Downsides of Moving to Portugal and Why People Regret It [2026]: Rent, Slow Procedures, Tax, Healthcare, 10-Year Citizenship

The five things people most often regret about moving to Portugal are high rents, low local incomes, delays at the immigration agency (AIMA), tax on pensions, and waiting times in public healthcare. New rental contracts in Lisbon cost €17.42 per m², about 1.8 times the national figure, so a 60 m² apartment comes to roughly €1,045 a month. The former preferential tax regime (NHR) closed to newcomers at the end of 2023, and a Japanese pension is now taxed in Portugal at progressive rates of 12.5% to 48% (plus a solidarity surcharge for high earners). The residence period required for citizenship was also extended to 10 years in May 2026. On the other hand, Portugal ranks 7th in the Global Peace Index, and the income threshold for the D7 visa, €920 a month, is low by European standards. If you understand the downsides in numbers and build rent, tax and insurance into your budget in advance, most regrets can be avoided.

*Amounts and rules are as of October 9, 2026. This article is an English version of our Japanese guide, adapted for foreign residents of Japan and international investors. Please consult a professional about individual tax questions or whether your application will be approved.

For an overview of moving to Portugal and a list of related articles, see Portugal residence visa types and requirements.

Summary: the downsides of moving to Portugal and how to deal with them

The table below lists the points where people most often find that reality differs from what they expected, with figures and countermeasures.

Portugal is still chosen as a destination because of its safety and its accessible immigration rules. In the 2026 Global Peace Index, Portugal ranked 7th out of 163 countries. The income threshold for the D7 visa, used by people living on pensions or passive income, is €920 a month, which is low for Europe. Whether you regret moving to Portugal depends less on the country itself than on whether you budgeted for rent, tax and healthcare costs in advance.

High rents: Lisbon is about 1.8 times the national average

Rent is the largest cost of living in Portugal. According to Statistics Portugal (INE), the median rent for new rental contracts signed in January–March 2026 was €9.46 per m² nationwide and €17.42 per m² in the city of Lisbon. National rents rose 9.1% year on year.

The 60 m² figures are estimates calculated by multiplying INE's median rent per m² by 60. Actual advertised rents can be higher depending on location and whether the property is furnished.

Of average annual household spending of €23,900 in Portugal, 39.3% goes on housing (INE Household Budget Survey 2022/2023). In the Lisbon metropolitan area, the share rises to 43.8%. These housing costs include imputed rent for owner-occupiers and utilities, but they still mean that close to 40% of the household budget goes on housing. Check rent levels before you decide which city to move to.

Housing is also a condition in the visa assessment, and a rental contract of 12 months or more is usually required. This means you need to sign a lease for a property in Portugal while you are still in Japan, and some people regret signing without having viewed the property. The visa requirements are explained in detail in Portugal residence visa types and requirements.

Low local salaries make it hard to earn a living after moving

Wage levels in Portugal are low by Western European standards. According to INE, the average wage in 2025 (monthly, before tax and social security contributions) was €1,694. The minimum wage in 2026 is €920 a month.

In Lisbon, roughly 60% of the average wage would go on rent. On top of that, most local job openings require Portuguese, so finding work with a local company after moving is not easy for people from Japan.

For this reason, the standard approach for people moving from Japan to Portugal is to bring income that comes from outside Portugal, such as a Japanese pension, rental income, or remote-work income from a Japanese employer. The D7 visa suits pension or passive income, and the D8 visa suits remote work (income of at least €3,680 a month is required).

Slow procedures: AIMA appointments and residence cards

Delays at AIMA (Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum), Portugal's immigration authority, are one of the most common complaints among new residents. After obtaining a visa at the embassy in Japan and entering Portugal, you register your biometric data at AIMA and receive a residence permit card, but both the appointment and the card issuance take time.

• The legal processing deadline for visas (D7, D8, etc.) at the embassy is 60 days, but in practice it often takes two to four months.
• AIMA ended the measure extending the validity of expired residence documents on April 15, 2026.
• According to AIMA, decisions have been made on about 90,000 of the roughly 100,000 renewal applications received since June 2025.
• Migrant support groups continue to report cases where the card does not arrive even after approval.

