It is 9 am in Lisbon, 10 am in Paris. On the terrace of a pastelaria (pastry shop) in Arroios, laptop open next to a bica (an espresso) and a pastel de nata, you get ready for the team meeting with an hour's head start on your colleagues. Remote work in Portugal often looks like this scene, and that is what makes it so appealing. But behind the postcard, there are less photogenic questions: where do you pay social security contributions? Where do you pay tax? Do you need a visa?
Here are the cities to settle in, what you need to know about internet and coworking spaces, and the status questions to sort out before you leave.
Where should you settle for remote work in Portugal?
Mainland Portugal runs on London time, an hour behind Paris, Brussels and Geneva. So does Madeira. If your team is still in France, it is almost ideal: you start earlier in your day, and the lunch break falls at the same moment.
Lisbon, for the network
The capital has the largest community of foreign remote workers and entrepreneurs, the events, the professional meet-ups and the best-connected airport. Coworking spaces in Lisbon are everywhere, especially around Arroios, Anjos and Avenida Almirante Reis, or to the east, in Marvila and Beato, in converted old warehouses. The downside is well known: it is the most expensive city in the country for housing.
Porto, for balance
Porto has a less dense but very lively scene, around Cedofeita, Bonfim and the historic centre, with more reasonable rents than Lisbon and a neighbourhood life that is easier to settle into. Winters are rainier, and old houses are often damp and poorly heated: a detail that matters when you spend eight hours a day at home.
Madeira and the Ponta do Sol village
In February 2021, Startup Madeira launched a "Nomad Village" in Ponta do Sol, a sunny little town on the south-west coast, and it made headlines around the world. Registration is free: it gives access to a workspace in Ponta do Sol, a community on Slack and WhatsApp, events and a list of accommodation. The programme also has outposts in Funchal, Machico, Santa Cruz and Porto Santo. For the rest of island life, read our article on living in Madeira, which also covers rents, which have risen sharply.
Ericeira, for surfers
Just under an hour north-west of Lisbon, this former fishing village of white and blue houses was designated Europe's first World Surfing Reserve in 2011. Many remote workers live there to the rhythm of the waves, with the capital a bus ride away. It is small, in high demand, and winters are windy and damp.
The Algarve, for the sun
Lagos, Faro, Tavira or Olhão: the sunniest region in the country attracts more and more remote workers, and Faro airport serves the whole of Europe. But out of season, some shops and restaurants close, and social life slows down markedly. For a remote worker on their own, winter can feel long.
Internet and coworking: what does a remote worker need?
Good news: fibre covers the cities very widely, and many small towns too. The real difficulty lies elsewhere. In an old building in a historic centre or in an isolated country house, a connection is not guaranteed: before signing a lease, ask a provider to check the address. And beware of fidelização, the 24-month commitment that comes with standard offers. Our guide to setting up internet and phone contracts covers the providers and the contract traps.
Always keep a plan B: a SIM card with a good data allowance, which you can use as a hotspot if your router fails on deadline day.
For places to work, you can choose between several options:
- private coworking spaces, by the day, the week or the month, with meeting rooms and phone booths;
- workspaces in hotels and hostels aimed at nomads, often open to non-guests;
- municipal libraries, quiet, free and with wifi, an underrated option;
- cafés, provided you play fair: many small pastelarias do not like you occupying a table for three hours over a single coffee, and some put up a sign saying so.
Before signing up anywhere, try a day pass: wifi quality and soundproofing vary a lot from one place to another.
Working remotely for a foreign company: which social security?
This is the question many people forget, and the one that can prove costly. If you want to work remotely for a company in France, Belgium or Switzerland while living in Portugal, it is not your passport that decides your social security, but the place where you actually work. The European coordination rules (Regulation 883/2004, also applied with Switzerland) do not let you choose.
You work entirely or mainly from Portugal. According to the European portal Your Europe, if you carry out at least 25% of your working time or earn at least 25% of your income in your country of residence, that country covers you. For full-time remote work from Lisbon, that means, in principle, Portuguese social security, with contributions paid in Portugal. Your employer must then arrange to contribute there, which not all companies accept. You will also need a NISS, the Portuguese social security number: our guide to the NISS in Portugal explains how to get it.
You split your time between two countries. Since 1 July 2023, a European framework agreement on cross-border telework allows you to stay covered in the employer's country if remote work in your country of residence accounts for less than 50% of your working time. Both countries must have signed it (France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland and Portugal have), and the employer must make the request with your agreement. This option is meant for people who live in Portugal but still work a good part of the time in the employer's country. The United Kingdom has not signed it.
