The short answer: Portugal’s national minimum wage is proposed to rise to €970 gross a month from 1 January 2027, up from €920 in 2026 — but it is not law yet. The €970 figure is the government’s announced target in the 2027 State Budget proposal (OE2027), following the signed tripartite agreement. It becomes binding only when a separate decree-law is published in the Diário da República, normally in December. Parliament’s final vote on the budget is on 24 November 2026. Until the decree lands, the correct wording is “proposed at €970, awaiting the decree-law” — never “the 2027 minimum wage is €970.”
If you work in Portugal, or you are planning a move there on a D7 or D8 visa, the 2027 minimum wage decides two things at once: what the lowest legal pay is, and — because Portugal ties visa income thresholds to the minimum wage — how much income you need to show to live there. This guide explains the proposal in plain language: where the €970 figure comes from, why a budget announcement is not the same as a law, the timetable to watch, the 14-payment structure that makes the annual figure bigger than it looks, and what the proposal would mean for D8 and D7 visa applicants. Every fact below was checked on 14 November 2026 against Lusa, the budget proposal, Decree-Law 139/2025 and the tripartite agreement.
Key fact: the current rate is €920 gross a month on the Portuguese mainland, paid 14 times a year (€12,880 a year), set by Decree-Law No. 139/2025 and in force since 1 January 2026. The government has said the rate will rise to €970 in 2027, as set out in the agreement signed as part of the Social Dialogue and in the report accompanying the draft State Budget for 2027 (Lusa, 8 October 2026). Under Labour Code article 273, the wage is set each year by separate legislation after consulting the social partners — the budget itself does not fix it, and no 2027 decree-law had been published as of 14 November 2026.
Portugal minimum wage 2027 at a glance
The numbers are simple; the legal status is the part that needs care. The table below separates what is law from what is proposed.
| Year | Monthly rate | Annual (14 payments) | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | €820 | €11,480 | Law |
| 2025 | €870 | €12,180 | Law |
| 2026 | €920 | €12,880 | Law (Decree-Law 139/2025) |
| 2027 | €970 | €13,580 | Proposed — decree pending |
| 2028 | €1,020 | €14,280 | Agreement target |
Annual figures are arithmetic: monthly rate × 14 payments. The 2027 and 2028 rows are proposals and agreement terms, not law. The 2027 increase would be €50 a month (+5.4%) on 2026.
The €50-a-year trajectory comes from the Tripartite Agreement on Wage Appreciation and Economic Growth 2025–2028, signed on 1 October 2024 by the Government, four employer confederations and the UGT union (the CGTP did not sign). It provides for successive annual increases of €50: €920 in 2026, €970 in 2027, €1,020 in 2028. Following the May 2025 general election, the government set a further target of €1,100 gross a month by 2029 for the parliamentary term. None of those later figures is law until its own decree-law is published.
→ Portugal net salary calculator — turn any Portuguese gross salary into estimated take-home pay
Why the budget does not fix the wage
This is the single most misunderstood point in the Portuguese story, so it is worth stating plainly. The State Budget (Orçamento do Estado, OE2027) is a proposal for how the state spends and taxes. The national minimum wage (Retribuição Mínima Mensal Garantida, RMMG) is set by separate legislation — a decree-law — after consulting the social partners, under Labour Code article 273. The budget report can assume €970, and the government can announce €970, but neither act makes €970 the law.
The timetable for the budget itself: the Government delivered its proposed 2027 State Budget (Proposta de Lei 110/XVII/2.ª) to Parliament on Thursday 8 October 2026. Parliament debated it on 27–28 October and approved it in principle on 28 October 2026. Detailed examination runs 29 October to 23 November, and the final overall vote is on 24 November 2026. Figures in the proposal can still change before then, and if approved, promulgated and published, the budget would enter into force on 1 January 2027.
The wage decree follows its own path. In recent years it has been published in December — the 2026 decree, Decree-Law 139/2025, was published in the Diário da República on 29 December 2025. Expect the same pattern for 2027: watch the Diário da República in December, not the budget vote in November, for the figure that actually binds employers. This page will be updated the day the decree appears.
→ Portugal 13th and 14th month salary calculator — how the extra payments work
The 14-payment structure: why the annual figure is bigger than it looks
Portuguese pay is not 12 monthly payments. The minimum wage is paid 14 times a year: 12 monthly payments plus a holiday allowance and a Christmas allowance. At the 2026 rate that is €920 × 14 = €12,880 a year; at the proposed 2027 rate it would be €970 × 14 = €13,580 a year.
Two consequences follow. First, a monthly comparison understates the rise: the €50 monthly increase is €700 more a year, not €600. Second, the 14-payment structure is part of the law, not a bonus — an employer cannot choose to pay 12 instalments and skip the allowances. If your contract quotes a monthly figure, check whether it is the 14-payment figure or a 12-payment equivalent: some employers quote salaries as 12 payments of a higher monthly amount, which can look better than it is.
