How much money do you need to move to Europe?

Italy — Elective residence visa (visto per residenza elettiva)

Approximately €31,000–€32,000 per year per applicant where a consulate publishes a figure at all — several consulates publish no figure

Consulate General of Italy in Toronto (identical wording at the Embassy in Ottawa): "The economic resources cannot be less than three times the annual amount provided for by the 'Table A' of Ministry of Interior Directive 1.3.2000 (approximately 32,000 euros) per each applicant and must come from the possession of substantial income deriving from annuities, pensions, income from securities and real estate, income from stable entrepreneurial and commercial activities." Consulate General in Boston states the same rule as "totaling more than 31,000 euros yearly per applicant", from "documented and detailed stable passive income". Every consulate consulted excludes employment income: "Income deriving from subordinate work will not be taken into consideration."

THE SPREAD, AS FOUND ON OFFICIAL esteri.it PAGES IN JULY 2026 — Toronto and Ottawa: ~€32,000/yr per applicant (3× Table A). Boston: "more than 31,000 euros yearly per applicant". Vancouver: "EUR 31000/per/person/year after-tax", +20% for a spouse, +5% per child (page last updated 16 November 2023 — the oldest of the set). Paris: ~€31,000 described explicitly as "only one of the parameters" and a starting point, not a qualifying threshold. New York: no fixed figure, "typically around €31,000 per person". Los Angeles, London, Chicago, San Francisco and Recife publish NO euro figure at all — only "substantial and stable private income". San Francisco's checklist adds that the visa "is the most strictly regulated visa" and that consular officers investigate thoroughly. I could not open the Table A directive itself: the PDF that the Toronto and Ottawa pages link to (vistoperitalia.esteri.it/Moduli/it/Direttiva_MinInterno_1-3-2000.pdf) returns HTTP 404, so the €31,000 vs €32,000 discrepancy cannot currently be resolved against the primary source — the government's own citation link is broken. Our /italy/retirement-visa-insurance/ spoke describes the same legal route (the ERV is the retiree route); it should carry the same figures. Do not write 'Italy requires €31,000' as a flat fact.

Official source: Consulate General of Italy in Toronto (Ministero degli Affari Esteri, esteri.it), Elective Residency page — corroborated by the Consulate General in Boston and the Embassy in Ottawa — Last verified: July 2026

Italy — Digital nomad / remote worker visa (nomadi digitali e lavoratori da remoto)

Three times the annual income level that exempts a person from healthcare cost-sharing — official Italian missions state this as €25,500 (Embassy in Pristina) or €28,000 (Consulate General in Buenos Aires)

Embassy of Italy in Pristina: the applicant must "have a minimum annual income from lawful sources not less than three times the minimum amount (€ 8,500) required for exemption from contribution to health care costs". Consulate General of Italy in Buenos Aires states the same requirement as "reddito annuo pari ad almeno il triplo del livello minimo per l'esenzione dalla spesa sanitaria (28.000 euro annuo)". Legal basis: Decreto interministeriale 29 febbraio 2024, published in Gazzetta Ufficiale n. 79 of 4 April 2024, implementing art. 27(1)(q-bis) of D.Lgs. 286/1998. Other conditions in the same decree: health insurance valid in Italy for the whole stay, documented accommodation, and at least six months' prior experience in the relevant remote/highly-qualified activity.

🚨 UNRESOLVED CONFLICT BETWEEN TWO OFFICIAL esteri.it SOURCES: €25,500 (Pristina, stating a base of €8,500) versus €28,000 (Buenos Aires) for the identical statutory formula — a €2,500/year gap, enough to sink an application filed against the lower number. I attempted to settle it against the decree text on gazzettaufficiale.it (eli/id/2024/04/04/24A01716/SG) but the page returns only title and publication metadata to an automated fetch, not the article text; the substantive articles sit behind an 'Atto Completo' link I could not resolve. RECOMMENDATION: publish the RULE (3× the healthcare cost-sharing exemption level) and the observed range, name both consulates, and tell readers to confirm with the consulate handling their application. Do not publish a single Italian digital-nomad income number. A human should read the Gazzetta PDF and settle the base figure before this ships as a number.

Official source: Embassy of Italy in Pristina (Ministero degli Affari Esteri, esteri.it), "Visto per Nomadi digitali e Lavoratori da Remoto" — Last verified: July 2026

Portugal — Golden Visa / ARI (residence permit for investment activity, Art. 90.º-A)

The ARI has no published monthly income threshold. AIMA grants it on quantitative investment requirements — capital transfers into research, cultural production, non-real-estate collective investment undertakings, or company formation combined with job creation — together with a minimum-stay requirement, not on proof of recurring personal income.

Recorded as amount:null deliberately — this route belongs in an income-threshold tool only as 'no income requirement', so a reader does not assume one exists. I did NOT record the investment figures: this research did not verify them to publication standard, and third-party summaries returned during the search still listed the €500,000 real-estate and €350,000 rehabilitation routes that the 2023 Mais Habitação law abolished, while AIMA's own current page lists only the non-real-estate options. If we ever publish ARI amounts, read them fresh off AIMA and treat any source repeating the real-estate routes as stale.

