Ten Years, Not Five: The Honest 2026 Guide to Actually Moving to Portugal After Brexit (Visas, Tax, Healthcare, Housing, Planner)
On 19 May 2026 the law changed and nobody in the groups noticed for a month.
Portuguese citizenship now takes ten years of residence, not five, and the clock starts when your first card is issued, not when you applied. Lukas moved from Leeds to the Silver Coast on a D7 in 2023 with a five-year plan. He's got a ten-year one now, and he's still there, because the things that made it work were never the passport. They were the €920 threshold a British pension clears, a doctor with time, rent at half of Leeds, and the Atlantic at the end of the road.
This kit is the actual 2026 numbers, in one place, for British people who are serious enough to want them and tired enough of Facebook hearsay to pay for them.
Who it's for
British people, mostly over 45, with a pension, a remote job or savings, who want to know if the move still works before they pay a relocation agent or sign a lease. Anyone who's already here and doesn't understand what the new tax treaty or the new nationality law did to their plan.
What you get
- The guide (40 pages, PDF). D7 and D8 with the 2026 thresholds (€920 base, €3,680 for D8) and the appointment-date trap. The paperwork in the order that works. What AIMA is actually like now: the backlog numbers, renewals, the expired-card travel warning, the scams. The citizenship law in full, date by date. The new UK-Portugal treaty and what it does to your State Pension, workplace pension and SIPP. Why NHR's 10% is gone and what a €23,500 pension really pays. IMT, IMI, AIMI, stamp duty in the order you'll meet them. Rents and prices by region, August 2026. SNS, S1 and what private cover costs at 45, 60 and 75. Renting and buying without being robbed. Licence exchange, importing a car, pets, the border machine. Working and freelancing here. ISAs, Premium Bonds, drawdown, wills. Region by region where Brits actually settle. Three real budgets. The twelve mistakes British people make, ranked.
- The planner (Excel). Enter your income in pounds and see whether you clear the D7 or D8 threshold with a margin, and what the 2027 threshold does to it. A monthly budget by region. A rough Portuguese tax estimate on your pension at 2026 bands. Buying on-costs with the 2026 IMT bands. A move timeline that works back from your landing date.
- The checklist pack (printable PDF). Decide, six months out, after the visa, first ninety days, renting, buying, and the "never" list.
- Free updates for life. Thresholds move every January and the law moved twice this year. When it changes, the new file comes to you.
The details
Instant download. PDF and Excel, any device. Every threshold, fee, deadline and law checked against the Portuguese government, AIMA, the treaty text, gov.uk and Portuguese law-firm guidance in September 2026. Written by someone who has stood in every queue in it.
What it isn't
It's not legal or tax advice and it says so. It's what you need to know before you pay for either, and what to ask when you do, so you're not paying €300 an hour to be told what a NIF is.
If it's not what you hoped, reply to your order email within 14 days and you'll get your money back. No forms.