What does emigrating to Portugal cost?
Answer four questions and you see an honest range for your situation. For every item it says whether it's a checked rate or an estimate. As with Spain, the paperwork is the cheapest part.
Looking for the whole route to Portugal, not just the costs? See the steps, the order and the paperwork →
A rough indication for your situation
A few short questions, and you get a range instead of an amount. That's deliberate: an exact figure would suggest a precision nobody has.
Count on a total of
€ 2.600 – € 6.600
Where does that difference come from?
- The first months€ 2.500 – € 6.000
Below you'll find per item where the upper and the lower limit come from.
- Aanvraag en papieren
- € 15 – € 150
- De verhuizing
- € 150 – € 450
- De eerste maanden
- € 2.500 – € 6.000
Every item, one by onePer item the amount, the source and whether it's a rate or an estimate
Aanvraag en papieren
- CRUE registration at the municipality€ 15 – € 20
- NIF and any help applying for it(estimate)€ 0 – € 100
De verhuizing
- Travel(estimate)€ 150 – € 450
The amount depends on flying or driving yourself. It is two thousand kilometres, so driving yourself means two long days with an overnight stay, and more fuel than to Spain.
De eerste maanden
- The first months(estimate)€ 2.500 – € 6.000
The region is the big dial here. A flat in Lisbon costs Dutch prices, in the interior less than half of that. The amount covers deposit and rent in advance, temporary accommodation, and living while no income is coming in yet. Deposit and rent in advance are each legally capped at two months, so count on two to four months' rent at signing.
And if you buy a house?
This calculation assumes renting: the first months include deposit and rent in advance.
If you buy, count on 7 to 9% of the purchase price on top of this amount. On a home of € 250,000 that's € 17.500 to € 22.500.
The IMT, the Portuguese transfer tax, is by far the largest item. How much you pay depends on whether you are already a resident. For residents the IMT rises with the price and starts at zero. For non-residents a flat rate of 7.5% has applied since late May 2026. On top of that comes 0.8% stamp duty, and another 0.6% if you take out a mortgage. Notary and registration together cost about a thousand euros. So watch the order: if you buy before you are a tax resident, you pay 7.5% first. If you become a resident within two years of the purchase, you get the difference back. You apply for that yourself, within six months of becoming a resident.
An order of magnitude based on averages, not a quote. The real amounts depend on your occupation, your route, the season and dozens of choices you still have to make.
Rates checked on 10 August 2026.
Ready to get started with Portugal?
The whole journey in the right order, with your documents, your costs and all your cancellation letters. € 199 one-off, no subscription.
Also want to know whether your departure date is feasible, and where you start? Take the departure scan for Portugal →
One thing you can sort out today
Closing down the Netherlands is the same work for everyone, wherever you're going. With the letter pack you enter your details once, and every cancellation and notification letter is ready: health insurance, rent, employer, bank, pension fund. Each comes with the date by which it has to go out. € 49 one-off, and it's also included in every plan.
In Vertrekklaar you get the complete picture of your own costs, with your route, your documents and your deadlines.
From range to your own budget
The calculator above works with four questions, but the journey itself knows more. In Vertrekklaar the same model calculates with your real situation: how many children, which household contents, pet or not. It also watches the order of every step. A one-off € 199, no subscription.
Leaving with AOW or a pension? Compare how countries tax your pension
Every step on one list, free
Not ready to start yet? Then you get the departure checklist for Portugal: every step in order, to print and tick off. With it, five mails in a week and a half about the pitfalls and the real costs. If the rules for Portugal change, you'll hear about it. After that we ask once where your plans stand, send one offer, and now and then one thing that fits your moment. No newsletter, and you can switch it off at any time.
Ready to begin?
64 journeys are fully ready: your step-by-step plan, your documents and your costs in one place, and the plan keeps an eye on your deadlines. You pay once, and then it's yours.