Your employer sends you to Portugal on an assignment. This is a posting: you remain covered by your home country thanks to the A1 portable document, which your employer requests, for up to 24 months. A move decided for personal reasons, without an assignment, does not necessarily fit this framework.
Tax residence: where do you pay tax when working remotely from Portugal?
Article 16 of Portugal's IRS Code (the income tax code) sets two criteria. You are tax resident if you spend more than 183 days in Portugal in any twelve-month period starting or ending in the year, with each night spent there counting as a day. Or, even below that threshold, if you have a home there that you appear to intend to keep and occupy as your habitual residence.
As a resident, you in principle declare all your income in Portugal. Tax treaties, such as those between Portugal and France, Belgium or Switzerland, prevent you from paying tax twice on the same income, but how they apply depends on your situation: a salary is generally taxed where the work is physically done. Tell your employer and the tax authority of your country, and have your case checked by a tax adviser before your first return.
Self-employed: how do you register your activity and invoice with recibos verdes?
If you work for yourself and live in Portugal, your activity in principle falls under Portugal. If you are moving from France, keeping your French micro-entreprise while living in Lisbon raises tax and social security questions that an accountant must settle before you leave, not after.
The Portuguese process starts with the NIF, the tax number, essential for everything else. At Hello Expat, Moovy prepares your file; the NIF is applied for at the Finanças, by you or through a tax representative. Next, according to gov.pt, you must file a declaration of start of activity with the Finanças, the declaração de início de atividade, at the latest on the day your activity begins. People commonly call this "opening your activity" (abrir atividade).
Once your activity is open, you invoice your clients with electronic faturas-recibo issued on the Portal das Finanças, the famous recibos verdes ("green receipts"), named after the old green paper receipts. Below a certain turnover, a VAT exemption scheme may apply. For social security, the self-employed declare their income every quarter and pay contributions accordingly; starting an activity generally opens a period of temporary exemption. Thresholds and rates change from year to year: a local contabilista (accountant) is worth every euro they cost in the first year.
Digital nomad visa: who needs one?
Not if you are a citizen of the EU or the EEA (French, Belgian or Luxembourgish, for example) or of a country linked to the EU by a free movement agreement, such as Switzerland: you settle without a visa. After three months, you register at the town hall: our guide to the EU residence certificate explains the steps.
For everyone else, including British citizens since Brexit, a visa is needed beyond 90 days. Portugal has created two "Remote Work / Digital Nomad" visas, for people who carry out a professional activity remotely:
- the temporary stay visa, for less than a year, with multiple entries;
- the residence visa, valid for four months with two entries, during which you apply for your residence permit from AIMA, the migration agency.
The consulate asks for an employment contract or a letter from your employer or, for the self-employed, a company contract, service contracts or proof of services provided. You also need a document proving your tax residence and, above all, proof of an average monthly income over the last three months of at least four times the Portuguese minimum wage. The minimum wage is set at €920 in 2026 on the mainland: so count on about €3,680 a month. On top of that come the usual documents, such as your passport, insurance and a criminal record certificate.
NHR, IFICI: which tax regime for remote work in Portugal?
It is the argument you still read everywhere, and it is out of date. The non-habitual resident regime, the famous NHR (RNH in Portuguese), was abolished by the 2024 budget law, with transitional rules for some people already in the process of moving.
It has been replaced by IFICI, the tax incentive for scientific research and innovation, which English speakers call "NHR 2.0". It provides for a 20% tax rate on employment or self-employment income from eligible activities, for ten years, if you have not been a Portuguese tax resident in the previous five years. Most foreign-source income can also be exempt, under conditions.
But the eligible activities, set by Portaria 352/2024/1, are specific: higher education and research, qualified jobs in companies backed by public investment, highly qualified professions in exporting companies, research and development staff, jobs in startups certified by Startup Portugal. You must register by 15 January of the year after the one in which you become resident, with the competent body (FCT, AICEP, IAPMEI, ANI, Startup Portugal or the Finanças).
An employee working remotely for a foreign company, a French one for example, or a freelancer with clients abroad, generally fits none of these boxes. For most remote workers, you therefore need to count on the normal IRS rates. Do your sums on that basis, and treat IFICI as a possible bonus, not a promise.
Remote work in Portugal lives up to its promise when your status is sorted before you leave: a letter from your employer, a clear residence date, an accountant on the ground. The rest, the late-afternoon light on the Tagus or the first surf session before work in Ericeira, comes by itself.