Moving to Portugal from the UK after Brexit

Before Brexit, UK citizens could relocate to Portugal with little more than an address and a bit of patience. That changed. UK nationals moving for more than a short stay are now treated like any other non-EU national, which means applying for a national visa before you go rather than sorting paperwork once you land.

The practical effect is a fixed order of steps: visa application at the consulate, arrival in Portugal, then a residence-permit appointment with AIMA. Insurance shows up at both the first and the last of these stages, in different forms, which is where much of the confusion starts. Our Portugal moving guide lays out the wider picture if this is your first look at the route.

For UK citizens without an EU family route, two visa paths dominate the picture. The D7 is the income-based option, built for people who can show steady income from pensions, remote work, or investments and want to live in Portugal rather than invest in it. The golden visa is the investment route, aimed at applicants funding their residency through a qualifying investment rather than income.

Both routes sit under the same national-visa system, and both require proof of insurance as part of the application file. The requirements differ enough in detail that they deserve separate treatment. Our D7 insurance guide explains that route specifically, including how the documentation request is usually worded.

When you submit your national-visa application, Portuguese consulates ask for evidence of insurance covering urgent medical care and repatriation for the length of your intended stay. In practice, consulates commonly apply the same standard used across the Schengen area: cover of at least €30,000. This is a paperwork threshold set by the consulate, not a figure we choose or influence.

The written rule shown on this page reflects how this requirement is usually phrased on application checklists. It is worth reading carefully before you buy anything, since wording varies slightly by consulate and by visa type. Our certificate wording guide walks through what the document itself typically needs to say.

An approved visa is not the end of the paperwork. Once you arrive and move toward your residence-permit appointment with AIMA, the insurance standard changes. Travel-grade cover that satisfied the consulate is no longer enough at this stage. AIMA looks for full health insurance valid in Portugal, or evidence that you are registered with the SNS, the public health service.

This second stage consistently catches people out, largely because the shift in requirement is not always flagged clearly at the visa stage. Anyone relying on a policy bought only for the consulate application should check it still meets the AIMA standard well before the appointment date. If you are still comparing options at this point, our health insurance for UK citizens page sets out both stages side by side.

NHS access is residency-based, not citizenship-based. Once you make a long-term move abroad, routine NHS access ends, which is part of why Portugal wants to see evidence of alternative cover before letting you in and before confirming your residence permit. This is not a formality to get through and forget. It is the point where you actually need the cover to work.

Our Essential plans start from $392 a year for an adult aged 18, with a flat $308 a year for a child aged 0 to 17. Prices are per person per year on annual billing from the 2026 rate card, and your exact rate depends on age. Pre-existing conditions are not covered, including conditions you did not know about, cover is worldwide but excludes treatment in the United States, and this is not travel insurance. Compare every level on the pricing calculator before your appointment.

Once you land, two pieces of paperwork tend to open every door that follows. The NIF is your Portuguese tax number, needed for almost everything from a rental contract to a phone plan. SNS registration, Portugal's public health service, matters separately from your private insurance and is worth sorting even if you plan to rely on private cover day to day.

Because the consulate stage and the AIMA stage ask for different things, it helps to work from a single list rather than piecing it together from memory. Our moving checklist lays out both stages in order. When you are ready to see numbers against your own age and dates, book a no-obligation quote call or run a quick policy check first.