Official source: AIMA — Autorização de Residência para Investimento, Art. 90.º-A — Last verified: July 2026

Germany — Freelance / self-employment residence permit (Freiberufler, § 21 Abs. 5 AufenthG)

§ 21 Abs. 5 AufenthG: 'Einem Ausländer kann eine Aufenthaltserlaubnis zur Ausübung einer freiberuflichen Tätigkeit abweichend von Absatz 1 erteilt werden.' The statute names no income figure. The applicable financial standard is § 2 Abs. 3 AufenthG: 'Der Lebensunterhalt eines Ausländers ist gesichert, wenn er ihn einschließlich ausreichenden Krankenversicherungsschutzes ohne Inanspruchnahme öffentlicher Mittel bestreiten kann' — livelihood is secured if the applicant can meet it, including adequate health insurance, without recourse to public funds. § 2 Abs. 3 does define a fixed monthly minimum, but only for study, training and language-course permits (§§ 16a–16c, 16e, 16f, 16g, 16d, 17); § 21 is deliberately excluded from that list. Berlin's Landesamt für Einwanderung, which handles the largest share of these applications, lists the prerequisites for a freelance permit as: a qualifying liberal profession under § 18 Abs. 1 Nr. 1 EStG, adequate German health insurance, a revenue forecast (Einnahmenvorausberechnung), proof of monthly rental costs, and — only for applicants over 45 — pension provision. It publishes no minimum income.

This is the honest answer and it is a finding, not a gap in the research: Germany does not publish a freelance-visa income threshold. Do NOT publish the Regelbedarf (€563/month) as 'Germany's freelance visa income requirement' — it is one input into a means test that also adds actual housing costs and health/care insurance contributions and then applies the § 11b SGB II income deductions. A single applicant in a typical German city clears the test well above €563. There is one published euro figure attached to this route, but it applies only to applicants aged 45 and over — see the separate 'aged 45+' entry, which shares this routeHref. Also note a live divergence between two official sources on that over-45 test (documented in that entry).

Official source: Bundesministerium der Justiz, Aufenthaltsgesetz §§ 2 and 21 (gesetze-im-internet.de); cross-checked against Landesamt für Einwanderung Berlin, 'Aufenthaltserlaubnis zur freiberuflichen Tätigkeit beantragen' — Last verified: July 2026

Austria — Red-White-Red Card — Skilled Workers in Shortage Occupations (Fachkräfte in Mangelberufen)

migration.gv.at requires that the applicant 'ein verbindliches Arbeitsplatzangebot in Österreich haben und das Unternehmen bereit ist, Ihnen das nach Gesetz, Verordnung oder Kollektivvertrag zustehende Mindestentgelt zu bezahlen (im Falle einer betriebsüblichen Überzahlung ist auch diese zu gewähren)' — a binding job offer where the employer will pay the minimum pay due under statute, regulation or collective agreement, and where the firm customarily pays above that rate, the higher rate too. The occupation must appear on the annual shortage-occupation list, and the applicant must reach the required points score.

Recorded as null deliberately. Any single euro figure attached to this route would be an invention — the number genuinely depends on which collective agreement covers the job. If we ever want to show something here, the honest form is 'the collective-agreement rate for your occupation', not a number.

Official source: Bundesministerium für Inneres, migration.gv.at, 'Fachkräfte in Mangelberufen' — Last verified: July 2026

Austria — Red-White-Red Card — Very Highly Qualified Workers (Besonders Hochqualifizierte)

migration.gv.at: 'Voraussetzung für das Arbeitsuche-Visum und die Rot-Weiß-Rot Karte ist, dass Sie nach den folgenden Kriterien mindestens 70 Punkte erreichen' — the applicant must score at least 70 of a possible 100 points across special qualifications and skills, work experience, language skills, studies at a university, and age. Salary appears only inside the points table: a previous year's gross annual salary in a management position at a listed company or a large firm scores points in bands of €50,000–60,000, €60,000–70,000 and over €70,000. Scoring zero on that criterion does not disqualify an applicant who reaches 70 points by other means.

The €50,000 / €60,000 / €70,000 figures in the points table are scoring bands, not entry requirements, and must never be presented as an income threshold. This variant also carries a six-month job-seeker visa (Arbeitssuche-Visum, fee €195) for applicants who reach 70 points before they have an Austrian job offer.

Official source: Bundesministerium für Inneres, migration.gv.at, 'Besonders Hochqualifizierte' — Last verified: July 2026

Spain — Student visa / long-duration study stay (visado de estudios)

100% of IPREM — €600 per month of stay — 100% of the MONTHLY IPREM, per month of intended stay. IPREM YEAR USED: 2026, unchanged at €600.00/month since 2023. Because IPREM has been frozen through the budget prórroga, the 2025 and 2026 figures are identical, so consulate pages dated either year give the same number.

Consulate General of Spain in San Francisco: "100% of monthly IPREM = 600€ per month of stay" for the student alone; "75% of monthly IPREM = 450€ per month of stay" for the first family member; "50% of monthly IPREM = 300€ per month of stay" for each additional family member. The page adds: "The minimum monthly required amount varies each year and is calculated according to Spain's Public Income Indicator of Multiple Effects (IPREM)." Some consulates waive or reduce the accommodation element where lodging is demonstrably prepaid for the whole stay.

With family: +75% of IPREM for the first accompanying family member (€450/month) and +50% of IPREM for each additional family member (€300/month). The uplift ladder differs from the NLV, which is a flat +100% per dependant — do not reuse the NLV formula here.

What moves it: Same driver as the NLV: IPREM is set in the Ley de Presupuestos Generales del Estado and has been frozen at €600/month since Ley 31/2022 because the 2023 budget keeps being rolled over. Recheck every January and on any Spanish budget approval. Unlike the NLV, this figure is multiplied by the number of months of the course, so a longer course means a proportionally larger proof of funds.

