Published December 13, 2025 • Golden Visa Explorer Investments Editorial Team
The USA, Greece, Portugal and the United Arab Emirates all offer residency options for investors. But in 2025–2026, more and more sophisticated families are asking a sharper question: “If we only choose one Golden Visa program as our main gateway, which one should it be?” This article looks at the global landscape – and explains why Portugal’s regulated fund route has become a flagship solution for serious investors and their families.
Main focus
Portugal
Route
€500k Fund
Angle
Global
Timeline
2025–26
“The Golden Visa is no longer just a real estate ticket. In Portugal, it has evolved into a regulated fund route that serious investors can integrate into their portfolio and long-term residency strategy.”
Golden Visa and residency-by-investment programs allow foreign nationals to obtain legal residence – and sometimes a path to citizenship – by making a qualifying investment in the host country. What began as a niche concept has become a global trend in wealth and mobility planning.
In 2025–2026, investors can choose from options in the United States, several European Union countries, and the UAE, among others. Yet the question for sophisticated families is no longer “does a program exist?” but rather: “Which structure actually makes sense for our capital and our family?”
Our focus is on why, within this global menu, Portugal’s Golden Visa fund route has emerged as a standout. This sits alongside Portugal’s strong macro performance – recently highlighted when The Economist named Portugal its “economy of the year” among 36 rich countries.
Golden Visa programs are generally aimed at high-net-worth individuals and their families. Typical profiles include:
Eligibility criteria differ by country, but often combine a minimum investment amount, clear source-of-funds documentation and ongoing residence and renewal conditions. In Portugal’s case, the modern Golden Visa is centred around categories such as qualifying fund subscriptions and specific business or innovation investments – not residential property purchases.
In the United States, the historic core of investor residency has been the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program, which requires capital to be invested in approved enterprises that create or preserve jobs. It is a pathway to permanent residency, but one that is tightly linked to job-creation metrics, project risk and regulatory timelines.
Discussions around newer “Gold Card” or premium investor pathways underline the same principle: the US wants capital that translates into real economic impact. For many global families, however, the US is only one component of a broader plan – and the EU, with Portugal at the forefront, often provides the complementary European base.
Greece continues to operate a property-focused Golden Visa: non-EU nationals can obtain residency by purchasing real estate above a certain value. In recent years, however, minimum investment thresholds have increased, and the program remains heavily tied to a single asset class – residential and commercial property.
For some investors, this is acceptable. But for others, particularly those used to institutional-grade diversification, putting a large ticket into one or two properties feels less attractive than accessing a regulated fund with multiple assets, professional portfolio management and governance. This is where Portugal’s approach is very different.
The United Arab Emirates offers a highly visible 10-year Golden Visa aimed at investors, entrepreneurs and highly skilled professionals. It provides:
For many families, the UAE is attractive as a business and tax hub. But for those specifically seekingEU rights, Schengen mobility and a pathway to EU citizenship, the UAE is typically a complement – not a substitute – for Portugal or other EU destinations.
“In Portugal, the Golden Visa has moved away from residential property and toward regulated funds and productive capital – exactly where serious investors feel most at home.”
Portugal’s Golden Visa has changed over the years. Property-based categories were closed, and the program is now centred on vetted, higher-quality investment routes such as CMVM-regulated funds. In simple terms:
For investors who want to understand the process step by step, our Portugal Golden Visa Fund Route: Complete Application Checklist for 2026 breaks down the journey from NIF and bank account to fund subscription and residence permit.
On the investment side, Explorer’s dedicated guide, Portugal Private Equity & Golden Visa – Explorer Investments Guide 2026, explains how regulated private equity and real asset strategies can be structured to align with Golden Visa requirements while still pursuing long-term returns and capital preservation.
Golden Visa frameworks are not static. Governments adjust thresholds, stay requirements and eligible categories as political and economic priorities evolve. In recent years:
This is why timing matters. Investors who plan calmly, with advisers, and act while frameworks are clear are usually in a stronger position than those reacting to headlines. In our experience, families that use structured country-specific guides, like our UK investor post-Brexit overview, tend to move with more confidence.
