Portugal D7 and D8 visa with your family: spouse and children

• Your spouse.
• Your children. In the official income rules, a child means a child under 18 or a dependent adult child.
• Dependent adults, such as a parent. They count as additional adults in the income test.

Each person applies for their own visa and needs their own core documents.

Both visas are linked to the Portuguese minimum wage, which is €920 a month in 2026. It usually rises each January, so expect higher figures next year.

D7 visa with family: passive income and savings

• The first adult needs 100% of the minimum wage: €920 a month (≈ AED 3,810).
• Each additional adult adds 50%: €460 a month.
• Each child adds 30%: €276 a month.
• You also need savings in a Portuguese bank equal to 12 months of your household figure. For one adult, that is €11,040 (≈ AED 45,710).

The income must be regular passive income, such as a pension, rent, dividends or interest. Savings support it. They rarely replace it.

D8 visa with a spouse and children

The D8 starts at €3,680 a month (≈ AED 15,240) for one person. This is your average over the last 3 months, from work for employers or clients outside Portugal.

For families, the rules can be read two ways:

• The official rule adds a share of the minimum wage: 50% for each extra adult and 30% for each child.
• Common adviser practice applies the same shares to the D8 figure itself. Some consulates expect this, so it is the safer figure to plan around: €5,520 for a couple, plus €1,104 for each child.

We plan against the higher figure. The D8 has no fixed savings rule, but a buffer of a few months' income in a Portuguese account helps.

If both adults earn enough on their own, two separate D8 applications can also be an option.

Figures by household (2026)

• The euro figure is the one that counts. AED amounts are approximate.
• Figures checked on 4 November 2026.

The eligibility calculator works out the figures for your exact household and compares them with your income.

Applying together

Portugal offers a residence visa for accompanying family members, so your family can apply at the same time as you. Everyone applies through VFS Global in Dubai or Abu Dhabi, and the Portuguese embassy in Abu Dhabi decides. For most families, this is the better route.

Joining later: family reunification

Under the rules in force since October 2025, bringing family over after you have moved comes with waiting periods. D7 and D8 holders are not exempt.

• Up to 2 years in most cases.
• 15 months for a spouse or partner who had lived with you for at least 18 months before entry to Portugal.
• No waiting period for minor children, or for a spouse who is the other parent of a minor child.

Once the request is made, AIMA has up to 9 months to decide. There is no automatic approval if it runs past that.

Reunification also comes with conditions:

• your means must cover the whole family without social benefits
• your home must be normal for a family of your size
• family members take part in integration measures, such as training in Portuguese and in constitutional values, and school attendance for children

Renewing their permits depends on meeting these conditions.

Couples without children

There is no official guidance yet on how AIMA treats a spouse without children who arrives on an accompanying family visa. If this is your situation, raise it on your first call, and speak to a qualified adviser before you decide how to apply.

Each person applying needs their own core documents:

• a passport valid for at least 3 months beyond the planned return, with copies
• a UAE residence visa and Emirates ID, valid beyond the end of the visa requested
• the national visa application form, completed online and signed, plus two passport photos
• travel medical insurance covering urgent care and repatriation

Police certificates. Every family member aged 16 or over needs a police certificate from their country of nationality, and from any country where they have lived for more than one year. For most families, that includes the UAE. The UAE certificate must be attested by the UAE MOFA and legalised by the Portuguese embassy in Abu Dhabi.

Marriage and birth certificates. If your file includes them, they follow the same rules as your other documents. UAE-issued certificates go through MOFA attestation, then embassy legalisation. Certificates from your home country need an apostille or consular legalisation, depending on the country. Our guide to UAE documents for Portugal explains each route.

Translations. The embassy accepts documents in Portuguese, English or French. Anything in another language needs a certified translation stamped by the UAE MOFA.

Embassy appointments. The embassy legalises up to 3 documents per appointment. A family file can need several, so book early.

If a child's other parent is not moving with you, or custody is shared, speak to a qualified adviser before you apply.

The document checklist shows the route for each passport. If your family holds different passports, run it once for each.

• For the visa, each person needs travel medical insurance covering urgent care and repatriation.
• For the AIMA residence permit, each person needs health insurance or proof of cover by Portugal's National Health Service (SNS). Most people take private cover for at least the first year, then register with the SNS once resident.
• Once you are resident, your family can use Portugal's public health system and schools. Private and international schools charge fees.

A family has more certificates to gather and legalise, so build in time at the start. The authorities set their own pace.

After that, the first residence permit lasts 2 years and renews for 3 years at a time. Citizenship requires 10 years of legal residence for most non-EU nationals.

• Visa fee: €110 per person. Children under 6 are exempt.
• First AIMA residence permit: about €186 per person.

For two adults and two children aged 6 or over, that comes to about €1,184. The VFS Global service charge, attestation and legalisation, translations and insurance are extra.

VisaHelm is an independent private company. We are not affiliated with any government, embassy, VFS Global or AIMA, and decisions are made only by the Portuguese embassy and AIMA.

• We check your income and savings against the figure for your household.
• We build a document and attestation plan for each family member, in the right order.
• We prepare each application pack and arrange your VFS appointments in Dubai or Abu Dhabi.

For tax questions about the move, speak to a qualified adviser.

Use the eligibility calculator to see the income and savings figures for your household. Read the D7 visa and D8 visa pages for the full requirements, or compare them in our D7 vs D8 guide. Then book a free 15-minute call to plan your family's application.