, nurse or social worker at your health centre. Convalescence care is free; in the other units the SNS pays for health care and you pay a share of the social-support cost based on your income, with Segurança Social covering the rest if you qualify.2 sources2 sources

The Complemento Solidário para Idosos (CSI) tops up the income of low-income pensioners. In 2026 it brings annual resources up to €8,040 for a single person (at most €670 a month) and €14,070 for a couple, from age 66 years and 9 months. Segurança Social says pensioners of any national or foreign scheme qualify if they live legally in Portugal and meet the conditions; since 2024 children's incomes no longer count.2 sources2 sources

The catch for newcomers is residence: you must have lived in Portugal for at least six consecutive years, and non-EU citizens prove it with residence permits. Savings and property other than your home count towards your resources. The 2027 budget proposal would raise the CSI to €720 a month, and the pension age rises to 66 years and 11 months in 2027.4 sources4 sources

Transport is cheap. In the Lisbon metropolitan area the Navegante Metropolitano pass costs €40 a month, or €20 from 65, and residents of the city of Lisbon aged 65 and over travel free inside the city with a +65 card and proof of tax address. CP gives up to 50% off Alfa Pendular and Intercidades trains from 65, whatever your nationality or country of residence.3 sources3 sources

DECO reports that pensioners whose total pensions are at most 1.2 times the IAS get 25% off public transport passes, and CSI recipients 50%. CSI recipients are also among the households covered by the automatic social tariffs for electricity and natural gas.2 sources2 sources

Portuguese law reserves part of every estate for the forced heirs (herdeiros legitimários): your spouse, descendants and ascendants. That reserved part, the legítima, cannot be left to anyone else; you are free to dispose only of the rest, the quota disponível. An unmarried partner is not a forced heir and does not inherit if there is no will.2 sources2 sources

The shares are set in the Código Civil. A spouse alone is reserved half the estate; a spouse and children together two thirds; children without a spouse half (one child) or two thirds (two or more); a spouse and parents two thirds; parents alone half and grandparents alone one third. Grandchildren step into a deceased child's place.1 source1 source

The EU Succession Regulation (650/2012) usually applies the law of the country where you last lived, so a retiree who dies resident in Portugal is normally subject to Portuguese forced heirship. But you can choose, explicitly, in a will or a separate declaration, the law of any country whose nationality you hold, whether EU or not. A British or American national can therefore choose their national law instead of Portuguese forced heirship; check what that law itself requires.1 source1 source

Make the choice of law clearly and early, and keep it consistent with any will at home. For Americans, the US has several state laws, so have a lawyer draft which law you are choosing. The EU rules do not decide tax: inheritance tax follows each country's own rules.1 source1 source

Portugal's usual forms are the testamento público, written by a notary in his book, and the testamento cerrado, written by you and approved by a notary. A will made abroad is valid in form here if it follows the law of the place where it was made or your own personal law, so an English or US will is not void, but heirs then need apostilles, translations and possibly probate at home. Notaries set their own fees, so ask for a quote.3 sources3 sources

Portugal has no inheritance tax as such. Assets in Portugal passing on death pay 10% stamp duty (Imposto do Selo, verba 1.2), but a spouse or unmarried partner, children and grandchildren, and parents and grandparents are exempt. Siblings, nieces, nephews and friends pay the 10%.3 sources3 sources

Gifts of real estate pay 0.8% stamp duty on top, even to exempt relatives, which matters if you plan to give your Portuguese home to your children during your lifetime. A will that leaves a home to a friend means 10% on its taxable value.3 sources3 sources

Even when everyone is exempt, the estate administrator (cabeça de casal, usually the surviving spouse) must report the death and list the assets in Portugal on form Modelo 1 by the end of the third month after the month of death, after requesting a tax number for the undivided estate. The tax office can extend the deadline by up to 60 days for good reason.2 sources2 sources

Your home country may still tax the estate. The UK's long-term residence test can keep a British retiree's worldwide estate within UK inheritance tax for up to ten years after leaving. For Americans, the IRS filing threshold for estates of people dying in 2026 is $15 million.2 sources2 sources

Portugal has no direct equivalent of an English lasting power of attorney. Since Lei 49/2018, the old interdição and inabilitação have been replaced by the regime of the maior acompanhado: a court orders only the support measures a person needs, and appoints a companion (acompanhante), whom you can choose in advance.3 sources3 sources

The tool for planning ahead is the mandate in anticipation of accompaniment (Código Civil art. 156): while capable, you sign a mandate, with or without powers of representation, saying who manages your affairs and how. It is freely revocable, and if a court later orders accompaniment it uses the mandate when deciding the measures and choosing the companion.1 source1 source

An ordinary procuração (power of attorney) is useful while you are well, for example for a property sale or a bank, but a mandate lapses on your death and when an accompaniment ruling gives representation powers to the companion. Portugal has applied the 2000 Hague Convention on the protection of adults since 1 July 2018, which can help with powers made in other contracting states. The UK has extended it to Scotland only, so an English, Welsh or Northern Irish lasting power of attorney gets no Convention recognition: ask a Portuguese lawyer whether yours will be accepted, or sign a Portuguese procuração and mandate as well. The US is not a party.3 sources3 sources

For medical decisions, Lei 25/2012 lets you sign an advance directive (testamento vital) and appoint a healthcare proxy (procurador de cuidados de saúde), before a notary or an official of the national register, RENTEV. The directive lasts five years and can be renewed; registering it is optional but lets SNS and private doctors find it.1 source1 source

A death must be declared to the civil registry within 48 hours, and in practice the funeral director usually does it. Funerals normally take place within 72 hours of death, or 48 hours after a post-mortem. The death certificate (assento de óbito) is available in an international multilingual version, and Portuguese certificates do not state the cause of death.2 sources2 sources

Repatriation and cremation run through funeral directors in both countries; travel or life insurance may pay. A cremation may need the public prosecutor's permission, and cremating in Portugal can prevent an inquest in England and Wales. Britons do not have to register the death in the UK, but should tell UK pension and benefit bodies.2 sources2 sources

The habilitação de herdeiros is the deed that identifies the heirs; without it banks will not release accounts and the estate cannot be divided. It is done at a notary, an Espaço Óbito or an IRN Balcão de Heranças, which charges €150 for the habilitação alone, €375 with registration of assets and €425 with division and registration. A foreign law chosen in a will has to be proved, with foreign documents translated. The stamp duty Modelo 1 does not need it: Finanças asks for the death certificate, the tax numbers and ID of the deceased and every heir, any will, and the asset documents.3 sources3 sources

Tell each pension payer promptly: the International Pension Centre for a UK State Pension, the SSA (whose Federal Benefits Units at US embassies handle foreign cases) for US Social Security, and every private scheme. Then file the stamp duty Modelo 1 by the end of the third month after the month of death.3 sources3 sources

Choose a home you can live in at 85, not just at 65. Before you sign, count the stairs, ask whether there is a lift, and check how far it is to a health centre, a pharmacy and public transport; a step-free home near services keeps your options open. Our renting and buying guides cover leases, purchase costs and checks.3 sources3 sources

Rural life can become lonely. In its autumn 2025 Censos Sénior operation, the GNR police flagged, according to press reports, more than 43,000 older people living alone or in vulnerable situations, 3,414 of them in the Faro district. If you settle in the countryside, plan for the day you stop driving, and find out what day centres and home-support services operate locally before you need them.3 sources3 sources

Work through this list in the year before you move. Most items are cheaper and easier while you are still in your home country, healthy and able to travel.4 sources4 sources