If you moved to Portugal in the last couple of years, or you are planning to, there is a change you should know about. The country’s new immigration law, Law No. 62/2026, came into force on 11 September 2026 and it rewrites how foreign nationals can live and work there.
The short version: Portugal now wants your paperwork sorted before you arrive. The old habit of turning up and regularising your status later is being closed off. If that was your fallback plan, it is gone.
What actually changed
The law covers entry, stay, removal and border procedures. It also brings in the EU’s single permit for residence and work, which folds two processes into one. If you are on a D7, a digital nomad visa or a work contract, the practical effect is more documents up front and fewer second chances at the border.
Portugal also tightened the route to citizenship. The waiting time went from five years to ten. That is a real shift for people who picked Portugal precisely because the passport felt within reach.
Border checks are digital now
Something that catches newcomers out. The Entry/Exit System, or EES, has been fully live across most of Europe since April 2026. Passport stamps are gone. Your fingerprints and a facial image get recorded when you enter and leave the Schengen area.
Overstay by accident and the system flags it. So track your Schengen days properly. The 90-days-in-any-180 rule for short stays still applies, and now it is counted electronically.
Is Portugal still worth it?
Yes. Expats still rate it highly. It placed 8th overall in the 2026 Expat Insider survey, behind Spain but ahead of plenty of bigger names, with strong scores for healthcare, safety and lifestyle. The difference now is that the paperwork is stricter, not that the welcome is colder.
If you have just landed, book your residency appointment early and keep every document in one folder. If you are still deciding, budget for slower processing and map out your visa route before you book any flights.
One small thing that helps you settle
New country, new systems, and for a while nothing feels familiar. One cheap fix is keeping your own telly. The channels you grew up with, the evening news, the football from home. It makes a strange place feel a lot less strange.
You can compare options on our pricing page, and if you want a wider picture of what is available worldwide, the how it works page explains the setup in a few lines.
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Related reading
- Digital Nomad Visas in 2026: What Changed and What It Costs
- Moving Abroad? How to Keep Your Favourite TV and Sport