Contents
Can I work remotely from Portugal?
Technically, you’re not allowed to work from Portugal even remotely, while in Portugal.
However, this is often a very grey area as most countries have failed to keep up with the changes in technology which have allowed more and more workers to work from home, remotely over the internet. Whether they are in their home countries or across the ocean.
It doesn’t matter if you work for a company, independently or as a freelancer. That being said, for all practical purposes, yes you can work remotely from Portugal.
If you are a US citizen, you are allowed up to a 90-day stay within 180 days. But only as a tourist.
Legally you are not allowed to engage in any type of employment while in Portugal on this type of visa-free regime, nor in any other Schengen Zone country for that matter.
However, once again, this is often a very grey area. If you would like to stay longer in Portugal than 90 days, there are a few visas that you can apply for.
These visas would of course allow you to stay longer, but may also have financial and possible tax requirements as well.
Below I will include a couple of links for more information on these types of visas.
Is there a Digital Nomad visa for Portugal?
There is no official Digital Nomad Visa for Portugal as there are in some other countries. However, there are a couple of visas that a Digital Nomad may be eligible for.
These are:
There’s also the “Golden Visa”, which is a visa granted to those who are prepared to invest €500,000 (or €350,000 reduced option) in real estate in Portugal.
This will grant a residency permit for a family including dependent children. The “Golden Visa” can be renewed every two years providing the applicant spends two weeks in the country every two years.
These visas have their own particular requirements so for more details on these requirements, please visit the above links.
How long can I stay working in Portugal as an American?
Since Portugal is in the Schengen Zone and as an American, if you are there on the traditional tourist visa you can stay for 90 days out of 180. Whether you spend that time working on your laptop is between you, your laptop and the internet.
Technically you cannot stay and work even remotely as an American without the official documentation like a work permit etc.
However, you can get one of the visas I had listed above which will allow you to engage in certain commercial activities. These visas will also allow you to stay as an American in Portugal while you work remotely.
Is it hard to move to Portugal and work remotely?
Portugal is a modern, first world country and member of the European Union.
Although the logistics may be more cumbersome, than if you were to move to another state or city in your own country. Portugal still has all the conveniences of modern daily life.
The most difficult and hard part of moving to Portugal to work remotely would be making arrangements with either your clients or your employer ,if you are going to work remotely while in Portugal.
You also have to be aware of the internet speeds. If your work requires a lot of communication in real time with FaceTime, etc. your upload and download speeds must be considered as well.
In addition, one of the most overlooked features of working remotely while in Portugal are the time zone differences between your home country, where your employer or clients are based, to the time zone in Portugal.
If you are working with US based clients for example, the time zone difference will be a minimum of about 6 hours.
That is a minimum of 6 hours ahead. So if you have a conference call scheduled for 10:00am in the morning Eastern US Standard Time be prepared to be available at 4:00 p.m. Portuguese time.
In addition, this will move an hour ahead for each US time zone difference, since the US has Eastern, Central, Mountain and Pacific time zones. Also keep in mind that Hawaii has its own time zone and Arizona doesn’t even have daylight savings time
Can I move to Portugal without a job?
You can move to Portugal without a job on one of the visas I have listed above. The most likely visa you can get in order to move to Portugal without a job would either be a retirement visa or the golden visa where you need to invest a certain amount of money in real estate or some other venture in Portugal in order to be eligible for this type of visa.
With the retirement visa you will need to show some sort of passive income either through investments, retirement income or other proof of passive regular income.
How can I live and work in Portugal?
The best way you can live and work in Portugal would be to apply for one of the visas I have listed above.
This will allow you to live and work in Portugal without the need of leaving after 90 days. If you have access to either an employer or clients that you can service online and have a regular steady income, living and working in Portugal can be ideal.
You also need to show proof of funds as well as income in order to become eligible for one of the visas listed above.
How long can I live in Portugal without a visa?
US citizens can live in Portugal without a visa for up to 90 days. However, you must also leave the country for a period of 90 days after.
This “visa free” stay is known as the 90 days out of 180 days stay.
In addition, when you leave Portugal after your 90 days are up, you have to also leave the entire Schengen Zone. So you can’t simply go from Portugal to Spain and get another 90 day stay in Spain unfortunately. You actually have to leave the entire Schengen Zone for 90 days.
Where is the cheapest place to live in Portugal?
The more rural the place is in Portugal, the cheaper it will be. So the cheapest areas are usually in smaller villages or towns and in more rural locations.
Although the cost of living will be cheaper in these places, the amenities will not be as plentiful or as convenient as they are in the more populated parts of the country like Lisbon and Porto.
Lisbon and Porto of course, being the most popular places for Digital Nomads and those who work remotely in Portugal to live.
Internet speeds will tend to be lower and more unstable in more rural locations as well.
However, the internet infrastructure has been improving greatly in Portugal over the last couple of years.
In addition, you can usually supplement the lower reliability factor by simply tethering your internet connection to your cell or mobile phone and using 4G.
Surprisingly, cell phone plans in Portugal are quite affordable. Some plans will even give you up to 30 gigabytes for about 15 Euros.
This can come in very handy if you pop into a cafe that doesn’t have Wi-Fi or if the Wi-Fi in your place tends to be spotty.
What are the benefits of living in Portugal?
First off, incredible beaches, the weather and the food. Also, Portugal has a rich history that is evident in its architecture.
In addition, Portugal also has islands. The Azores are about 930mi off the coast of Portugal in the North Atlantic and about 2400 mi from the east coast of North America. The Azores are a popular Portuguese vacation spot as well.
You’ll also find a large community of other digital nomads and expats who make Portugal their home base.
The internet speeds as well as co-working spaces make Portugal a popular hub for digital nomads in Europe.
Is healthcare free in Portugal?
Although Portugal does have free universal healthcare, it is only accessible to Portuguese citizens as well as residents.
Most temporary residents need to have private health insurance to access the Portugese healthcare system.
Private health insurance is also quite affordable and gives you access to all of the Portuguese health care system.
Is living in Portugal safe?
Portugal is quite safe with quite low crime rates.
In fact, Portugal was on the cutting edge in practically eradicating its drug problem, unlike the United States.
Portugal implemented some revolutionary yet controversial ideas in tackling its illegal drug problem.
This included legalizing many former illegal substances, depenalizing drug related offenses as well as investing heavily in rehabilitation facilities and efforts.
The results were a dramatic decrease in its drug related crimes. Portugal is now held up as an example of how to truly combat the war on drugs. They simply demilitarized and depenalized it.
Is English widely spoken in Portugal?
They say about 30% of the Portuguese population is somewhat conversant in English.
Work remotely from Portugal, summary.
As you can see Portugal is an excellent place to work remotely from.
You can either work remotely from Portugal without any documentation, nor the need to navigate the bureaucracy by getting residence permits, visas etc.
However, in order to do so, you are limited to staying less than 90 days in 180 days.
Furthermore, you should not let on to passport control and immigration officers when you arrive in the country that you intend to work remotely, even if it’s on a 90-day visa-free tourist stay. Just consider the word “work” to be “taboo”. You are there on vacation, remember?
Besides, even while you’re on vacation, “is answering an email from work considered work?”Think of it in those terms.
Of course, never lie or misrepresent yourself to passport control or immigration officials at any country’s border. But there’s no sense in giving them information that they neither have asked for nor that’s relevant to your stay.
If you would like to stay longer, then you must apply for the appropriate visas which I had listed above.
However, either way you choose to work remotely from Portugal, it is definitely worth the experience.