Key Takeaways
- Portugal’s Golden Visa grants residency in Portugal and lets you travel visa-free across the 26-country Schengen Area for up to 90 days in any 180-day period.
- After 5 years of residency and maintaining your investment, you can apply for permanent residency, and under the new 2025 framework, most applicants can pursue Portuguese citizenship after 10 years of residency, subject to legal requirements.
- The program supports a family Plan B by allowing qualifying spouses or partners, dependent children, and dependent parents to share residency rights and access Portugal’s healthcare and education systems.
- Eligible investments now focus on fund investments, including asset-backed strategies in Portugal’s hospitality sector, rather than personal properties.
- VIDA Capital provides advisory support for investors interested in the VIDA Fund and Portugal’s Golden Visa; contact VIDA Capital to discuss your options.
1. Enhanced Global Mobility with Schengen Area Access
European Union residency through the Portugal Golden Visa gives you and your family broader freedom of movement. As a resident, you can travel visa-free across the 26 Schengen countries for up to 90 days in any 180-day period. This simplifies both business and leisure travel across countries such as France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the Netherlands.
This level of access supports international business owners, frequent travelers, and families with connections in several European countries, helping ensure that travel logistics do not block key opportunities.
Practical details: With the Portugal Golden Visa, you receive a temporary residency permit valid for 2 years. In principle, you then renew this permit for two additional 2-year periods, provided you maintain your qualifying investment and residency requirements throughout the 5-year period. As the approval card issuance usually takes a year, you will most likely only need to do a single renewal instead of two in the 5-year period. To maintain your residency, you must keep your qualifying investment and meet the minimum stay requirement of 14 days in Portugal every two years.
2. Structured Pathway to Portuguese Citizenship
The Portugal Golden Visa offers one of the clearest routes in Europe to citizenship without requiring you to relocate full-time. After 5 years of maintaining your residency and investment, you can apply for permanent residency in Portugal.
Portugal’s Parliament approved a new citizenship framework in October 2025. Under this framework, most applicants qualify to apply for citizenship after 10 years of legal residency, while nationals of Portuguese-language countries (CPLP) and EU citizens have a reduced requirement of 7 years. The new law should apply to all Golden Visa applicants except those who had already submitted their citizenship application before the law is published. Working with an experienced Portuguese immigration lawyer is essential to navigate these requirements.
A Portuguese passport provides extensive benefits, including visa-free travel to over 190 countries and the right to live, work, study, and access public healthcare and education in any EU or Schengen Zone country. Portugal allows dual citizenship, so you generally do not have to renounce your current nationality.
3. Family Security and a Practical Plan B
The Portugal Golden Visa supports a comprehensive Plan B for your family by extending residency rights to close relatives. You can include your spouse, financially dependent children, and dependent parents in your application, giving them access to the same residency benefits.
Family members can live in Portugal, use its healthcare system, and access a wide range of schools. They can attend public, private, and international schools, which can open academic and professional paths that may be harder to access elsewhere.
Practical details: For your spouse or partner, you can provide a marriage certificate or other proof of relationship in the case of a common-law partnership. To include children, they must be full-time students, not working, and unmarried throughout the residency program until the citizenship application. The whole family benefits from visa-free travel within the Schengen Area as residents of Portugal.
4. Ability to Live, Work, and Study in Portugal
The Golden Visa gives you the right to live, work, and study in Portugal, while keeping a flexible stay requirement. This opens up options for personal and professional development in a stable, growing economy.
Portugal offers a high quality of life, strong safety levels, and established education and healthcare systems. Its economy has active sectors in technology, renewable energy, and tourism, which can appeal to internationally mobile professionals and business owners. You retain the choice to deepen your ties to Portugal over time, while maintaining flexibility.
Practical details: The Golden Visa provides residency rights only in Portugal during the residency phase, not across the entire European Union. This status allows you to live, work, and study legally within Portugal. You and your family can access Portugal’s healthcare and education systems, including public, private, and international schools.
5. Asset-Backed Fund Investment for Capital Preservation
The Portugal Golden Visa now requires a minimum investment of €500,000 through eligible funds, with personal properties no longer qualifying. VIDA Capital focuses on advisory services that connect investors with asset-backed opportunities in Portugal’s hospitality sector through the VIDA Fund.
Portugal’s tourism sector has grown strongly, surpassing pre-pandemic levels with 31 million visitors in 2024 and €27 billion in revenue, and the World Travel & Tourism Council projects that by 2035, travel and tourism could represent 22.6% of national GDP. By allocating capital to the VIDA Fund, as advised by VIDA Capital, you participate in a growing market through tangible, revenue-generating hospitality assets.