While a renewal is being processed and you do not have your residence card, you can prove lawful stay with a certificate issued through the AIMA portal. Without the card, however, you may be asked for explanations at banks or in property transactions, and travel within the Schengen area can be affected.

The countermeasure is to apply with a complete set of documents from the start so that nothing is sent back for corrections. Japanese documents such as the police clearance certificate (criminal record certificate) and, for Japanese nationals, the family register (koseki) extract need an apostille from Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and they must be issued within three months of submission. We can also obtain these documents for you through our apostille, translation and certification service (in Japanese).

Tax: the NHR regime has ended and Japanese pensions are taxed

The Non-Habitual Resident regime (NHR), once a major advantage of moving to Portugal, closed to new applicants at the end of 2023 in principle (with only transitional cases in 2024). It allowed foreign pensions to be tax-exempt for 10 years (taxed at 10% for those who qualified from April 2020 onwards), so information on moving to Portugal that assumes this regime is now out of date.

The successor regime introduced in January 2024 (IFICI, commonly called NHR 2.0) is limited to researchers, highly qualified professionals and similar roles, and pensioners are not eligible.

Under the Japan–Portugal tax treaty (in force since 2013), pensions are taxed only in the country where the recipient lives (Article 17). If you live in Portugal, your Japanese old-age pension is taxed in Portugal. However, pensions paid by the state or a local government in respect of government service are, in principle, taxed in Japan (Article 18(2)).

The Japan Pension Service withholds Japanese income tax from pensions even for people living abroad. To avoid double taxation in Japan on a pension that is taxed in Portugal, submit the "Application Form for Income Tax Convention (Form 9)" to the Japan Pension Service to obtain an exemption from Japanese income tax. If you do not, tax will continue to be deducted in both Japan and Portugal.

Procedures for your resident registration and tax returns before and after leaving Japan are explained in Tax when moving abroad from Japan, and the overall picture of moving abroad on a pension in Retiring abroad on a Japanese pension.

Healthcare: a shortage of family doctors, so private insurance is essential

Portugal has a National Health Service (SNS), and residents who register can receive public healthcare. However, there are not enough family doctors, who are the first point of contact.

As of April 2026, about 1.65 million (about 15%) of the roughly 10.79 million people registered at health centers had no family doctor assigned (data from the SNS Transparency Portal). There are also long waiting times for specialist appointments and surgery.

When applying for a residence visa, you must have health insurance covering the period from entry until you obtain your residence permit. Even after that, the realistic approach is to take out private health insurance and use private hospitals. If you are moving later in life, check premiums, maximum enrollment ages and how pre-existing conditions are treated before you go. There are almost no medical facilities where you can be seen in Japanese.

Daily life: cold homes in winter, language, distance from Japan

Portugal has a reputation as a warm country, but many new residents are surprised by how cold homes are in winter. Older houses are poorly insulated, and many have no central heating.

• Cold winters: According to Eurostat, the share of people who said they could not keep their home adequately warm in 2024 was 15.7% in Portugal, compared with an EU average of 9.2%. When choosing a property, check the insulation, double glazing and heating.
• Language: The official language is Portuguese. English is understood in the tourist areas of Lisbon and Porto, but Portuguese is often needed at government offices, hospitals and when signing a lease. Permanent residence requires Portuguese at around A2 level.
• Distance from Japan: There are no direct flights from Japan; you change planes in a European or Middle Eastern city. The time difference is 9 hours (8 hours during summer time).
• Few Japanese residents: 1,017 Japanese nationals live in Portugal (Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Annual Report of Statistics on Japanese Nationals Overseas, as of October 1, 2025). There are no Japanese schools or Japanese-language hospitals, and Japanese food products are limited.

Care is also needed if family members will join you later. Under the amendment to the Foreigners Act that took effect in October 2025, the main applicant must have held a residence permit for two years before applying for "family reunification" (with exceptions such as minor children). If your family is moving together, apply for everyone at the same time from the outset.

Rule changes: citizenship now takes 10 years

Portugal has changed its immigration-related rules several times in recent years. This is an area where many people regret having made plans based on outdated information.

