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City in Portugal

Braga

Braga is a city in the north of Portugal with 203,519 residents in the municipality (2024). AIMA counted 29,842 foreign residents there at the end of 2025 and has a store in the city. [N1] [M4] [M1]

Country
Portugal
Population
203,519 in 2024. Braga municipality (concelho): INE resident population estimate for 2024. [N1]
Settings
In a small town [N1] [G3]
Weather
Mild, never too hot, Four seasons [W1]

Why it is here

Why Braga is on the list.

A city is listed when there is evidence that people move there. This is the evidence.

  • AIMA counted 29,842 foreign residents in Braga at the end of 2025, one of the municipalities its report names for a significant foreign presence. The 2021 Census counted 11,280 foreign nationals there, 5.83% of residents. [M4] [M2] [M3]
  • AIMA has a store in Braga's Loja de Cidadão (citizen shop) at Rua dos Granjinhos 6. [M1]

The Fernshore Index

How it grades, factor by factor.

Each grade is against a published measure, with its source and the date we checked it. It is research information, not advice. Where we have no figure, the row says Unknown.

The country

More on Portugal.

Cities

Other cities in Portugal.

Questions about Braga.

How much is rent in Braga?

Three one-bedroom adverts seen on 4 October 2026 asked €780 to €950 a month, from a furnished flat by the railway station to one in São Vicente. These are asking rents, not what people pay, and other Braga living costs are unknown here.

Braga rental, Imovirtual (private listings portal); Braga rental, Imovirtual (private listing portal); Braga rental, CASA SAPO (private listing). Checked 4 October 2026

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What is the weather like in Braga?

Braga's average daily highs run from 14.1 °C to 28.7 °C (IPMA normals, 1991–2020). It averages about 1,387 mm of rain a year, with 179.5 mm in January. Only April to September have highs of 18 to 30 °C with under 150 mm of rain.

Climate normals 1991–2020, Braga / Merelim, IPMA (Instituto Português do Mar e da Atmosfera). Checked 15 October 2026

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How many foreigners live in Braga?

AIMA counted 29,842 foreign residents in Braga at the end of 2025. The 2021 Census counted 11,280 foreign nationals, 5.83% of residents, against 5.24% for Portugal. The municipality had 203,519 residents in 2024 (INE).

Relatório de Migrações e Asilo 2025 (Migration and Asylum Report 2025), Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA); Population of foreign nationality (No.) by geographic location at the census date (series 1890-2021), Statistics Portugal (INE), Census; Proportion of resident population of foreign nationality (%) by place of residence, Census 2021, Statistics Portugal (INE), Census 2021; Municipal statistics: Braga (December 2025 release), Statistics Portugal (INE). Checked 15 October 2026

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Where is the AIMA store in Braga?

AIMA has a store in Braga's Loja de Cidadão (citizen shop) at Rua dos Granjinhos 6. Which office handles your case, if any, depends on your visa and permit, so check with AIMA before you travel.

Lojas AIMA (AIMA stores), Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA). Checked 15 October 2026

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What is there to see and do in Braga?

Visit Braga lists Braga Cathedral, the oldest in the country, and Minho recipes such as bacalhau à Braga. The Picoto park is about 23 hectares of native forest with a viewpoint, and the gnration venue programmes concerts. Whether it suits your routine is for you to test on a visit.

Braga Cathedral, Visit Braga; Minho food, Visit Braga; gnration, gnration; Picoto park, Visit Braga. Checked 4 October 2026

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Sources

Where each figure comes from.

Every figure on this page links to the page we read, with the date we checked it.

