Leaving the Netherlands for Portugal

Every November, somewhere between the third week of flat grey sky and the fourth soaking bike ride home, a certain kind of thought starts circulating among internationals in the Netherlands. What if there was sun? What if the tax bill was smaller? What if lunch took three hours and nobody minded?

For a growing number of people, the answer has turned out to be Portugal. Below is a practical breakdown of what leaving the Netherlands for Portugal involves, covering the visa routes, the IFICI tax scheme, and the parts of Dutch life you would be trading away. The team at Ventures.eu, a Lisbon-based venture capital fund, offers Expat Republic readers a free initial consultation if you want to talk specifics.

What Daily Life Costs in Portugal

The numbers are the easiest place to start, and they are stark. Merel, the Dutch COO of Ventures.eu’s sister company Dealflow.eu, moved to Lisbon two years ago and has now lived on both sides of the comparison.

• A lunch menu in Portugal runs between 8 and 12 euros. Dinner somewhere genuinely good lands between 30 and 50 euro.
• Forty euros a month buys unlimited public transport across Lisbon and the surrounding area. In the Netherlands, that sum won’t get you halfway across the country by train.
• Groceries and utilities both sit comfortably below the EU average.
• Private school fees are competitive, which changes the arithmetic considerably if you have children. Dutch childcare alone runs to one to two thousand euros per child per month.
• Housing is the exception. Lisbon rents have risen enough that the gap with Dutch housing has narrowed, so do not base your budget on cheap accommodation in the capital.

For context on the other side of the ledger, a comfortable household budget in the Netherlands tends to fall between five and seven thousand euros a month, with average house prices around half a million euros, and higher in Amsterdam.

Then there is weather. Portugal gets roughly 300 days of sun a year, and because most of the country is coastal, the heat stays moderate. Days above 35 degrees are uncommon and the evenings cool off. Winters are mild enough that outdoor life continues year-round, whether that means surf, golf, hiking or the increasingly unavoidable padel court.

The IFICI Scheme, or NHR 2.0

The old Non-Habitual Resident regime, which drew so many people to Portugal, closed to new applicants at the start of 2024. Its replacement took effect on 1 January 2025 under the name IFICI, short for Incentivo Fiscal à Investigação Científica e Inovação. Most people still call it NHR 2.0.

Qualifying residents pay a flat 20% on Portuguese employment and self-employment income for 10 years, compared with standard progressive rates that climb to 48%. Most foreign income falls outside Portuguese tax altogether, including dividends, interest, capital gains and rental income. Foreign pensions are a significant exception and are taxed at normal progressive rates, which is why retirees, in particular, should model this properly before committing.

Portugal also has no general wealth tax and no inheritance tax, the latter abolished in 2004. Instead, a 10% stamp duty applies to Portuguese assets passed on by inheritance or lifetime gift, and spouses, children, and parents are exempt. That exemption generally applies to Portuguese residents rather than being an IFICI benefit. Unmarried partners and stepchildren fall outside the exempt category unless they have registered a civil partnership. A separate property surtax, AIMI, applies to Portuguese real estate holdings above 600,000 euro per person.

The catch is scope. IFICI is a far narrower scheme than NHR, and many people who assume they qualify do not. You need Portuguese tax residence, meaning at least 183 days in the country per year, and you need to be working in an eligible activity for an eligible entity. Remote work for a foreign employer generally won’t qualify. One route runs through Portugal’s certified startup ecosystem, where holding a board seat at a certified startup can satisfy the activity requirement. You must submit applications to the tax authority by 15 January of the year after you become resident, and the deadline is unforgiving.

How the Dutch Side Compares

Dutch income tax is organized into three boxes. Box 1 covers employment income at marginal rates topping out near 49.5%. Box 2 covers income from a substantial shareholding, taxed at 24.5% on the first tranche and 31% above it. Box 3 applies to worldwide assets and functions more like a wealth tax, since it charges a deemed return rather than realized gains.

Box 3 has faced years of legal challenge, and the redesign remains unresolved. The rate stays at 36% on a deemed return in 2027, and the bill that would tax actual returns instead, including unrealized gains on some assets, is aimed at 2028 but has been pushed back to the spring budget round, with the Senate asked to hold it. If you hold significant assets, factor that uncertainty into any decision about where you want to be tax resident in five years. Our guide to the Dutch income tax system covers the mechanics in more detail.

