Could Portugal Be Your Backup Plan?

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Written by: | Last updated on February 29, 2024 | Est. Reading Time: 4 minutes

Whether it’s the rising cost of living, political uncertainty, or access to affordable healthcare and university education, more and more people from outside the EU are thinking about moving to a European country. You may not be ready to move just yet, but you might be looking for a country that could be your backup plan. And there are a lot of reasons that country should be Portugal.

Portugal is widely considered affordable, safe, and welcoming, and thanks to Portugal’s golden visa scheme, you can obtain residency now without having to physically move just yet. In fact, Portugal’s golden visa requires you to spend just 7 days per year on average in Portugal to maintain residency there.

(There are cheaper visas than the golden visa, but most require you to move to Portugal and spend 6+ months of the year here making them less suitable to be a “backup plan” but an option if you’re ready to move immediately)  

The flexibility of this scheme makes Portugal’s golden visa perfect for:

  • Those that want a “backup plan” somewhere in Europe, but have no intention to move otherwise
  • Those that plan to move to Europe at some point in the future but not just yet
  • Those that are still working or have commitments in another country that make it difficult for them to move to Portugal right now

Here’s what that “backup plan” might look like in four simple steps. 

Step 1. Choose Your Investment Route 

There are a number of investment routes that allow you to obtain the golden visa. Unfortunately, the property investment routes have now been removed. Of the remaining options, investing in funds is likely to be the most appealing for most people, however, it’s not the only option.

You could also:

  • Invest €500,000 or more into a company, which creates 5 jobs or maintains 10 jobs. 

There are also more donation-focused options:

  • Transfer €500,000 into public or private scientific research institutions. 
  • Transfer €250,000 into projects which  support artistic production, recovery or maintenance of the national cultural heritage. 

Step 2. Apply for Portugal’s Golden Visa

There’s a little bit of work involved in applying for the golden visa, which is why it’s good to get the ball rolling as soon as possible. 

Some of the more challenging work includes:

  • Obtaining essential documents, such as birth and marriage certificates and criminal records checks
  • Coming to Portugal for an interview and biometrics
  • Waiting for the golden visa to be approved (waiting times typically exceed 8 months)

Step 2. Maintain Your Investment & Continue to Meet the Minimum Stay Requirements

During the 5-year period, you will be required to maintain your investment and meet the minimum stay requirements, which average 7 days per year (14 days in the first 2 years, for example). If you’ve chosen the hotel investment option, many programs allow you to spend 1-2 weeks at the hotel or resort as part of your investment. 

The Algarve is less than a 3 hour flight to London and you can fly from New York to Lisbon in less than 7 hours, so getting to Portugal is easy and the 7 days is manageable even for those that have challenging work commitments. 

If during this period or during the next stage (permanent residency and Portuguese citizenship) you decide you want to move to Portugal on a more permanent basis, the move will be considerably easier and you can easily come here and take advantage of benefits like public healthcare and affordable private healthcare, affordable university education, and the ability to travel easily within the Schengen Area.

Step 3. Apply for Permanent Residency & Portuguese Citizenship

After 5 years of meeting those minimum stay requirements, you can apply for permanent residency and Portuguese citizenship. 

  • The benefit of permanent residency is that you won’t have to renew your residency every 2-3 years
  • The benefit of citizenship is that you do not need to renew your residency and there are no minimum stay requirements to maintain it 

As citizenship can take 1-2 years to obtain, permanent residency makes the interim period less taxing while you wait for your citizenship to be approved. 

After you have obtained citizenship and have an “EU passport”, you’ll not only be able to live in Portugal but anywhere in the EU. 

If you decide to go for Portuguese citizenship, you will need to show evidence of an A2 level of Portuguese, which for most people means sitting an A2 exam. Depending on the amount of work you’re willing to put in, this could be achievable in as little as a few months.

Want more information about Portugal as a backup plan? Get in touch today.

Written by

James Cave is the founder of Portugalist and the author of the bestselling book, Moving to Portugal Made Simple. He has visited just about every part of Portugal, including Madeira and all nine islands of the Azores, and lived in several parts of Portugal including Lisbon, the Algarve, and Northern Portugal.

You can contact James by emailing james@portugalist.com or via the site's contact form.

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Comments

  1. I was browsing websites for rented apartnent just could not find a reasonable price seems to be really expensive.

    This is as a future back up plan.

    Looked at Catelo Branco too any suggestions

    Reply
  2. Hi all, would you need €280k cash for a residential property to apply for golden visa or just a decent deposit and then a mortgage with a Portuguese lender?

    Reply
    • Hi Elizabeth,

      It varies from person to person as everyone has different spending habits and different comfort requirements. Your biggest cost will be rent/property purchase, so I would recommend looking at Idealista.pt to get an idea of prices to see if 1) they meet your budget in the areas you want to live 2) the quality of the properties you can afford is satisfactory.

      Reply
  3. No mention of the A2 language exam that you need to pass with a Golden Visa. Very hard to pick up the language not being in the country.

    Reply
  4. My father was from Madeira and I understand that my sisters and I could apply for citizenship for Portugal. How do we start this?

    Reply
  5. Thanks for the info. I’ll definitely keep Portugal as a bsck up plan possibility. Before the CORONA HOAX plandemic, I had written to a Portuguese consul in Tel Aviv. I live now in Israel, but would LOVE to relocate elsewhere especially somewhere in Europe.

    Reply
  6. If there’s any chance of the Tories getting back in for another 5 years I am packing my bags and moving to Portugal. They have stripped the UK of all services and given the money to their mates. Next stop is the NHS and we all know it. I am tired of disaster capitalism and ready to live in a country that cares about it’s citizens.

    Reply
  7. The US is a dumpster fire right now. We are looking for a country where there’s universal healthcare, no gun crime, (especially in schools), and people are nice. Portugal seems promising.

    Reply
  8. The US is a dumpster fire right now. We are looking for a country where there’s universal healthcare, no gun crime, (especially in schools), and people are nice. Portugal seems promising.

    Reply

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