The most sophisticated route to the Portugal Golden Visa today is not property – it is a CMVM-regulated private equity or alternative investment fund. This guide explains how these funds work, how they are regulated, and how they align – or sometimes clash – with the Golden Visa immigration timeline.
By Explorer Investments • Updated 3 December 2025
Minimum Ticket
€500k
Golden Visa funds
Typical Horizon
5–7 yrs
To match GV cycle
Regulation
CMVM
Securities supervisor
Strategy
Private equity+
Real assets & growth
“The fund route transformed the Portugal Golden Visa from an informal property play into something that looks and feels like a mainstream alternative investment product – one where immigration benefits are layered on top of a regulated private markets strategy.”
As property-based routes were restricted or phased out, the Portuguese Golden Visa program gradually shifted its centre of gravity to regulated funds. This was not a cosmetic change. It was a deliberate move towards:
The result: for serious investors, Golden Visa planning now feels like a natural extension of their alternative investments allocation – particularly when working with managers used to institutional mandates.
CMVM is Portugal's securities market commission – broadly comparable to the SEC in the United States or the FCA in the UK. When a Golden Visa fund is CMVM-regulated, it means:
Regulation does not eliminate risk, but it creates a framework where governance, disclosure and investor treatment are much more robust than in informal, off-market arrangements.
Golden Visa funds often mirror standard private equity or alternative strategies, including:
Explorer designs funds specifically to sit at the intersection of Golden Visa eligibility and institutional private equity discipline, so that immigration goals do not compromise investment quality.
Private equity-style funds are, by definition, illiquid. For a Golden Visa investor, this is both a risk and a feature:
The key question is not “Is there risk?” but rather “Is the risk appropriate for my profile and Golden Visa objectives?” That is where manager selection and portfolio construction matter.
Most private equity funds follow a classic J-curve lifecycle: capital is deployed over the first few years, value is built, and exits cluster towards the end of the term. For Golden Visa investors, that lifecycle needs to mesh with:
A well-designed Golden Visa fund should therefore have a target life of at least 7–8 years, so that it can support investors up to and beyond the key immigration milestones while maintaining strategic flexibility on exits.
Some practical questions to ask when assessing funds:
“A Golden Visa should never be the only reason to buy a fund. The fund must stand on its own investment merits first – immigration is the additional upside, not the core driver of the thesis.”
In practice, many investors prefer to focus on one or two managers for simplicity and to match documentation. Splitting across several funds may be possible but should be carefully coordinated with your legal team.
Investment performance and immigration status are separate. Underperformance does not directly affect your residence permit, but it does affect your financial outcome – which is why due diligence on the manager and strategy is critical.
That will depend on the fund's terms, not on immigration rules. Many private equity funds can only distribute capital as assets are sold, not on-demand. Always check the fund's liquidity profile before investing.
Because aligning a private equity fund lifecycle with a 5-year-plus immigration journey requires experience on both sides: regulated asset management and Golden Visa practice. Explorer is built precisely at that intersection.
Private equity funds have turned the Portugal Golden Visa into a credible, regulated building block in a global portfolio. When designed and selected carefully, they can offer exposure to Portuguese and European growth themes while supporting a structured path to EU residency and, in time, citizenship.
If you want your Golden Visa to behave like a real investment – not just an expensive immigration fee – working with a CMVM-regulated private equity manager such as Explorer is the most direct way to align capital, risk and long-term mobility in a single, coherent strategy.
Get personalized guidance on the fund process. Our Investor Relations team can clarify the steps, discuss Explorer's fund options, and connect you with trusted legal experts. Schedule your confidential, no-obligation consultation today.
André Bandeira
ab@explorerinvestments.com
Maria Campos Silva
mcs@explorerinvestments.com
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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.)