Maya Jenkins moved her three-person independent design studio from Brooklyn to Alfama in the spring. She filed the Portugal D8 herself, using no relocation agent. Her setup budget was $4,850, most of it consulate fees, certified translations, and a first-and-last month on a €1,150 one-bedroom. She now pays €2,100 a month for everything including coworking. We asked her what she would tell a friend planning the same move.
Travel Dialog: What made you leave Brooklyn?
Rent. The plain answer. My studio’s revenue was flat, my apartment’s rent was not. I ran the numbers for six months in Lisbon and it worked. That was February.
What was the D8 paperwork actually like?
Long. Not hard, long. You need proof of income above roughly €3,280 a month (four times minimum wage), an apostilled criminal background check from the FBI, a certified translation into Portuguese, a NIF number, a Portuguese bank account, and health insurance. The FBI check took nine weeks alone. Book the consulate appointment before you have any paperwork ready. That is the bottleneck.
Book the consulate appointment first. Paperwork second. The reverse order costs you two months.
Maya Jenkins, Portugal D8 visa, granted March 2026
Where did you actually land?
Alfama. One-bedroom, top floor, no elevator, €1,150 a month with a six-month renewable. The bakery downstairs is Padaria Sao Roque and it is why I go outside on weekends.
Real monthly budget?
€2,100 covers rent, utilities, health insurance (SafetyWing, about €45 a month), a hot desk at Second Home Lisboa (€260 a month), groceries, and eating out four times a week. Ubers are cheap here, I do not budget them.
What she wishes she had known
- Book the consulate appointment before you have documents. That fixes the calendar.
- The FBI background check bottleneck is nine weeks; start there.
- Certified translators are cheaper in Lisbon than in New York. Save the translation for after arrival if you can.
- NIF number via a fiscal representative online: €80 and one afternoon. Do not bother with in-person.
- Alfama looks charming; it is also stairs. If your knees complain, look at Estrela or Campo de Ourique.
