Golden Residence Visa

Golden Residence Visa

‘Access the Schengen area like as a European Union citizen’


The Portuguese Golden Residence Programme or GRP is a property investment route for none-EU nationals who wish to gain residency and citizenship in Portugal.  It was launched by the Portuguese government in 2012 to encourage investment and has since generated over 6000 successful applications from around the globe. The residence permit gives the right to live, work and study in Portugal and allows free circulation in the EU Schengen zone.

Schengen access

The GRP gives the right to apply for permanent residency after 5 years or citizenship via an application route to a Portuguese passport. Citizenship of Portugal is citizenship of the European Union and conveys the equal right to work, study and live anywhere in the European Union. The Portuguese residency card, granted through the golden visa, allows the holder to travel throughout the European Union Schengen zone without restrictions.

Flexibility

GRP applicants have complete flexibility by not having a requirement to live in Portugal or Madeira. The applicant and family need only visit for two weeks every two years in order to renew a Golden Visa spending an average of just 7 nights per annum in Portugal and/or Madeira. Citizenship can also be granted without the applicant having resided in the country. The applicant’s direct family members and children are also able to be included in the initial application.

After 5 years

Under the current rules, after five years the property investment may be disposed of and permanent residency or citizenship applied for. After having applied for a temporary residency or permanent residency on the fifth year, the visa holders may continue to travel freely within the EU. Only Portuguese citizenship will grant the right of residency in other EU member states and a language test in required to obtain a Passport and to become a citizen of Portugal.

Golden Residence 
- The Madeira Islands

Key Facts

  • Cash investment in property of €500,000
  • Residency for direct family members of the applicant
  • No requirement for Portuguese residency
  • Permanent residency from 5 years
  • Citizen route after 5 years pending a basic language test
  • Unrestricted EU Schengen zone access
  • Average visit requirement of 7 nights per annum

Portugal’s golden residence programme offers complete flexibility.

Once citizenship has been attained in Portugal, the citizen is free to dispose of the original investment

Golden Residence in Madeira


The Madeira Islands are an excellent option when looking for an investment into the GRP. The islands being Portuguese are an integrated part of the European Union and qualify for inclusion into the Portuguese GRP for a property purchase. Madeira having the best climate in Europe is an ideal base for relocation or an ideal investment opportunity for business people looking to trade with Europe and the rest of the world.

Residential move

The Madeira islands are one of the world’s safest and most idyllic locations and this has encouraged many people to move to Madeira from all over the world. The pace of life in Madeira is relaxed and calm and there are interesting opportunities for entrepreneurs who are looking for the next challenge. A new resident of the Islands who is in the GRP will require health insurance, those who choose to work will pay mandatory social security and in doing so qualify for free state healthcare.

A property can be income generating

The Madeira Islands are a superb location for your potential investment, with year-round quality tourism brings tourists who seek quality holiday accommodation. A property in Madeira can be income generating through the entire year with high levels of return from short term holiday lets. Providing the location is suitable and the accommodation is luxurious, stylish and modern, the level of occupancy and returns will be outstanding and high yielding. There are also no restrictions in place for your rental business activities or income from an investment property in the GRP.

Madeira as a business base

Business owners from outside Madeira who are seeking the GRP visa for business travel should be aware of significant tax advantages available in Madeira for a business relocation or incorporating a new business. Madeira has a dedicated business center called the MIBC and companies incorporated inside will pay just 5% corporation tax, company dividends can also be sent overseas with no withholding of tax. There are also significant EU funds available for those who choose to be resident and establish a local company here in Madeira. Consultants will find Madeira particularly attractive for ease of business and the low personal tax advantages available.

Madeira vs Portugal

The majority of GRP applicants who choose Madeira come from South Africa and Brazil, in the Portuguese continent the majority are from China and Russia. Madeira being an island attracts less GRP applications than for instance the Algarve, but in turn the property market here is not underpinned by just the GRP like what was seen in Lisbon, but rather by European buyers seeking good weather and a good quality of life. This ensures a long term rise in property values and further underlines Madeira as a quality investment for you.

Madeira is unique

Madeira is a wonderful place to make your investment. The island is also one of the most beautiful places on earth with its own profusion of flora and fauna. Madeira is exceptionally safe, and you will not have any personal security concerns during a visit or as a resident. When the advantages of the GRP programme and combined with the many tax advantages available, it is easy to see that Madeira is a subtropical paradise that balances the best of Europe with many of the finest tropical luxuries. After all, where else in Europe grow passion fruit, bananas, kiwi fruit and mangos?

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