Initial investment for the qualifying fund route
Portugal Golden Visa
A European base.
Without putting your current life on hold.
Portugal’s Golden Visa allows American and Canadian families to obtain European residency without relocating full-time.
Make a qualifying investment, spend limited time in Portugal and include eligible family members.
Have a conversation with David →Portugal at a glance
The useful facts.
Without the sales brochure.
Potential eventual cost with certain structures
Minimum stay in year one
During each following two-year period
Qualifying family members may be included
Potential citizenship eligibility under current rules
Why Portugal?
European residency without dismantling your current life.
Portugal is particularly attractive to people who want a genuine European option while continuing to live and work primarily in the US or Canada.
For some families, it becomes a future home. For others, it provides greater freedom, flexibility and a useful Plan B.
You can spend considerably more time in Portugal if you choose—but the programme does not require you to move there immediately.
The investment
The headline figure does not always tell the whole story.
The qualifying fund investment is €500,000, which must be available at the beginning.
However, selected investment structures may return part of that amount shortly afterwards, potentially reducing your eventual cost to approximately €325,000–€400,000.
The exact structure, timing, conditions and risks depend on the investment selected. This is still an investment—not a government fee—so its strategy, charges, potential returns and exit terms all matter.
Buying property no longer qualifies a new applicant for Portugal’s Golden Visa.
Talk through the options →For Americans & Canadians
The overseas opportunity still needs to work with your life back home.
For Americans
Not every Portuguese fund accepts American investors. Some foreign funds can also create additional US tax reporting and potentially unfavourable tax treatment.
It does not prevent Americans from using the route. It means the immigration, investment and tax questions should be considered together before choosing a fund.
For Canadians
Obtaining Portuguese residency does not automatically change Canadian tax residency.
The consequences depend on whether you remain in Canada or genuinely intend to relocate, so the cross-border position needs to match your actual plans.
I work alongside immigration, legal, tax and investment specialists so the residency decision and the financial decision make sense together.
Your family
Can they come with you?
In many cases, yes. A spouse or qualifying partner and dependent children may generally be included. Adult children and dependent parents can sometimes qualify, depending on their circumstances.
Each person requires their own application, documents and government fees, so we establish eligibility and expected costs at the beginning.
I can talk through your family circumstances and make sure everything is checked properly.
How it works
A clear process.
One point of contact.
- 1
We discuss your plans
What you want the residency to achieve and who needs to be included.
- 2
Your eligibility is checked
Your family circumstances, source of funds and preferred route are reviewed.
- 3
You consider the investments
The available options, costs, risks and potential capital reductions are explained.
- 4
The application is prepared
Your tax number, banking, legal documents and qualifying investment are arranged.
- 5
Your application is submitted
You attend biometrics in Portugal before residence cards are issued.
- 6
I remain with you throughout
From our first conversation through to approval and renewals.
The complete cost
What does it really cost?
The full €500,000 must initially be available, even where part may subsequently be returned.
Government charges, legal, fund, banking, document and tax-advice costs may also apply. You should receive one clear, itemised estimate before proceeding.
No mystery charges—or calculators that suddenly become more imaginative halfway through.
The minimum stay
Do I have to move?
No. The current minimum is seven days in the first year, followed by 14 days during each subsequent two-year period.
You can live and work in Portugal and make short visits throughout the 29-country Schengen Area. The permit does not automatically let you live or work in every other European country.
The longer-term possibility
What about citizenship?
Under current rules, new applicants may become eligible to apply after 10 years of legal residence.
Citizenship is not automatic. Language, criminal-record and other nationality requirements apply, and the rules should always be reconfirmed.
Personal relationship. Global expertise.
Personal service. International expertise behind it.
You deal with me throughout. I help you make sense of the options, focus on the routes that genuinely suit your plans and coordinate the process from our first conversation through to completion.
Each case is administered through Holborn Assets Ltd, incorporated in Bahamas, an international company providing services relating to residency and citizenship, partnered with experienced immigration, legal, tax and investment specialists.
It means you have the expertise and resources of an international organisation behind you, while the experience remains personal, clear and refreshingly uncomplicated.
One person who understands you and your plans. A team of specialists supporting every stage.
Could Portugal work for you?
Tell me what you want for yourself and your family.
We will work out whether Portugal deserves a closer look—and, if it does, what happens next.
Message David on WhatsApp ↗david@theglobaloption.com
A useful first conversation between two actual people. Refreshingly straightforward.