Using the Golden Visa to reunite a family in Portugal

Through a discovery call with Portugal Pathways, Jasper and his wife explored Portugal's residency options and identified the country’s Golden Visa residency-by-investment programme as the right route for their circumstances.

The Golden Visa granted them Portuguese residency status and the ability to travel across the 29-country Schengen Area without routine border checks, a significant advantage for the extended European travel they had planned.

Because the programme requires only a minimum physical presence in Portugal (an average of 7 days in the first year, and 14 days in each subsequent two-year period), Jasper and his wife were able to keep exploring Europe freely while maintaining their residency status.

Last year, Jasper wanted his daughter and her family to join him in Vale do Lobo. His daughter, however, was apprehensive about the move.

She was concerned about the residency process, the disruption to her young family's routine, and, because her career, though largely remote, still required occasional trips back to the USA, whether a move to Portugal would restrict that flexibility.

Portugal Pathways addressed each concern directly. The Golden Visa's family reunification provisions meant Jasper's daughter, her spouse, and their children could be included as dependents on a single family application, rather than each needing a separate route into the country.

Because the Golden Visa's minimum stay requirement is calculated in days per year rather than continuous residence, her occasional trips to the USA for work had no bearing on her ability to maintain and eventually renew her residency status.

With a clear application timeline mapped out and the family-inclusion process handled end to end, her hesitation gave way to confidence in making the move.