How do you apply for a residence permit in Cape Verde in 2026?

The official programme site describes a temporary visa lasting six months, with the chance to renew for another six months. That is a planned remote stay, not an automatic path to permanent residence. You must keep earning from employers or clients outside Cabo Verde. Taking a local payroll job on programme status is the classic way people create illegal-work risk on Sal or Santiago.

Programme checklists commonly ask for a valid passport, proof of remote work or income, health insurance covering the stay, and lodging proof for the initial period. Means figures often appear around €1,500 average bank balance for an individual, with higher amounts listed for families. Treat those as checklist figures that change: download the live required-documents PDF before you pay. Fee pages often cite about €20 for the visa and about €34 as an airport fee on arrival. Amounts can change, so confirm on the current portal.

Official and programme materials sometimes mention income-tax relief on qualifying foreign remote income. Recheck the current official tax notice before you plan around a tax holiday. Country To Live’s Cape Verde Remote Working Program page tracks the same temporary 6+6 framing for movers comparing Atlantic options.

Once approved, you receive permission to enter. At the airport, border officers still want a document set before they stamp you under programme terms. Keep passport validity (programme guidance often wants at least six months left), insurance certificates, lodging proof, and submission receipts with you, not only in cloud storage.

If you renew or extend on the ground, some residence extension steps run through the Immigration and Borders Division (DEF) under the National Police, not only through the tourism marketing site. Start that file before the first six months expire. After the maximum programme stay (commonly twelve months if the renewal is granted), you need another lawful status or you leave. A short tourist stay is not a substitute for this programme, and stacking tourist days after the programme ceiling does not invent a new residence card.

Budget island life before you treat the stamp as finished setup. Rent and imports swing hard by island: How expensive is Cape Verde and Monthly budget. Food costs follow the same import-versus-market split: Groceries and eating out.

Match lodging proof to a real island base, then settle routines. Mindelo music nights and Praia harbour evenings can wait until the Immigration map is clear: Social life and Nightlife. Friendship patterns on small islands matter more than one co-working week: Making friends.