I was lucky enough to travel Portugal and Spain in June / July 2023 on a combo friends and then family trip. At the time I was very seriously considering the idea of moving to Portugal as a route to EU residency and a passport, but it requires living in Portugal for 6 to 8 months a year for 5 years, a 9,000 euro bank deposit and a 12-month rental agreement before arrival. That’s a lot more dedication than I’m looking to commit for now, but it is one of the easiest routes to a Schengen passport.

Visas

I was initially looking looking at the D7 passive income / retirement visa, but Portugal has introduced a digital nomad visa.

Unfortunately, while Portugal is considered a ‘cheap’ destination for the US, the digital nomad visa requires proof of a monthly income of 3,040 euros, which as I write works out to R61,800. Maybe you earn that, but at nearly three times the average SA salary (excluding the horribly paid agricultural workers), that’s pretty much out of the scope of this site’s purpose.

Getting there

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Places

Porto and Lisbon were both amazing, while Cintra enchanted me no end! If you’re going to nomad there on the rand though, you’ll likely want to live in a smaller town where it is cheaper.Â

Costs

Cheap for the EU, but still not cheap for Saffas.

Highlights

This was a great place and I recommend you visit, but while it’s cheap for Europe, it’s a bit too pricey to fit my current lower-cost nomad focus. Definitely better as a longer-term relocation destination than a shorter-term nomad destination.