I’ve been circling the idea of moving to Portugal for a while now—sunshine, affordable living, pastel de nata addiction fully enabled. The D7 visa caught my eye because it’s designed for people with “passive income.” Sounds perfect, right?
But then came the big question:
Can my YouTube income count?
The short version? Yes, but also… not really.
The Portuguese D7 visa is officially for people with passive income—think pensions, rental income, dividends, royalties. Basically, money that rolls in whether you’re working or not. So if you’re picturing your sleepy uncle collecting rent from three apartments, that’s the model Portugal had in mind.
YouTube, on the other hand, is more of an active gig. You make a video, post it, cross your fingers. Rinse, repeat. Even if you’re making solid AdSense money, it’s still considered “active” in most countries’ eyes—including Portugal’s.
But here’s where it gets interesting.
I started digging through forums, Reddit threads, expat blogs. Turns out, some people have successfully applied for a D7 using income from YouTube, freelancing, or other online remote work.
How? Two things:
- They framed the income as location-independent remote work, rather than traditional employment.
- They had a strong paper trail to prove that the income was consistent, legitimate, and sufficient.
Basically, if you’re making enough from YouTube (ideally over €1,000/month), and you can show it’s been that way for at least 6-12 months, there’s a shot. It won’t be treated like a standard pension, but Portugal has become more flexible in recent years, especially post-pandemic, with so many people working remotely.
What I’d recommend if you’re trying to go this route:
This is not legal advice, obviously, but here’s what I’d do (and am doing):
- Get clean bank statements. Show 6–12 months of AdSense deposits coming into your account like clockwork.
- Download all your AdSense earnings reports. They don’t have to be pretty, just complete.
- Add your YouTube channel link, stats, and maybe a screenshot or two. Show it’s a real thing.
- Write a simple explanation letter. Just a friendly “here’s how I earn my income, it’s stable, and it allows me to live in Portugal without working locally.”
- If you file taxes on it, include proof. Tax filings = legitimacy.
- Bonus: Show savings. If you’ve got €10K+ in the bank, that can help reassure them you’re not a flight risk.
And if you also have some “classic” passive income like dividends or rent, even better. That makes your case much stronger.
So, is it a gamble?
Sort of, yes. You’re relying on the immigration officer reviewing your case to treat YouTube income as “good enough.” But if the rest of your application is solid—and you’re not scraping by on €300 a month—there’s a decent chance it’ll fly.
At the end of the day, they want to see that you won’t become a burden on the system. If your income is consistent, legal, and remote, you’ve already ticked most of the boxes.
Final thoughts
I honestly wish someone had written this post when I first started researching the D7. It’s hard to find a straight answer when your income doesn’t fit neatly into the categories they like.
But Portugal is changing, and the definition of “passive” is stretching a bit. If your YouTube income is stable, it may not be passive, but it is portable—and that counts for something.
If you’re planning to try it, good luck. And if you get approved—buy yourself a pastel de nata on me.
Let me know if you’d like me to add a downloadable income checklist or format this as a printable guide for blog readers.