Portugal D3 visa salary: three different floors, set by the employer and the job
Portugal · D3 Highly Qualified Activity Visa
Income required
EUR 1,611.39 per month
Minimum monthly salary in the employment contract: three times the social support index (IAS), which is reset every 1 January; a salary of 1.5 times the national average also qualifies
Also on file
EUR 1,342.83 per month
Lower minimum monthly salary when the employer holds Tech Visa certification: 2.5 times the social support index, on a contract of at least 12 months
Also on file
EUR 1,074.26 per month
Lower minimum monthly salary for professions in short supply among managers and professionals: twice the social support index
Government fee
EUR 295.60
Official fee, main applicant, initial application
Official source · Threshold checked 26 Oct 2026 · Last rule change in force: Eligibility criteria, 1 Jan 2026 (10 months ago) · Figures read from the official rules on file at the time this page was served.
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A D3 salary that cleared the floor last year can fall short this year: the floor is a multiple of the social support index (IAS), reset every 1 January, at three times it as shown above, two and a half times with a Tech Visa certified employer, and twice it for some professions in short supply. A certified employer's statement backing you lapses six months after it is issued.
The figure that applies to you depends less on your own profile than on who is hiring you and for what job. AIMA, the agency that grants the residence permit, lists three floors, each a multiple of the IAS, which the government sets by order every year. On the general route a salary of 1.5 times the national average gross salary also qualifies, but that is the higher bar.
The printed amounts are older
AIMA's page for the general route quotes reference amounts from 2023 and 2024. The 2026 index was raised by an order of 30 December 2025, so AIMA's printed amounts use 2023 salary and 2024 index figures. A contract written at the exact minimum one year can sit below it the next.
The Tech Visa route
The Tech Visa floor, also shown above, applies only when the company is certified under the programme run by IAPMEI, the state agency for business and innovation. That company signs a statement of responsibility, which AIMA accepts as proof of your means. The contract must run at least 12 months, and you need a degree, or a higher technical diploma plus five years of specialised experience. A company that signs without checking is excluded for five years.
Shortage professions
The lowest floor, twice the index and also shown above, is for managers and professionals in jobs listed as short of workers.
Fees to the state, and to a firm
To the Portuguese state:
- The consular visa fee, AIMA's application fee and AIMA's grant fee, together the government fee shown above. Applying inside Portugal without the consular visa, where allowed, carries a separate waiver fee.
To a lawyer or relocation firm:
- Its own fee, listed apart from the state's charges.
Ask the employer or the firm:
- Is the employer Tech Visa certified, and when was its statement issued?
- Which floor does the contract use, and was it worked out from this year's index?
- On the Tech Visa, does the contract run for at least 12 months?
- Is any of the firm's fee returned if the visa is refused or the rules change first?
A lawyer's or relocation firm's fee quote for the D3 can go through the box above: choose yes at its first question, and it is read line by line against the published rules. Employment contracts and job offers stay outside it: with one of those, answer no, type the monthly salary and choose per month. The check compares a document or a figure with the published rules, and does not look at your application or advise on it; for advice on your own case, speak to a qualified immigration lawyer.
General information, not legal advice.