Official source: Consulate General of Spain in San Francisco (Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores, exteriores.gob.es), Student visa page — Last verified: July 2026

Portugal — D7 passive income / retirement visa (residence visa for retired persons, religious workers and people living on their own income)

€920 per month — 100% of the Portuguese guaranteed minimum monthly remuneration (retribuição mínima mensal garantida, RMMG), which for 2026 is €920 under Decreto-Lei n.º 139/2025 of 29 December 2025. The MFA publishes no separate D7 multiplier — the D7 falls under the general means-of-subsistence criterion, where the first adult counts as 100%.

The Portuguese MFA visa portal states that the criterion for determining means of subsistence takes as its reference the guaranteed minimum monthly remuneration, which in 2026 is €920 (Decreto-Lei n.º 139/2025 of 29 December), net of social security contributions, valued per capita within each household as follows: first adult 100%; second or more adults 50%; children and young people under 18 and dependent adult children 30%. For the D7 route specifically, a retired applicant proves this with a document showing the amount of the pension plus a guarantee of its receipt or availability of other income in Portuguese territory; an applicant living on their own income proves it with a document showing income from movable or immovable property, intellectual property or financial investments, plus proof that this income is available in Portuguese territory.

With family: +50% for a second or further adult in the household; +30% for each child under 18 and each dependent adult child

What moves it: Pegged to the national minimum wage (RMMG), which is reset by decree each December with effect from 1 January. It went €820 (2024) → €870 (2025) → €920 (2026), and the Portuguese government has published a trajectory toward €1,100 by 2029. Recheck every January against Decreto-Lei. The Azores (€966) and Madeira (€980) have higher regional minimum wages — the MFA visa criterion cites the €920 mainland figure.

Official source: Ministério dos Negócios Estrangeiros — Portal de Vistos, Vistos Nacionais › Documentação instrutória › Meios de subsistência (and › Residência for the D7 document list) — Last verified: July 2026

Germany — Student visa / residence permit for study (§ 16b AufenthG)

€992 net per month (€11,904 net per year) — The BAföG maximum rate (BAföG-Satz), applied under § 2 Abs. 3 Satz 5 AufenthG. Published as a monthly figure and as the twelve-month total that must sit in the blocked account at the point of application.

§ 2 Abs. 3 Satz 5 AufenthG deems livelihood secured for study permits 'wenn der Ausländer über monatliche Mittel in Höhe des monatlichen Bedarfs, der nach den §§ 13 und 13a Abs. 1 des Bundesausbildungsförderungsgesetzes bestimmt wird, verfügt' — if the applicant has monthly means equal to the BAföG monthly requirement. The Auswärtiges Amt publishes that amount for 2026 as €992 net per month / €11,904 net per year for 'Studium und studienvorbereitende Sprachkurse (§ 16b AufenthG)'. Its mission guidance states: 'Für den Aufenthalt in Deutschland müssen Ihnen monatlich mindestens 992 Euro zur Verfügung stehen. Bei Antragstellung sind finanzielle Mittel für mindestens ein Jahr, also mindestens 11.904 Euro nachzuweisen.' Where a blocked account is used, the account is capped so the student may draw a maximum of €992 in any month.

With family: No dependant multiplier is published for the student route. Accompanying family members are assessed under the general § 2 Abs. 3 AufenthG livelihood test.

What moves it: Pegged to the BAföG maximum rate. BMI must publish the minimum amounts for each calendar year by 31 August of the preceding year in the Bundesanzeiger (§ 2 Abs. 3 Satz 7 AufenthG). €992 has held since 2025 (2024 was €934). Recheck every September.

Official source: Auswärtiges Amt, 'Lebensunterhalt in Deutschland' (2026 rate table, article dated 09.01.2026); mission-level Merkblätter carry the same figures — Last verified: July 2026

Germany — Chancenkarte / job-seeker visa (§ 20a AufenthG)

€1,091 per month (€13,092 for the full 12-month validity) — The BAföG-based student minimum (€992/month) plus the 10% surcharge that § 2 Abs. 3 Satz 6 AufenthG applies to job-search-type permits. €992 × 1.10 = €1,091.20, published as €1,091. The Auswärtiges Amt publishes it as a flat monthly figure and multiplies it by the requested stay: 91 days (the minimum) = €3,309; 12 months (the maximum) = €13,092.

§ 20a Abs. 4 AufenthG: 'Die Chancenkarte darf jedoch nur erteilt werden, wenn der Lebensunterhalt gesichert ist.' The Auswärtiges Amt Merkblatt (Stand: April 2026) puts the figure on it: 'Für den Aufenthalt in Deutschland müssen Ihnen monatlich mindestens 1.091 Euro zur Verfügung stehen. Bei Antragstellung sind finanzielle Mittel für den gesamten Aufenthalt, also bei einem Aufenthalt von zwölf Monaten 13.092 Euro (bspw. durch Sperrkonto oder förmliche Verpflichtungserklärung) nachzuweisen.' Funds are proved either by a German blocked account (Sperrkonto) with a monthly release amount of €1,091, or by a formal declaration of commitment (Verpflichtungserklärung, §§ 66–68 AufenthG) from a person resident in Germany. Where a blocked account is used, only the bank's official opening confirmation stating both the total deposited and the monthly available amount is accepted.

With family: The published figure is per applicant. The Auswärtiges Amt states 'pro Antragsteller' — each applicant must show the amount for themselves; no spouse or child multiplier is published for this route.

What moves it: Derived from the BAföG maximum rate plus 10%; BMI must publish the underlying minimum amounts for each calendar year by 31 August of the preceding year in the Bundesanzeiger (§ 2 Abs. 3 Satz 7 AufenthG). Recheck every September for the following year.