There is a small corroboration in the budget proposal itself: the proposed tax-free minimum (mínimo de existência) for 2027 is €13,580 — exactly 14 monthly payments of €970. That is consistent with €970 being the budget’s working figure, but it is still a proposal, not a decree.
Is the €970 figure contested?
Yes, but the government is holding the agreed path. The UGT proposed €1,000 for 2027 and the CGTP €1,100; employer confederations reject any change to the agreed path. Labour Minister Rosário Palma Ramalho said on 16 September 2026 that a review of the increase “is not currently on the table” and “what is on the table is the agreement to be implemented, with the figure already set for next year,” while accepting the matter could be discussed with the social partners. A Concertação Social (social dialogue) meeting followed on 21 October 2026.
For workers and employers, the practical reading is this: €970 is the working assumption, with a signed agreement behind it and a government publicly committed to it — but it is not a certainty until the decree is published. Budget for €970 from 1 January 2027, and watch for the implementing decree after the 24 November 2026 final budget vote.
→ Best bank accounts in Portugal for expats — where your Portuguese salary should land
What the proposal means for D8 and D7 visas
This is where the minimum wage stops being a workers’ issue and becomes a movers’ issue. Portuguese immigration rules fix the D8 digital-nomad visa income requirement at four times the national monthly minimum wage, averaged over the previous three months. At the 2026 rate that is 4 × €920 = €3,680 a month — the current published floor. The D7 passive-income visa baseline is 1× the minimum wage: €920 a month in 2026 for a single applicant.
If the €970 wage is confirmed and the 4× formula stays unchanged, the D8 floor would rise to 4 × €970 = €3,880 a month, and the D7 baseline to €970 a month. Those figures are arithmetic projections, not official 2027 thresholds. AIMA has not published updated 2027 thresholds, and the D8 savings-proof figure sometimes quoted for 2027 — 12 × €970 = €11,640 — is a projection on the same basis.
Projection, not law — read this box first
€3,880 a month (D8) and €970 a month (D7) for 2027 are arithmetic projections: the verified 4× / 1× formulas applied to the proposed €970 wage. AIMA has not published updated 2027 thresholds. Treat them as planning targets — if you are preparing a D8 application for early 2027, aim to show income at or above €3,880 a month, but verify the official threshold on AIMA’s own guidance before you submit.
The timing matters for applicants. If you apply in December 2026, the 2026 thresholds (€3,680 for D8, €920 for D7) are the published ones. If you apply in January 2027, the thresholds may have moved — check AIMA’s guidance in the week you apply, not a month earlier. The same applies to renewals: a D8 holder renewing in 2027 should expect the new floor to apply.
→ Open a bank account in Portugal as an expat — documents, banks and timelines
Madeira and the Azores: a separate rate
The mainland decree-law applies to Continental Portugal only. Madeira and the Azores set their own regional minimum wages, and their 2026 rates were reported as Madeira €980 and the Azores €966. No 2027 regional figure had been verified as of 14 November 2026, so this guide publishes no 2027 rate for the islands. If you work in Funchal or Ponta Delgada, check the regional decree, not the mainland figure — the islands have paid more than the mainland in recent years, and that gap may or may not survive into 2027.
What to watch next
Three dates decide the story. 24 November 2026: Parliament’s final overall vote on the 2027 State Budget — watch whether any figure changes. December 2026: the decree-law fixing the 2027 minimum wage, expected in the Diário da República — this is the date that makes €970 law. 1 January 2027: the new rate takes effect, if the decree is published in time. This page is a living page: it will be updated with the decree number and date the moment the decree appears, and the “proposed” flags will come off then — not before.
How we compared: the methodology
How we compared
Sources checked 14 November 2026: Lusa (8 October 2026, via AMAAN Alliance) on the government’s €970 announcement; Lusa (16 September 2026) on the minister’s statement; Link in Portugal’s OE2027 analysis (updated 28 October 2026) for the budget timetable and the 24 November final vote; Belzuz Abogados and Fieldfisher summaries of Decree-Law 139/2025 (2026 rate €920, trajectory €970 in 2027, €1,020 in 2028); employsome (12 October 2026) and Logifie (31 October 2026) confirming no 2027 decree-law found; GrowIN Portugal and Greenback Tax Services on the D8 4× formula and the €3,880 projection. Arithmetic: €970 − €920 = €50 (+5.4%); €970 × 14 = €13,580; 4 × €970 = €3,880 (projection). Not published as fact: €970 as law; any 2027 IRS, social-security or net-pay figure; any 2027 Madeira or Azores rate.
ExpatMoneyEU verdict: €970 is the government’s announced target, backed by a signed agreement — but until the decree-law is published in the Diário da República, it is a proposal, not a pay rise. Budget for €970, plan D8 income at €3,880 as a projection, and watch December for the decree.