The one-question test
Are you moving your life to Portugal, or adding Portugal to your life? Everything else follows from that answer. The golden visa exists for the second case; the D7 and D8 exist for the first. Families who choose by price instead of by life pattern usually choose wrong.
Side by side
| Question | Golden visa | D7 | D8 |
|---|---|---|---|
| What funds it | Qualifying investment, principal route €500,000 in regulated funds | Stable passive income (pensions, rents, dividends) | Remote-work income from outside Portugal |
| Presence asked | About 7 days a year on average | Genuine residence in Portugal | Genuine residence in Portugal |
| Who it fits | Families keeping a base and an option | Retirees and income-holders relocating | Remote workers and founders relocating |
| Family included | Yes, one application | Yes, reunification | Yes, reunification |
| Counts toward citizenship | Yes, residence years accumulate | Yes | Yes |
| Typical friction | Capital committed; agency backlogs | Proving income stability; real relocation | Proving income thresholds; real relocation |
Income thresholds and conditions are set by law and updated; we confirm the figures in force, with sources, in consultation. This page compares honestly; it does not advise.
The honest trade-offs
- The golden visa costs capital and buys freedom of presence. Nothing else in Europe asks so little of your calendar.
- The D7 and D8 cost relocation and buy speed and price. If you truly want to live here, they are cheaper doors to the same residence years.
- All three accumulate the years that citizenship runs on. The 2026 reform extended that timeline; we state the current rule with sources in consultation.
Beyond the three doors
Portugal has other permits for other lives: the entrepreneur route for founders opening a business here, work visas for those with a Portuguese employer, study permits, and family reunification. The consultation covers all of them; the three above are simply where most families land.
How we work
One free hour: your income, your capital, your calendar, your horizon. We tell you which door fits, what it honestly costs, and what a good landing takes. Legal work with independent Portuguese counsel; everything around it, from home search to company management, arranged by us for a disclosed fee.