Official source: Auswärtiges Amt, 'Merkblatt zur Beantragung einer Chancenkarte (§ 20a AufenthG)', Stand: April 2026 (German Embassy Cairo); corroborated by the Auswärtiges Amt livelihood table dated 09.01.2026 and by the Nairobi and Vilnius mission pages — Last verified: July 2026

Austria — Student residence permit (Aufenthaltsbewilligung Studierender)

€1,308.39 per month if aged 24 or over; €722.58 per month if under 24 — The ASVG reference rates for 2026 as applied to education-purpose stays. Applicants under 24 are assessed against the reduced education rate of €722.58; from 24 they are assessed against the full single-person Ausgleichszulagenrichtsatz of €1,308.39.

The City of Vienna's immigration department (MA 35), which decides these applications for Vienna, publishes the 2026 rates as: 'Einzelpersonen zu Ausbildungszwecken, zum Beispiel Schüler*innen, Student*innen oder Sozialdienstleistende bis 24 Jahre: 722,58 Euro' and 'ab 24 Jahre: 1.308,39 Euro'. The test is what is left over, not what comes in: net income is averaged over 14 salary payments divided by 12, readily available savings are added divided by 12, then regular outgoings for rent, garnishments, loan instalments and maintenance to people outside the household are subtracted to the extent they exceed the 'freie Station' allowance of €386.43 for 2026. The remaining figure is what must meet the rate.

With family: The general ASVG household logic applies if family accompany: €2,064.12 for a couple in a shared household and €201.88 per child, for 2026.

What moves it: Pegged to the ASVG Ausgleichszulagenrichtsatz, reset every 1 January by the pension adjustment factor. Recheck each January, including the 'freie Station' allowance.

Official source: Stadt Wien, MA 35 Fachbereich Einwanderung, 'Gesicherter Lebensunterhalt in Österreich' (2026 rates) — Last verified: July 2026

France — Long-stay visitor visa (VLS-TS visiteur) / carte de séjour "visiteur"

€1,477.93 net per month, over 1 year (€17,735.19 net per year) — Not a flat statutory sum: CESEDA art. L426-20 sets the test as own resources at least equal to the NET ANNUAL SMIC. The euro figure is whatever the net SMIC is on the day you apply. The figure above is the net monthly SMIC in force from 1 June 2026 (gross €1,867.02/month, hourly €12.31), as published by Service-Public.fr on the visitor-card page and verified by that page on 1 June 2026.

CESEDA art. L426-20: "L'étranger qui apporte la preuve qu'il peut vivre de ses seules ressources, dont le montant doit être au moins égal au salaire minimum de croissance net annuel, indépendamment de l'allocation aux adultes handicapés ... se voit délivrer une carte de séjour temporaire portant la mention « visiteur » d'une durée d'un an. Il doit en outre justifier de la possession d'une assurance maladie couvrant la durée de son séjour et prendre l'engagement de n'exercer en France aucune activité professionnelle." Service-Public.fr states the operative figure: "The minimum amount of resources required for a single person is €1,477.93 net monthly, over 1 year" — i.e. €17,735.19 net for the year.

With family: No published per-dependant uplift. Service-Public.fr states the €1,477.93 minimum is "for a single person" and that family allowances are excluded from the calculation because they are paid for the upkeep of children. Resources belonging to a family member, and guarantees from solvent third parties, may be counted toward the applicant's own figure. A spouse and children applying alongside are assessed on the household's overall resources and housing, with no published formula.

What moves it: Moves with the SMIC, which is revalued at least every 1 January and again mid-year whenever inflation passes 2%. It moved TWICE in 2026: €1,443.11 net/month at 1 January 2026 (décret n° 2025-1228 of 17 December 2025), then €1,477.93 net/month at 1 June 2026 after the 2% inflation trigger was crossed on 13 May 2026. Recheck every January, and again any month a mid-year revalorisation is announced.

Official source: Service-Public.fr (French government / DILA), fiche F302 "Carte de séjour temporaire « visiteur » d'un étranger en France", vérifié le 01/06/2026 — legal basis CESEDA art. L426-20 on Légifrance — Last verified: July 2026

Spain — Non-lucrative residence visa (visado de residencia no lucrativa, NLV)

400% of IPREM — €2,400 per month, €28,800 per year — 400% of the MONTHLY IPREM. IPREM YEAR USED: 2026. IPREM 2026 = €600.00/month, €7,200/year on the 12-payment basis (€8,400 on the 14-payment basis). 400% × €600 = €2,400/month = €28,800/year. The Embassy of Spain in Washington DC publishes exactly these 2026 figures: "the IPREM equals 600€ ... per month, or 7200 € per year" and "400% = 28.800 €".

Ministerio de Inclusión, Seguridad Social y Migraciones (Hoja 6, initial non-lucrative temporary residence authorisation): financial means of "monthly, 400% of the IPREM" for the applicant and "monthly, 100% of the IPREM" for each dependent family member, under Real Decreto 1155/2024 arts. 60-63 and Ley Orgánica 4/2000 arts. 30 bis and 31. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs states the same rule on its national-visa page: "The minimum amount required is equivalent to 400% of the IPREM" and "Add 100% the IPREM by each family member dependent on the applicant."

With family: +100% of IPREM per dependent family member — €600 per month, €7,200 per year each. Applies to the spouse or registered/proven stable partner and to unmarried minor children or adult children who have not formed their own household.

