First decide what kind of move you want
An occasional base, a family home and a tax relocation are different projects. This explainer, checked on 29 October 2026, concerns existing requirements; it does not announce a new Portuguese residence concession. The useful comparison begins with how you intend to live, rather than the lowest advertised number of days.
Consider two hypothetical households. One wants occasional visits while keeping its main life in Britain. The other intends to move its daily life to Portugal. Even if both investigate the same immigration route, their tax questions and evidence will differ. A permit comparison cannot settle those questions for either family.
The immigration calendar: ARI renewal
AIMA’s current ARI FAQ describes seven days in the first year and fourteen days in each subsequent two-year period as minimum stays. Its renewal guidance also addresses maintaining the relevant investment, healthcare cover, means and accommodation, documentation, regularised tax and social-security status and fees. Presence alone does not complete a renewal file.
Use those figures only in the context of the ARI scheme and the exact permit issued. Ask for a schedule tied to the card and renewal dates, and retain evidence of actual visits. Do not copy a low-stay investment requirement into an assessment of an ordinary residence permit or another family member’s conditions.
The Portuguese tax calendar: days and a habitual home
Article 16 of Portugal’s Income Tax Code includes presence exceeding 183 days in a twelve-month period beginning or ending in the relevant year. It also provides a residence test for a shorter stay where accommodation indicates an intention to maintain and occupy it as a habitual residence. Remaining below a day threshold is therefore not the whole test.
The provision assesses residence for each household taxpayer. Our practical reading is that a family should map each person’s facts separately. When accommodation changes from an occasional base to a habitual home, obtain a fresh assessment rather than relying on the original immigration application’s assumptions.
The UK calendar remains a separate assessment
HMRC’s residence guidance considers UK days, work, homes and family or other ties. A Portuguese permit does not itself establish that UK tax residence has ended. The permission to live abroad and the tax treatment of a UK-connected person must be assessed together without treating them as interchangeable.
Before paying for an investment or moving a household, commission one shared timeline for both advisers: intended presence, work location, homes available, family movements and renewal dates. Mark which adviser has checked which conclusion. This is more useful than a generic assurance that the permit is tax efficient, and it makes later changes easier to review.