How Portugal’s Golden Visa opens doors to EU citizenship and global mobility in 2026

Why Portugal’s Golden Visa matters for global executives

For CEOs, founders, family offices and private investors, the Portugal Golden Visa is more than a visa. It is an instrument of mobility, diversification and geopolitical risk management. By anchoring a part of your life and capital in Portugal, you secure:

• EU residency rights in a stable, OECD member state;
• A potential path to EU citizenship over time;
• Exposure to one of Europe’s most dynamic tourism and lifestyle economies;
• A legal framework that fits around international careers and businesses.

Portugal’s macro story underpins this appeal. As we explore in Portugal: Economy of the Year – The Economist & Golden Visa Funds, the country has combined GDP growth, job creation and contained inflation with a reputation for safety and quality of life – a rare mix in today’s world.

Eligibility – who can actually qualify?

The Portugal Golden Visa is aimed at non-EU, non-EEA and non-Swiss nationals who are able and willing to make a qualifying investment and pass standard compliance checks. In practice, this often includes:

• Entrepreneurs and senior executives;
• Private investors and family offices;
• Professionals planning a phased relocation to Europe;
• Retired or semi-retired individuals seeking mobility and lifestyle diversification.

Core requirements include a clean criminal record, proof of legitimate funds and appropriate health coverage. Family members covered under the same application typically include:

• Spouse or legally recognised partner;
• Children under 18;
• Dependent children under 26 who are unmarried and in full-time education;
• Dependent parents of either spouse.

Each approved family member receives their own residence card, which is key for long-term planning. For example, adult children can later decide to live or study in Portugal independently of their parents’ movements.

Investment routes – and why funds now lead the programme

Portugal has deliberately moved the programme away from simple urban real-estate purchases and towards investments that support innovation, job creation and balanced regional development. After the “Mais Habitação” reforms, new applications focus on categories such as:

For most international families and institutions, the fund route is the most practical. It allows them to:

• Invest through a regulated vehicle supervised by the CMVM;
• Access diversified portfolios of Portuguese assets and companies;
• Delegate sourcing, execution and monitoring to professional managers like Explorer Investments.

Our dedicated guide, Portugal Golden Visa & Private Equity – Explorer Investments Guide 2026, explains how this works in detail and which questions to ask fund managers before subscribing.

From residency to EU citizenship and passport-level mobility

The Portugal Golden Visa is a residency-by-investment framework. It does not sell passports. However, if you maintain residency, renew your cards on time, meet the minimum stay requirements and pass an A2-level Portuguese language exam, you may later be able to apply for permanent residence or citizenship under the naturalisation rules in force at that time.

For families who complete this journey, the payoff is significant:

• The right to live, work and study across the EU;
• Access to one of the world’s strongest passports in terms of visa-free travel;
• The ability to base different family members in different EU countries as life evolves.

Our opinion piece Why I Believe Global Families Should Invest in Portugal Private Equity – With the Golden Visa as a Bonus looks at this from an Investor Relations perspective inside Explorer.

Tax positioning, NHR-style regimes and planning considerations

Tax is one of the areas where professional advice matters most. Broadly:

• You typically become tax resident in Portugal if you spend 183+ days per year in the country or if Portugal becomes your centre of vital interests;
• Many Golden Visa investors intentionally stay below that threshold while they build their residency track record;
• Those who do relocate full-time may explore NHR-style regimes and bilateral tax treaties with their home country.

In all cases, the Golden Visa should be co-ordinated with home-country tax planning. Our article on 10 Mistakes to Avoid When Investing in a Portugal Golden Visa Private Equity Fund includes a section on tax pitfalls to discuss with your advisers.

Lifestyle, healthcare and education – the human ROI

Beyond spreadsheets, the Portugal Golden Visa is about how and where your family lives. Portugal offers:

• A safe, politically stable environment, ranked highly for peace and governance;
• Strong public healthcare and an increasingly sophisticated private healthcare ecosystem;
• International schools in Lisbon, Cascais, Porto and the Algarve, alongside reputable Portuguese universities;
• A climate and coastal lifestyle that consistently rank Portugal among the world’s most desirable relocation destinations.

Our tourism-focused article Portugal Wins 12 World Travel Awards – Algarve, Madeira & Golden Visa Outlook shows how tourism success and lifestyle appeal reinforce the underlying demand for many of the assets Explorer’s funds target.

A strategic case for Portugal in a global portfolio

For CEOs and family offices, the Golden Visa sits at the intersection of capital allocation, risk management and family strategy. In a world of shifting alliances and regulatory change, a foothold in Portugal means:

• Geographic diversification of residency and citizenship;
• Exposure to a growing European economy anchored in tourism, services and selective export sectors;
• The ability to use private equity tools to implement a family’s mobility strategy, rather than simple property purchases.

To see how Portugal compares within the wider market of residency-by-investment, read The Era of Global Golden Visas – Why Portugal’s Fund Route Stands Out.

Next steps – turning interest into a concrete Portugal plan

If you are considering Portugal as part of your long-term plan, the key is to treat the Golden Visa as both a serious investment and a family strategy. A practical sequence could be:

1. Map your objectives using our Portugal Golden Visa Fund Route Application Checklist.
2. Review Explorer’s private equity strategies in our dedicated Golden Visa & private equity guide.
3. Coordinate with immigration and tax advisers in both Portugal and your home country before subscribing to any fund.

Portugal has moved from the periphery to the centre of global residency-by-investment. Used correctly, the Golden Visa fund route can give your family a European anchor and a path to EU citizenship – while putting serious capital to work in one of Europe’s most promising economies.

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

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