What moves it: IPREM is reset each year in the Ley de Presupuestos Generales del Estado. It has NOT moved since 2023: Ley 31/2022 (PGE 2023) set it at €600/month, and because no new state budget has been passed the 2023 budget has been rolled over for 2024, 2025 and 2026 (the Ministry of Finance publishes the 2026 prórroga at sepg.pap.hacienda.gob.es). The moment a PGE is actually approved, this number jumps after four frozen years — likely by a lot. Recheck every January AND on any news that a Spanish budget has passed. Note it is IPREM, not SMI: the SMI rose to €1,221/month in February 2026 while IPREM stayed at €600.

Official source: Embassy of Spain in Washington DC (Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores, exteriores.gob.es), Non-Working Residency Visa page — rule corroborated by Ministerio de Inclusión, Seguridad Social y Migraciones, Hoja 6, last updated May 2025 — Last verified: July 2026

Spain — Digital nomad visa (visado de residencia para teletrabajo de carácter internacional)

200% of the monthly SMI — €2,442 per month at the 2026 SMI (€29,304 per year) — 200% of the MONTHLY SMI — NOT an IPREM multiple. This is the single most-confused fact about this visa. SMI YEAR USED: 2026. SMI 2026 = €1,221.00/month (€40.70/day, €17,094/year over 14 payments), fixed by Real Decreto 126/2026 of 18 February 2026 (BOE-A-2026-3815), with retroactive effect from 1 January 2026. 200% × €1,221 = €2,442/month. The euro figure is OUR arithmetic from two official sources; no official page found in July 2026 yet publishes the 2026 euro amount.

Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores, national visa page for the visado de residencia para teletrabajo: the applicant must show "cantidad que represente mensualmente el 200% del salario mínimo interprofesional (SMI)", and for family "al menos el 75% del SMI por la primera persona reagrupada y, al menos, un 25% del SMI por cada miembro adicional". The SMI itself: Real Decreto 126/2026, art. 1 — "40,70 euros/día" and "1 221 euros/mes".

With family: +75% of the SMI for the first accompanying family member (€915.75/month at the 2026 SMI) and +25% of the SMI for each additional family member (€305.25/month). Same percentages appear on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs national-visa page, the Ministry of Inclusion's UGE-CE pages and multiple consulates.

What moves it: Tracks the SMI, reset by Real Decreto every year — and the decree lands LATE. RD 126/2026 was approved on 17 February 2026 and published on 18 February, retroactive to 1 January, meaning that for the first six weeks of 2026 no official page could state the correct figure. Expect the same gap every January-February. Recheck in February and again if a mid-year SMI change is announced. Note the divergence from the NLV: SMI rose 3.1% for 2026 while IPREM stayed frozen.

Official source: Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores, Unión Europea y Cooperación (exteriores.gob.es), Visados Nacionales — Visado de residencia para teletrabajo (nómada digital); SMI from Real Decreto 126/2026 (BOE-A-2026-3815) — Last verified: July 2026

Austria — Settlement Permit – except gainful employment (Niederlassungsbewilligung – ausgenommen Erwerbstätigkeit, § 44 NAG)

€2,616.78 per month (single); €4,128.24 per month (married or registered partners); plus €403.76 per child — Twice the ASVG Ausgleichszulagenrichtsatz (equalisation supplement reference rate) for 2026. The 2026 base rates are €1,308.39 for a single person, €2,064.12 for a couple and €201.88 per child; § 44 Abs. 1 Z 3 NAG doubles them for this permit. The Richtsätze rose 2.7% on 1 January 2026 with the general pension adjustment.

§ 44 Abs. 1 NAG: a settlement permit excluding gainful employment may be granted to third-country nationals where they meet the general conditions, a quota place is available, and 'deren feste und regelmäßige monatliche Einkünfte der Höhe nach dem Zweifachen der Richtsätze des § 293 ASVG entsprechen' — their fixed and regular monthly income equals twice the § 293 ASVG reference rates. migration.gv.at publishes the resulting 2026 figures as €2,616.78 (single), €4,128.24 (married / registered partners) and €403.76 per additional child, and gives pensions (domestic or foreign), business profits earned abroad, returns on assets, savings and shareholdings as qualifying income. The income is not compared gross against the rate: under § 11 Abs. 5 NAG regular outgoings — rent, loan repayments, garnishments and maintenance paid to people outside the household — reduce the income counted, except that a one-off allowance up to the value of the 'freie Station' (€386.43 for 2026) is disregarded. Reaching the rate must also not depend on benefits that would only arise once the permit is granted.

With family: The couple rate replaces (does not stack on) the single rate where spouses or registered partners live in the same household: €4,128.24 per month for the pair. Each child adds €403.76 per month. If the family is not yet living together in Austria, only the single-person amount must be shown at that stage; the couple and child amounts are required when they move.

What moves it: Pegged to the ASVG Ausgleichszulagenrichtsatz, which is reset every 1 January by the annual pension adjustment factor (2.7% for 2026). The 'freie Station' allowance moves with it. Recheck each January, and recheck both the base rate and the doubled rate, because migration.gv.at publishes them on the same page but in separate tables.

Official source: Bundesministerium für Inneres, migration.gv.at, 'Sonstige Niederlassungsformen' (ASVG Richtsätze für das Jahr 2026); legal basis § 44 and § 11 Abs. 5 NAG on RIS; base rates published by the Sozialministerium — Last verified: July 2026

France — Talent card — salarié qualifié (formerly Passeport Talent, skilled employee; also innovative-company employee and salarié en mission)

€39,582 gross per year — The 'salaire brut moyen annuel de référence' fixed at €39,582 gross by the Arrêté du 21 août 2025 for the purposes of CESEDA arts. R421-16 A and R421-21 A. For the salarié qualifié card the threshold IS that reference salary (no multiplier). Monthly figure is our own division of €39,582 by 12; France publishes this threshold annually, not monthly.