  1. [N1] Municipal statistics: Braga (December 2025 release), Statistics Portugal (INE). Checked 15 October 2026. Resident population estimate 203,519 for 2024 in the Braga municipality (concelho); NUTS III Cávado: 433,039. INE annual estimates of resident population.
  2. [M4] Relatório de Migrações e Asilo 2025 (Migration and Asylum Report 2025), Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA). Checked 15 October 2026. AIMA counted 29,842 foreign residents in Braga at the end of 2025; the report names Braga among the municipalities with a significant foreign presence. Report dated September 2026; pages 8 and 9.
  3. [M1] Lojas AIMA (AIMA stores), Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA). Checked 15 October 2026. Lists Braga (Loja de Cidadão) at Rua dos Granjinhos 6, 4700-996 Braga.
  4. [G3] O que nos dizem os Censos sobre os lugares estatísticos (Census 2021), Statistics Portugal (INE), Censos 2021. Checked 15 October 2026. Braga is one of 7 places in Portugal with 100,000 or more people (148,977 in 2021). Places of 2,000 to 50,000 people hold 43.5% of residents.
  5. [W1] Climate normals 1991–2020, Braga / Merelim, IPMA (Instituto Português do Mar e da Atmosfera). Checked 15 October 2026. Highs 14.1 to 28.7 °C; April to September are 18 to 30 °C with under 150 mm of rain (6 comfortable months); mean temperatures differ by 12.8 °C across the year.
  6. [M2] Population of foreign nationality (No.) by geographic location at the census date (series 1890-2021), Statistics Portugal (INE), Census. Checked 15 October 2026. Braga: 11,280 residents of foreign nationality at Census 2021 (both sexes), read from the INE data API (indicator 0014407) on 15 October 2026.
  7. [M3] Proportion of resident population of foreign nationality (%) by place of residence, Census 2021, Statistics Portugal (INE), Census 2021. Checked 15 October 2026. Braga: 5.83% of residents were of foreign nationality at Census 2021 (Portugal as a whole: 5.24%), read from the INE data API (indicator 0012314) on 15 October 2026.
  8. [C1] Price level index (GDP), Portugal, World Bank. Checked 15 October 2026. 2025: 60.37 (United States = 100), read from the World Bank API on 15 October 2026.
  9. [S1] Global Peace Index 2026, overall rank, Institute for Economics and Peace. Checked 15 October 2026. Portugal ranks 7th of 163 countries (score 1.427).
  10. [H1] UHC service coverage index (SDG 3.8.1), World Health Organization. Checked 15 October 2026. Portugal: 83 out of 100 (2023), read from the WHO Global Health Observatory API on 15 October 2026.
  11. [Q1] Expat Insider 2026: Ease of Settling In, InterNations (Expat Insider survey, private). Checked 15 October 2026. Portugal ranks 7th of 31 countries.
  12. [Q2] Expat Insider 2026: Quality of Life, InterNations (Expat Insider survey, private). Checked 15 October 2026. Portugal ranks 11th of 31 countries.
  13. [K1] Residence visa documents: remote work and retirement or passive income, Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (visa portal). Checked 15 October 2026. Lists remote work (digital nomads) with proof of average monthly income over three months of at least four times the monthly minimum wage, and a fixed residency for retirement or passive income; no age minimum, job offer or deposit is stated. The page gives no euro figure and no validity period.
  14. [K2] Fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people, Portugal, International Telecommunication Union, via the World Bank. Checked 15 October 2026. 2024: 45.24 per 100 people, read from the World Bank API on 15 October 2026.
  15. [R1] Request a permanent residence permit (who can ask), Portuguese Government (gov.pt), service of the Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA). Checked 15 October 2026. Page updated 1 September 2026: holders of a temporary residence permit for at least 5 years; the page warns it may be out of date and points to the AIMA portal.
  16. [F1] EF English Proficiency Index 2025: Portugal, EF Education First (private test-taker index). Checked 15 October 2026. Score 612, global ranking #6; the 2026 edition was not yet published on 15 October 2026.
  17. [K3] Temporary stay documents: remote work, Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (visa portal). Checked 15 October 2026. Temporary stay visa for remote work: work contract, employer declaration or service contract, fiscal residence, and income of four times the monthly minimum wage averaged over three months; no age minimum stated. The page gives no stay length.
  18. [V1] Guaranteed monthly minimum wage 2026, Directorate-General for Employment and Labour Relations (DGERT). Checked 15 October 2026. €920 a month from 1 January 2026 (Decree-Law 139/2025); four times is €3,680. The 2027 figure is expected to rise, so the test needs reconfirming for 2027.
  19. [V2] Euro foreign exchange reference rate, US dollar, European Central Bank. Checked 15 October 2026. 15 October 2026: 1.1208 US dollars per euro (14 October 1.1195); €44,160 is about US$49,500.
  20. [V3] Visa information, Embassy of Portugal in Washington, D.C.. Checked 15 October 2026. US applicants: the list of national visa forms includes 'Resident Visa - Retirees, Living on Income and Religious Purposes' and 'Resident Visa - Remote Work'.
  21. [V4] Residence visa in Canada, Consulate General of Portugal in Toronto. Checked 15 October 2026. Canadian applicants served by Toronto: residence visas include digital nomads and retirees or people living on passive income (D7).
  22. [V5] Where should you lodge a visa application, Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (visa portal). Checked 15 October 2026. Australia: Consulate General in Sydney or Embassy in Canberra; New Zealand: Embassy in Canberra.

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