Until this month, the D8 visa, Portugal's answer to the "digital nomad" wave, required proof of a stable freelance or salaried income above roughly €3,280/month. That shut out the study-abroad students and stipended researchers who make up a real share of VIA readers extending a semester into a year.
AIMA's updated guidance now lets applicants document a university stipend or research grant in place of freelance income, provided it clears the same threshold. In practice, that means a funded thesis year or a paid research placement can now be the basis for a visa extension that used to require a separate, harder-to-get student residency permit.
The change has not been formally published as a rule. It surfaced in AIMA's monthly processing bulletin rather than a legislative update, so expect inconsistent enforcement at the counter for the first few months. Bring documentation of both your program status and your funding either way.