Arrêté du 21 août 2025, art. 1: "Le montant du salaire brut moyen annuel de référence à prendre en compte pour l'application des articles R. 421-16 A et R. 421-21 A du code de l'entrée et du séjour des étrangers et du droit d'asile s'élève à 39 582 € bruts." Service-Public.fr fiche F16922 applies it as "une rémunération brute annuelle supérieure ou égale à 39 582 €" for the talent — salarié qualifié, talent — salarié d'une entreprise innovante and talent — salarié en mission cards.

With family: No income uplift is published for dependants. The accompanying spouse and minor children get the "talent (famille)" card on the strength of the talent holder's own qualifying remuneration; Service-Public.fr publishes no separate resources threshold for that card. Note the contrast with the project-based talent routes, where the applicant must show resources at least equal to the gross annual SMIC (€22,404.20) "to meet their own needs and those of family members".

What moves it: Two independent movers. (1) The €39,582 reference salary is reset by ministerial arrêté — the current one is dated 21 August 2025 and replaced two 2016 arrêtés; expect a new arrêté roughly annually, so recheck each autumn. (2) The SMIC-indexed talent routes move with every SMIC revalorisation (twice in 2026). The whole Talent framework was also restructured by the Loi du 26 janvier 2024 and Décret n° 2025-539 of 13 June 2025 — treat any pre-2025 source as unreliable.

Official source: Arrêté du 21 août 2025 (JORF n° 0202, in force 31 August 2025) on Légifrance; applied by Service-Public.fr fiche F16922 "Carte talent", vérifié le 01/06/2026 — Last verified: July 2026

Austria — Red-White-Red Card — Other Key Workers (Sonstige Schlüsselkräfte)

€3,465 gross per month (2026), plus special payments — A statutory minimum pay figure (gesetzlich festgelegtes Mindestentgelt) set annually for this Red-White-Red Card variant, published by migration.gv.at. 'Plus special payments' means the Austrian 13th and 14th month salary, which sit on top of the monthly figure rather than being averaged into it.

migration.gv.at: a Red-White-Red Card as an Other Key Worker is granted for 24 months where 'Das Unternehmen zahlt Ihnen das gesetzlich festgelegte Mindestentgelt von € 3.465 (2026) brutto pro Monat zuzüglich Sonderzahlungen', the Public Employment Service (AMS) cannot place an equally qualified registered jobseeker with the employer (labour market test), and the applicant scores at least 55 of 100 points across qualification, work experience, language skills and age. The salary figure is a floor on the employer's offer, not a means test on the applicant.

With family: None on the salary test. Family members apply separately for a Red-White-Red Card plus and are assessed against the general ASVG rates (€1,308.39 single / €2,064.12 couple / €201.88 per child for 2026).

What moves it: Explicitly year-stamped '(2026)' on the official page and reset annually. Recheck each January.

Official source: Bundesministerium für Inneres, migration.gv.at, 'Sonstige Schlüsselkräfte' — Last verified: July 2026

Greece — Financially Independent Person (FIP) — residence permit for third-country nationals with sufficient means of subsistence, type I.8

€3,500 per month — Flat monthly figure set by Joint Ministerial Decision, expressed as net income/capital. Not indexed to any wage or benefit rate.

Joint Ministerial Decision no. 225679 (Government Gazette B' 5223 of 17 September 2024), Article 1(1)(i), sets the sufficient resources for third-country nationals who wish to enter Greece on a national entry visa and obtain a residence permit under Article 163(8)(a) and (b) of Law 5038/2023 at a minimum of three thousand five hundred (3,500) euros per month. Where the applicant is accompanied by family members, that amount is increased by 20% for the spouse and by 15% for each child. The level of resources is proven by a foreign pension, a bank account, or evidence of sufficient own financial means of demonstrably lawful origin, to cover living costs without providing dependent employment or exercising independent economic activity in Greece. Assessment is made on a monthly basis where the income is periodic (pension, salary, dividends from abroad) or on an annual basis for income from other sources such as bank deposits. Article 1(2) states these sufficient resources refer to net income/capital.

With family: +20% for a spouse, +15% for each child

What moves it: Set by joint ministerial decision, not by formula, so it moves only when a new decision is issued — but it moves in large steps when it does (€2,000 → €3,500). It was last set on 17 September 2024 and I found no amending decision as of July 2026. The governing law itself has been amended repeatedly (Law 5038/2023 is codified through Law 5275/2026), so recheck both the law and the ΚΥΑ annually rather than assuming the figure is static.

Official source: Hellenic Ministry of Migration and Asylum — Joint Ministerial Decision no. οικ. 225679, Government Gazette (ΦΕΚ) Β' 5223/17.09.2024; underlying permit: Law 5038/2023 (Migration Code), Article 163(8), ΦΕΚ Α' 81/01.04.2023 — Last verified: July 2026

Greece — Digital nomad national visa (residence title Z.1), Article 68 of Law 5038/2023

€3,500 per month — Flat monthly figure written into the Migration Code itself. Where the resources come from employed work or services, the minimum refers to net income after payment of the taxes due in the country where the work is provided.