Despite tighter rules and more scrutiny, investor-residency programs remain a core tool of global mobility planning. Families choose Golden Visas because they offer:
For many American families, for example, Golden Visas are part of a wider search for retirement and lifestyle destinations, which we cover in our guide to trending retirement & Golden Visa destinations for Americans. Portugal consistently appears toward the top of that list.
In most countries, Golden Visa applicants must make a qualifying investment such as:
In Portugal’s fund route, the investment is usually made via a subscription contract into a CMVM-regulated fund, supported by a Portuguese bank account and full KYC/AML documentation. Our Golden Visa fund application checklist walks through each stage of this process.
Yes, but in a reformed form. Property-based categories have been closed, and the focus is now on vetted categories such as qualifying funds and specific business or innovation routes. Investors should always confirm the latest rules with their legal advisers.
Many investors prefer the fund route because it offers diversification, professional management and institutional governance. Rather than one or two properties, you participate in a portfolio built and monitored by a regulated manager, while still meeting Golden Visa criteria.
Greece remains primarily property-driven. Portugal, by contrast, offers a fund route aligned with private equity and real assets, plus a well-known pathway to permanent residency and, eventually, potential citizenship, subject to legal conditions and language tests.
In many cases, yes. A single qualifying investment can often include a spouse and dependent children, provided everyone is correctly included in the application. Your immigration lawyer will confirm this for your specific family structure.
Our in-depth guide, Portugal Private Equity & Golden Visa – Explorer Investments Guide 2026, explains how our funds approach the Portuguese market and how investors can structure Golden Visa applications alongside a serious long-term allocation.
We are clearly in the era of global Golden Visas. The USA, Greece and the UAE all play important roles in that story – but for investors seeking a balance of EU rights, regulated structures and lifestyle appeal, Portugal has carved out a distinctive position.
The key is to treat the Golden Visa as a framework built on top of a serious investment decision. For many families, that means using the €500,000 fund route as a core allocation to Portugal, with professional management and clear legal structuring – not just as a visa “shortcut”.
If you are considering residency by investment as part of your global plan, use this global comparison as context – and then take a closer look at how aPortugal-led strategy might serve your family over the next decade.
Whether you are exploring the Portugal Golden Visa for EU residency or you simply want to allocate capital to private equity funds in Portugal, our Investor Relations team can help. We will walk you through CMVM-regulated fund options, clarify how they work for residency and for pure investment, and coordinate with trusted immigration and tax advisers. Schedule your confidential, no-obligation strategy call today.
André Bandeira
ab@explorerinvestments.com
Maria Campos Silva
mcs@explorerinvestments.com
For Indian investors comparing Mauritius, UAE, Greece, Italy, USA, Canada, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Singapore golden visa options, this 2025–26 guide explains why Portugal’s Golden Residence Permit and €500,000 CMVM-regulated fund route stand out as a strategic EU choice for families.
Balanced, opinion-led guide to the Portugal Golden Visa in 2026, setting out 8 key advantages and 3 important drawbacks of the €500,000 CMVM-regulated fund route – with a focus on private equity, Explorer Investments and long-term residency planning.
Strategic guide for global executives and families on how the Portugal Golden Visa fund route creates a path to EU residency, potential citizenship and enhanced global mobility, while deploying capital into CMVM-regulated Portuguese private equity funds.
Get your complete, free guide to the Portuguese Golden Visa. Learn how to invest with confidence through Explorer Investments, the country's largest private equity fund.
André Bandeira
ab@explorerinvestments.comMaria Campos Silva
mcs@explorerinvestments.comCopyright © 2025 Explorer Investments
It is recommended to consult Chapter V of Decree-Law nº 162/2014, of October 31st, published in the Official Gazette, as well as its revision by Law nº 2/2020, of March 31st. The information included here is of a general nature, and therefore each potential investor should seek independent advice (e.g., legal, financial, tax, etc.)