What changed
Portugal's consulate network now lists D9 as "Visto de Residência para Trabalhadores Remotos" (Residence Visa for Remote Workers) and D8 as "Visto de Residência para Acompanhamento Familiar de Requerente de Visto de Residência" (Residence Visa for Family Accompaniment of a Residence Visa Applicant).
In plain English: the letter that used to designate the digital nomad visa now designates a family-accompanying residence visa, and the digital nomad visa has been moved one letter down to D9.
| Old (pre-2026) | New (current) | |
|---|---|---|
| Remote-worker residence visa | D8 | D9 |
| Family accompaniment residence visa | (covered under D6) | D8 |
When
Confirmed against the Embassy of Portugal in Washington DC's consular page on 2026-05-20. The rename appears to have propagated to consulate documentation in late 2025 / early 2026; community sources (lawyers, news outlets, expat forums) still widely use "D8" because the rename is recent.
Who's affected
Applies to: all source countries (US / UK / ZA) — the change is to the official designation at the Portuguese government level, not to any per-country requirement.
Action
- Existing D8 applications submitted before this change: continue to be processed; the underlying programme is the same.
- Existing D8 residence permits: remain valid; renewal will be under the D9 designation.
- New applications from 2026 onwards: refer to the visa as D9 when corresponding with consulates. If a checklist or third-party guide still says "D8", confirm with the consulate whether it covers the remote-worker programme (D9) or the family-accompaniment programme (the new D8).
- Inbound links to
expatlas.eu/countries/portugal-d8continue to work — they redirect to the country profile.
(Edit this section by hand; auto-text is a draft. Flip verified: true once reviewed.)