Article 68(2)(e) of Law 5038/2023 requires evidence that the applicant has sufficient resources, at the level of stable income, to cover living expenses during the stay without burdening the national social welfare system, and states that the level of sufficient resources is set at three thousand five hundred (3,500) euros per month. It is proven by the employment or services contract or evidence of the employment relationship, in the case of dependent work or services, or by a bank account. Where the resources derive from employed work, services or a commissioned project, the above minimum refers to net income after payment of the taxes due in the country where the work is provided. That amount is increased by twenty per cent (20%) for a spouse or partner and by fifteen per cent (15%) for each child. The national visa is granted for up to twelve months; Article 68(4) then allows a two-year residence permit for persons with sufficient means of subsistence under Article 163(8) (type I.8), applied for before the national visa expires.

With family: +20% for a spouse or registered partner, +15% for each child

What moves it: The €3,500 is written into primary legislation (Article 68 of the Migration Code), so it moves only when the Code is amended. Law 5038/2023 has been amended several times and is codified through Law 5275/2026 — recheck Article 68 against the current consolidated text annually, and recheck the ΚΥΑ alongside it.

Official source: Hellenic Ministry of Migration and Asylum — Law 5038/2023 'Migration Code', Article 68, Government Gazette (ΦΕΚ) Α' 81/01.04.2023, official PDF hosted on migration.gov.gr; confirmed by Joint Ministerial Decision οικ. 225679/2024 (ΦΕΚ Β' 5223/17.09.2024), which applies the same level to digital nomads — Last verified: July 2026

Malta — Nomad Residence Permit

€42,000 minimum gross yearly income — Residency Malta publishes an annual gross figure of €42,000. €3,500 is that figure divided by 12, given here only so the country can be compared with monthly-based thresholds — Malta itself publishes no monthly figure.

Residency Malta states that an applicant must have a minimum gross yearly income of €42,000, and that applicants who submitted their application prior to 1st April 2024 will still retain the same annual gross income requirement of €32,400. Main Applicants must prove they have a guaranteed source of income, as per applicable thresholds, for a minimum period of 5 months (cumulative) from the day of application, evidenced by the last three months' bank statements in the Main Applicant's name into which the income must be credited directly, together with the employment contract, service contracts, or self-employment and incorporation documents depending on which of the three eligible work categories applies.

With family: No income uplift is published. The €42,000 threshold applies to the Main Applicant. Eligible dependants — spouse, minor children of the applicant and/or spouse, and unmarried adult children who are principally dependent on the applicant or unable to live independently due to a medical condition or disability — are added to the same application, each attracting a €300 non-refundable application fee and a €100 residence-card fee, with no stated increase to the income requirement.

What moves it: Set administratively by Residency Malta rather than by formula, and it has already been revised upward once: €32,400 → €42,000 for applications submitted on or after 1 April 2024, a roughly 30% jump. It is not indexed to anything, so it will not drift — it will step. Recheck the eligibility page rather than assuming stability, and keep the €32,400 grandfathering note alive for readers who applied before April 2024 and are renewing.

Official source: Residency Malta Agency — Nomad Residence Permit, Eligibility page and FAQs; the €42,000 figure is repeated in Residency Malta's own 'The Digital Nomad's Complete Guide to Malta' (April 2025 edition) — Last verified: July 2026

Portugal — D8 digital nomad visa (residence visa for professional activity performed remotely for outside Portugal)

Average monthly income over the last three months of at least four times the guaranteed minimum monthly remuneration — €3,680 per month in 2026 (4 × €920) — 4 × the Portuguese guaranteed minimum monthly remuneration (RMMG) for 2026 of €920, set by Decreto-Lei n.º 139/2025 of 29 December 2025. The source publishes the multiple, not a euro figure; €3,680 is that multiple applied to the 2026 RMMG.

The Portuguese MFA visa portal requires, for the residence visa for professional activity performed remotely outside Portuguese territory (digital nomad): 'proof of average monthly income earned from subordinate or independent professional activity in the last three months of a minimum value equivalent to four guaranteed minimum monthly remunerations', plus a document attesting the applicant's tax residence, plus either an employment contract / employer declaration (subordinate work) or a company contract / services contract / evidence of services rendered to one or more entities (independent work).

With family: No uplift is published for the 4× threshold itself. Accompanying family members apply under the separate 'residence visa to accompany a residence visa applicant' route, which requires stable and regular resources sufficient for the applicant and the accompanying family for the period of stay requested or 12 months, whichever is shorter — assessed on the general per-capita scale (first adult 100%, second or more adults 50%, children under 18 and dependent adult children 30% of the RMMG).

What moves it: The multiple (4×) is fixed by the MFA's published documentation; the euro value moves every January with the RMMG. €820 (2024) → 4 × €820 = €3,280; €870 (2025) → €3,480; €920 (2026) → €3,680. Recheck each January against the new Decreto-Lei.

Official source: Ministério dos Negócios Estrangeiros — Portal de Vistos, Vistos Nacionais › Documentação instrutória › Residência (Nómada Digital section); the same wording appears on the Consulate General of Portugal in Toronto's official checklist — Last verified: July 2026

Germany — EU Blue Card (Blaue Karte EU, § 18g AufenthG)

€50,700 gross per year (standard); €45,934.20 gross per year for shortage occupations and recent graduates — A percentage of the annual Beitragsbemessungsgrenze in the German general pension insurance (€101,400 for 2026): 50% for the standard threshold (€50,700/year = €4,225/month) and 45.3% for the reduced threshold (€45,934.20/year = €3,827.85/month). Monthly figures are the Auswärtiges Amt's own, not our division.