One further point on Dutch naturalization. Acquiring Dutch nationality normally requires renouncing your existing citizenship, with a limited set of exemptions. Portugal places no such condition on naturalizing residents.

Getting Into Portugal

For citizens of EU member states, the process is barely a process. You move, you register, you carry on. Non-EU citizens, including the large American population in the Netherlands, have three main routes.

The Golden Visa

A qualifying investment of at least 500,000 euros into a regulated venture capital or private equity fund, held for a minimum of five years. It brings Schengen mobility, the right to live and work in Portugal, and family reunification covering spouses, dependent children, and dependent parents. The physical presence requirement is seven days in the first year and fourteen days in each subsequent two-year period, which is among the lowest in Europe. Holding the visa does not, by itself, make you a Portuguese tax resident. Permanent residence becomes available after five years. Be realistic about timing, since the wait for a first residence card currently runs well beyond a year. Real estate has not been a qualifying route since October 2023.

The D7 Visa

Aimed at retirees, remote workers, and anyone with stable foreign income. This one requires you to live in Portugal for more than six months a year and become a tax resident, which also opens the door to IFICI.

The D2 Startup Visa

For founders building an innovative, scalable business in Portugal. You submit a business plan for approval by a government agency or certified incubator. Once Startup Portugal certifies your company, you become eligible for tax benefits as a board member or employee.

A word on citizenship timelines, because these changed recently. Lei Orgânica n.º 1/2026 entered into force on 19 May 2026 and extended the residence period required for naturalization to 10 years for most non-EU nationals and 7 years for EU nationals and citizens of Portuguese-speaking countries. The clock now starts when your first residence card is issued. The reform did not affect the Golden Visa itself, nor permanent residence timelines.

Administratively, Portugal is lighter work than you might expect. You don’t need a notary to incorporate a company; any Portuguese lawyer can certify your documents, and most government services are available online. For current rules, check AIMA (the Portuguese immigration agency) and Startup Portugal.

What Leaving the Netherlands for Portugal Involves

Leaving the Netherlands for Portugal has its own admin. If you will be abroad for more than eight months in a year, you must deregister from the BRP at your municipality, either in person or by post. The 30% ruling ends the moment your Dutch employment ends. That ruling is also being trimmed to 27% for new cases from 1 January 2027, alongside higher salary thresholds, so anyone weighing up whether to stay should factor that in. If you hold 5% or more of a company, the box 2 exit charge on unrealized gains applies when you leave, which is the single item most likely to catch out anyone with a BV. AOW state pension entitlements remain payable abroad.

Read Also: Things You Need to Do When Leaving the Netherlands

Where Ventures.eu Fits In

Ventures.eu was created to leverage the networks its sister company, Dealflow.eu, an innovation consultancy, has built over the last five years, working with the European Innovation Council Fund and building relationships with roughly 1,200 investors and 24,000 startups. Fernando leads the fund from Lisbon, with 25 years of experience in venture capital and investments in unicorns such as OutSystems and BitSight.

Their offer to people leaving the Netherlands for Portugal comes in two shapes. A 200,000 euro investment in the fund includes help securing a board of directors role at a qualifying startup, the mechanism for accessing IFICI status. That role carries real obligations, roughly four board meetings a year plus 1 day per month of coaching or mentoring. For investors who want to keep their options open, the team also structures 500,000-euro Golden Visa fund investments, which can be split between more conservative and higher-risk vehicles.

They also run a free intake with an immigration specialist for Expat Republic readers, a sensible first step given how much this depends on your specific circumstances.

The Honest Version

Tax is rarely the real reason anyone leaves the Netherlands. The country does a great deal extremely well, from infrastructure to healthcare to a social safety net that genuinely catches people. Portugal offers a different rhythm: closer to the coast and slower in a way that some people find they want badly once they have tasted it. Maria Gabriela, who moved from Rio to Brussels and then to Lisbon, described the pull as moving towards something rather than away from anywhere.

If the thought of leaving the Netherlands for Portugal has been circling for a few Novembers now, the most useful next step is to understand which visa route fits your situation and whether IFICI would actually apply to you before anything else is decided. Ventures.eu offers a free 30-minute consultation to work through it.