Under the amended Nationality Law, nationals of countries outside the EU and the Portuguese-speaking world, including Japan, can apply for citizenship only after 10 years of lawful residence. Only periods of lawful residence count, and the former rule that allowed time spent waiting for AIMA to process a residence permit application to be included has been abolished. Citizenship applications submitted by May 18, 2026 are assessed under the previous 5-year rule. Permanent residence can still be applied for after 5 years, as before.

For Japanese nationals: Japan does not allow dual nationality, so acquiring Portuguese citizenship means losing Japanese nationality. If your goal is "an EU passport", check the consequences of losing Japanese nationality first. See Countries that allow dual citizenship for details.

The Golden Visa, which grants a residence permit through investment, requires, for example, an investment of €500,000 in a fund. For the investment routes and costs, see Portugal Golden Visa requirements and costs.

FAQ

How much money do I need to move to Portugal?

The minimum benchmark is the D7 visa income threshold of €920 a month. An additional 50% is required for a spouse and 30% for each child under 18, so a married couple needs an income of at least €1,380 a month. However, this is only the threshold for the assessment; in Lisbon, rent alone can exceed €1,000 a month. Calculate your actual living costs by adding rent, private health insurance and tax.

What happens to my Japanese pension?

You can continue to receive a Japanese old-age pension from the Japan Pension Service while living in Portugal. Under the Japan–Portugal tax treaty, the pension is taxed in Portugal. If you submit the "Application Form for Income Tax Convention (Form 9)" to the Japan Pension Service, Japanese income tax withholding is waived. Pensions based on government service are, in principle, taxed in Japan.

Is it difficult to move to Portugal?

The visa requirements themselves are among the easier ones to meet in Europe. The difficult parts are arranging a local bank account, a tax number (NIF) and a lease from Japan, getting apostilles on Japanese documents, and waiting for AIMA procedures. Allow six months to a year from the start of your preparations until you receive your residence permit card.

Which visa do I need?

The D7 if you will live on a pension or passive income, the D8 for remote work, the D2 if you will start a business in Portugal, and the Golden Visa if you will qualify through investment. The requirements for each are compared in Portugal residence visa types and requirements.

Is Portugal safe?

Portugal ranked 7th out of 163 countries in the 2026 Global Peace Index and is one of the safest countries in Europe. However, pickpocketing and bag theft occur in the tourist areas of Lisbon and Porto. Check the latest safety information on the overseas safety website of Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and check your own government's travel advice.

Summary

• The main downsides of moving to Portugal are high rents (€17.42 per m² in Lisbon), low local incomes (average wage €1,694 a month), delays at AIMA, tax on pensions, and waiting times in public healthcare
• The NHR tax regime closed at the end of 2023 in principle. A Japanese pension is taxed progressively in Portugal at 12.5–48% (plus a solidarity surcharge for high earners), so submit the tax treaty form to the Japan Pension Service
• From May 2026, citizenship requires 10 years of residence. For Japanese nationals, acquiring it means losing Japanese nationality
• Portugal ranks 7th in the world for safety, and the D7 income threshold is a low €920 a month. If you budget for rent, tax and health insurance, regrets are easier to avoid

Related articles: Portugal residence visa types and requirements / Portugal Golden Visa requirements and costs / Retiring abroad on a Japanese pension

References (primary sources)

• idealista: INE rents on new leases, January–March 2026 (June 26, 2026)
• ECO: INE average wage of €1,694 a month in 2025 (February 13, 2026)
• Economia e Finanças: INE Household Budget Survey 2022/2023
• Government of Portugal: minimum wage raised to €920 in 2026
• Rádio Renascença: AIMA statement (April 17, 2026)
• Observador: registered users without a family doctor (June 2, 2026)
• IBA: overview of the IFICI regime
• idealista: IRS tax rates in the 2026 budget
• Autonomous Region of Madeira: Nationality Law amendment, Lei Orgânica n.º 1/2026 (copy of the official gazette)
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan: Japan–Portugal tax treaty (text)
• Japan Pension Service: when moving abroad (tax treaty application)
• eunews: Eurostat share of people unable to keep their home adequately warm (2024)
• AICEP: Portugal ranks 7th in the Global Peace Index 2026 (June 15, 2026)
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan: Annual Report of Statistics on Japanese Nationals Overseas (as of October 1, 2025)

Amounts and rules in this article are as of October 9, 2026.