Practical details: VIDA Capital advises investors who allocate capital into the VIDA Fund, which acquires and transforms undervalued hospitality assets in Portugal, giving these assets a second life. This structure keeps your investment linked to identifiable, income-generating properties. Historical returns are not a guarantee of future returns. The VIDA Fund does not build hospitality assets; it buys and transforms them.
6. Minimal Stay Requirements and Flexibility Compared with Other Programs
The Portugal Golden Visa is recognized for its light physical presence requirements. You only need to spend an average of 7 days per year in Portugal, or 14 days in every two-year period, to maintain residency. This structure suits investors who want a European Plan B without moving immediately.
Portugal is currently one of the only countries in Europe that offers access to citizenship without requiring relocation. This flexibility contrasts with countries such as Greece, which requires 7 years of living there and paying taxes for citizenship, and with Spain, which no longer offers a Golden Visa program. Greece and Spain also generally require ongoing residence to keep long-term residency, while Portugal only asks for 14 days in each two-year period.
Practical details: The minimal stay requirement of 14 days per two-year period means you can continue your main business or career in another country while maintaining Portuguese residency. The overall Golden Visa process usually spans 12 to 18 months, and an experienced Portuguese immigration lawyer is essential for handling applications, biometrics, and renewals. As the approval card issuance usually takes a year, you will most likely only need to do a single renewal instead of two in the 5-year period.
Conclusion
Securing EU residency through Portugal’s Golden Visa in 2026 offers a blend of mobility, family security, and long-term optionality. With a minimal stay requirement, a clear route to permanent residency and potential citizenship, and residency rights focused in a safe, high-quality country, the program is well-suited to globally mobile families seeking a robust Plan B.
By meeting the €500,000 fund investment requirement through an asset-backed strategy in Portugal’s hospitality sector, you can align immigration goals with a capital-preservation mindset. VIDA Capital’s advisory services connect you with the VIDA Fund and guide you, alongside your Portuguese immigration lawyer, through each stage of the Golden Visa journey. Contact VIDA Capital to explore how a Portugal Golden Visa fund investment can support your family’s long-term strategy.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Portugal Golden Visa, and what are the main benefits of residency through it?
The Portugal Golden Visa is a residency-by-investment program for non-EU individuals who invest at least €500,000 in eligible funds. It grants residency in Portugal and a path to permanent residency and citizenship. Key benefits include visa-free travel within the 26-country Schengen Area, a minimal physical stay requirement of 14 days every two years, family inclusion, and access to Portugal’s healthcare and education systems. The program offers a structured Plan B for globally mobile families.
How does the Portugal Golden Visa lead to citizenship, and what timelines apply?
After holding your temporary residency and maintaining your investment for 5 years, you can apply for permanent residency. From October 2025, most applicants qualify to apply for citizenship after 10 years of legal residency, while nationals of Portuguese-language countries (CPLP) and EU citizens can qualify after 7 years. The new rules should apply to Golden Visa holders unless they submitted a citizenship application before the new law was published. Throughout residency, the minimal 14-day every two-year physical presence requirement applies, and a Portuguese immigration lawyer should guide each step.
Can my family members be included in my Portugal Golden Visa application?
Yes. The Portugal Golden Visa allows you to include your spouse or documented common-law partner, economically dependent children who are unmarried full-time students, and dependent parents who are either over 65 or financially reliant on you. Included family members receive the same residency rights, including Schengen travel benefits, access to Portuguese public healthcare and education, and the same pathway to permanent residency and, eventually, citizenship if they meet all legal requirements.
What type of investment is required for the Portugal Golden Visa in 2026?
Since October 2023, the Portugal Golden Visa has required a minimum investment of €500,000 in eligible investment funds, with personal properties no longer qualifying. VIDA Capital specializes in advisory services that connect investors with asset-backed fund strategies in Portugal’s hospitality sector through the VIDA Fund. These strategies focus on acquiring and transforming undervalued hospitality assets into income-generating properties, although historical returns are not a guarantee of future returns.
How does the Portugal Golden Visa compare to other European residency options?
The Portugal Golden Visa stands out for its low physical stay requirement of 14 days every two years and its clear pathway to citizenship without mandatory relocation. Greece generally requires 7 years of living there and paying taxes for citizenship, and Spain has ended its Golden Visa program. Portugal remains competitive for investors seeking a long-term European Plan B while maintaining their primary life and business in another country.
