- You become Portuguese tax-resident after 183 days, or by keeping a home there you intend to live in.
- The old NHR regime is closed to new arrivals but those already on it keep it for their ten years.
- Its replacement, IFICI (sometimes called NHR 2.0), gives a 20% flat rate on qualifying income for certain skilled activities.
- The D7 (passive income) and D8 (digital nomad) visas are the usual routes for UK arrivals.
- Your UK Ltd stays UK-resident and owes UK Corporation Tax; CMC and PE rules still apply.
Check your risk profile
Becoming Portuguese-resident
Portugal treats you as tax-resident if you spend more than 183 days there in any 12-month period, or if you have a home in Portugal on 31 December that you intend to keep as your habitual residence. Standard Portuguese income tax (IRS) is progressive and reaches around 48% at the top, plus solidarity surcharges on high incomes.
As with Spain, the Portuguese year is the calendar year, which can overlap the UK's April-to-April year when you move. Filing a P85 or reporting through Self Assessment, and checking split-year treatment, is part of leaving cleanly.
NHR, grandfathering and IFICI
For a decade, the Non-Habitual Resident (NHR) regime made Portugal hugely attractive, with ten years of reduced or zero tax on many foreign income types. It closed to new applicants from 2024. If you were already registered, you keep your benefits for the remainder of your ten-year period.
Its successor is IFICI, the Incentive for Scientific Research and Innovation, sometimes called NHR 2.0. It offers a 20% flat rate on qualifying Portuguese employment and self-employment income, and exemptions on certain foreign income, but it is targeted at specific skilled and innovation-related activities rather than open to everyone. Whether your work qualifies is the key question.
The D7 and D8 visas
For non-EU citizens, which UK nationals now are post-Brexit, two routes dominate:
- D7 visa. For people with stable passive or regular income (pensions, dividends, rental, royalties). You evidence income at least at the Portuguese minimum wage level, more for dependants.
- D8 digital nomad visa. For remote workers and the location-independent self-employed, with a higher income requirement (broadly four times the Portuguese minimum wage).
Both lead toward residency and, in time, the option of permanent residence or citizenship. The right one depends on where your income comes from.
Your UK company
Running your UK Ltd from Portugal does not change its UK tax residence: it stays UK-incorporated and owes UK Corporation Tax. The familiar risks apply, Central Management and Control potentially making it Portuguese-resident too, and a Portuguese Permanent Establishment if you have a fixed base or conclude contracts there. Our guide to running a UK Ltd from abroad covers both, and the risk checker above gives a first read.