Bundesagentur für Arbeit (2026): 'Für die "große" Blaue Karte EU muss ein Mindestbruttojahresgehalt erreicht werden, welches im Jahr 2026 50.700 Euro beträgt. Dieser Betrag wird jährlich angepasst. Bei der "großen" Blauen Karte EU ist die Zustimmung der Bundesagentur für Arbeit nicht erforderlich.' And: 'Personen mit einem Mangelberuf und Berufseinsteigende können die Blaue Karte EU auch mit einem geringeren Bruttojahresgehalt beantragen, welches 2026 45.934,20 Euro beträgt... In diesem Fall ist jedoch die Zustimmung der Bundesagentur für Arbeit erforderlich.' For the reduced threshold the Federal Employment Agency checks that pay, hours and leave are comparable to those of domestic employees, which can push the required salary above the stated minimum. Allowances and special payments count toward the salary only if they are not conditional (e.g. not tied to hitting sales targets).

With family: No dependant uplift. The Blue Card threshold is a salary test on the job offer, not a household means test.

What moves it: Explicitly adjusted every year ('Dieser Betrag wird jährlich angepasst'), tracking the 1 January reset of the Beitragsbemessungsgrenze. Recheck each January.

Official source: Bundesagentur für Arbeit, ZAV newsletter 'Blaue Karte EU', issue 03/2026; figures corroborated by the Auswärtiges Amt livelihood table dated 09.01.2026 — Last verified: July 2026

Austria — EU Blue Card (Blaue Karte EU)

€55,678 gross per year (2026), plus special payments — One times (1x) the average gross annual salary of full-time employees in Austria, recalculated each year; €55,678 for 2026. The monthly figure is our own division of €55,678 by 12 — Austria publishes this threshold annually, not monthly — and the Austrian 13th and 14th month special payments sit on top of the annual figure.

migration.gv.at requires that the applicant 'für die Beschäftigung ein Jahresgehalt erhalten, das mindestens das 1-Fache des durchschnittlichen Bruttojahresgehalts von Vollbeschäftigten beträgt (2026: € 55.678 Bruttojahresgehalt; Jahresgehalt zuzüglich Sonderzahlungen)' — an annual salary of at least one times the average gross annual salary of full-time employees, which for 2026 is €55,678 plus special payments.

With family: None on the salary test. Family members apply for a Red-White-Red Card plus and are assessed against the general ASVG rates.

What moves it: Recalculated every year from Austrian average full-time earnings and year-stamped on the official page. Recheck each January.

Official source: Bundesministerium für Inneres, migration.gv.at, 'Blaue Karte EU' — Last verified: July 2026

Germany — Freelance / self-employment permit — applicants aged 45 and over (pension-provision test, § 21 Abs. 3 AufenthG)

€4,647.50 gross per month (€55,770 gross per year) — or, in the alternative, separate proof of pension provision — 55% of the annual Beitragsbemessungsgrenze in the German general pension insurance, which is €101,400 for 2026 (€8,450/month). 55% of €101,400 = €55,770 per year = €4,647.50 per month. Published by the Auswärtiges Amt in its 2026 livelihood table.

§ 21 Abs. 3 AufenthG: 'Ausländern, die älter sind als 45 Jahre, soll die Aufenthaltserlaubnis nur erteilt werden, wenn sie über eine angemessene Altersversorgung verfügen' — applicants over 45 should only be granted the permit if they have adequate pension provision. The Auswärtiges Amt operationalises this (page dated 09.01.2026): 'Wenn Sie 45 Jahre und älter sind, muss Ihr Gehalt mindestens 55% der jährlichen Beitragsbemessungsgrenze in der allgemeinen Rentenversicherung entsprechen, wenn Sie keinen anderweitigen Nachweis über Ihre Altersvorsorge (z.B. Rentenansprüche, etc.) erbringen können.' Its table lists this 55% line — €4,647.50 per month / €55,770 per year — as applying to § 21 AufenthG among other permits. The figure is an alternative, not an absolute floor: it applies only where the applicant cannot otherwise evidence pension entitlements or assets.

With family: No dependant uplift is published for this test. It is a personal pension-adequacy test on the applicant, not a household calculation.

What moves it: Pegged to the Beitragsbemessungsgrenze of the general pension insurance, reset every 1 January by the Sozialversicherungsrechengrößen-Verordnung. Recheck each January. The alternative asset/pension figures published by Berlin's immigration office are revised on 1 July.

Official source: Auswärtiges Amt (German Federal Foreign Office), 'Lebensunterhalt in Deutschland', table of amounts treated as secured livelihood, article dated 09.01.2026 — Last verified: July 2026

France — Talent card — carte bleue européenne (EU Blue Card)

€59,373 gross per year — 1.5 × the 'salaire brut moyen annuel de référence' of €39,582 set by the Arrêté du 21 août 2025. Service-Public.fr publishes the product as €59,373.00 gross per year. Monthly figure is our own division by 12.

Service-Public.fr fiche F16922, carte bleue européenne: "une rémunération annuelle brute supérieure ou égale à 1,5 fois le salaire brut moyen annuel de référence, soit 59 373,00 € brut annuel". The reference salary is fixed by the Arrêté du 21 août 2025 at €39,582 gross for the application of CESEDA art. R421-21 A.

With family: No income uplift is published for dependants; the spouse and minor children are admitted on the "talent (famille)" card, which carries no separate published resources threshold.

What moves it: Recomputed whenever a new arrêté resets the reference salary — the multiplier (1.5) is stable, the base is not. The Arrêté du 21 août 2025 expressly repealed two 2016 arrêtés that set different Blue Card reference amounts, so pre-2025 figures circulating online (around €53,836) are dead.

Official source: Service-Public.fr fiche F16922 "Carte talent" (vérifié le 01/06/2026), applying the Arrêté du 21 août 2025 on Légifrance — Last verified: July 2026