We told ourselves it was just for a while — a few years in Europe, good coffee, slower mornings, no mortgage, and no roots. But Lisbon had other plans for us.
One morning, sitting in a café over a traditional Portuguese galão, I said it out loud: ‘I don’t want to leave.’ Sophie didn’t look surprised. ‘Neither do I, ’ she said.
That was the moment the seeds of the idea were planted in our minds, and we called Immigrant Invest, as they had helped us with our Digital Nomad Visas 2 years earlier. A year later, we had our Golden Visas in hand.
Sophie and Carter
Former digital nomads, now investors
Clients’ names and photos have been changed
Plan that outgrew itself
Carter, 36, and Sophie, 33, had arrived in Portugal 2 years earlier on Digital Nomad Visas. In Canada, Carter had built a SaaS start-up from scratch, a B2B platform that was finding its footing in North America and beginning to attract attention in Europe. Sophie was a product designer working across several technology companies on a freelance basis.
Their plan was pleasantly loose: live affordably, work efficiently, travel when they could. Portugal was not meant to be a destination, but a prolonged, sunlit detour.
Sophie,
Portugal Golden Visa holder
Over around a year and a half later, something shifted: our apartment in Mouraria had become home in the truest sense, stocked with our things, arranged according to our habits. We had made real friends, within the expat community and beyond it.
Somewhere along the way, the ties became essential. We found out the name of the pharmacist at the pharmacy close to home. We started learning Portuguese. We even have a favourite table at a café around the corner now. At some point, we stopped calling it temporary.
However, the practicalities of their life were becoming more complicated. Carter needed not just a pleasant base but a legitimate one: a jurisdiction. And then there was the question of capital — savings that start to feel like a responsibility. Parking them in Canadian accounts felt increasingly short-sighted.
Gradually, a few practical considerations began to push Carter and Sophie towards making the switch:
- Carter’s business was scaling, requiring more frequent travel to meet partners and clients across Europe, as well as a more stable legal footing to support it.
- The couple wanted to diversify their savings by investing part of their capital in European assets.
- Carter was beginning to think seriously about opening a Portuguese branch of his company in the future.
- The Digital Nomad Visa, designed for flexibility, was starting to feel like a ceiling rather than a foundation.
From visitors to residents — the moment it clicked
It was Sophie who first looked up how to stay in Portugal after the Digital Nomad Visa, one evening while Carter was away travelling. She had seen references to the Portugal Golden Visa in conversations within their expat community and had the vague sense that it was something designed for wealthy retirees buying villas in the Algarve. But the more she read, the more she wondered whether their situation might actually fit.
When Carter returned from Berlin, Sophie had a tab open on her laptop. He sat beside her and they read through it together. They felt the particular mix of excitement and uncertainty that comes at the moment when a vague hope becomes a concrete possibility — maybe the Portugal Golden Visa was worth exploring.
Differences between the Digital Nomad Visa and the Golden Visa
Turning to Immigrant Invest
It took Carter and Sophie some time to finally decide that they really wanted to leave their Digital Nomad Visas behind and obtain Golden Visas. But once the decision was made, they already knew where to turn — Immigrant Invest.
Two years earlier, Immigrant Invest had helped Carter and Sophie secure their Digital Nomad Visas. The process had been easy and stress-free: documents handled, questions answered, nothing left to chance. So, when the couple’s plans changed, the call was easy to make.
Sophie,
Portugal Golden Visa holder
That consultation felt less like a consultation and more like a natural continuation. Immigrant Invest already knows the shape of our lives: our visa history, our tax position, the rhythm of how we work and move. They don't need to be brought up to speed.
The team became trusted consultants for digital nomads like us planning a long-term future in Portugal and potentially Portuguese citizenship.
They just needed to understand the new picture: Carter’s business scaling, the investments we wanted to make, our preferences, and the fact that we were no longer thinking in years but in something longer.
One thing Immigrant Invest made clear early on: switching from a Digital Nomad Visa to a Golden Visa is not a simple transfer. It requires submitting a completely new application, and timing matters. If the Digital Nomad Visa expires before the Golden Visa process begins, the couple could lose their valid residence status in Portugal, a country they had already come to think of as home.
The investment migration advisors recommended starting the process well ahead of the renewal deadline to ensure enough overlap and avoid any gap in residency.
Five routes, one decision
Immigrant Invest guided Carter and Sophie through the available investment routes:
- Purchase of fund units — €500,000+.
- Support of arts and cultural heritage — €250,000+.
- Donation to scientific research — €500,000+.
- Business investment with the creation of 5+ jobs — €500,000+.
- Opening a company with the creation of 10+ jobs — no minimum investment requirement.
The investment fund route was not the obvious answer at first. Carter briefly considered whether opening a Portuguese branch of his company could serve as the basis for a Golden Visa. It would allow him to put his capital to work in a business he already understood while building a local presence. But the more he thought about it, the less it made sense as the first step.
Carter’s business was online, his team distributed, and there was no real operational need to establish a physical entity in Portugal yet. A branch might come later, when the business requires it, not simply for the sake of a visa.
A fund, by contrast, offered clearer advantages: professional management, regulatory oversight, a defined timeline, and potential returns. The capital would be working rather than sitting idle, and Carter would not need to manage a foreign entity. For now, the fund made more sense, and the branch could wait.
Pedro Barata,
Senior Investment Migration Advisor
Under the current Golden Visa rules, investments must be made through funds regulated by the CMVM, the Portuguese Securities Market Commission. The market offers a broad range of options: renewable energy, technology, agribusiness, hospitality, and private credit, each with its own risk profile, return structure, and time horizon.
Every fund we recommend goes through rigorous Due Diligence: track record, strategy, risk profile, and governance. We prioritise diversified portfolios with proven management teams and always match each fund to the client's specific situation: their capital, their goals, and how long they are prepared to wait. In the end, our aim is to find a fund that qualifies for the visa and actually performs.
Investment fund that made sense
After reviewing the options with Immigrant Invest’s advisors, Carter and Sophie chose the INZ Fund, a private equity vehicle focused on renewable energy and infrastructure projects. The timing worked in their favour: the fund was open for subscription until February 2026, which gave them a clear and comfortable deadline to move.
For Carter, the logic was simple: low risk, predictable income, and a sector he respected. Renewable energy projects backed by long-term agreements meant that capital was deployed into something structural, growing, and European — with stable and foreseeable returns.
Main features of the fund
The INZ Fund, which Carter and Sophie ultimately chose, offered the following key features:
- type — private equity;
- sector — renewable energy and infrastructure;
- estimated return — around 8% annually, with regular income distributions;
- maturity term — 8 years;
- essential fees — approximately 0.4% quarterly management fee and a setup fee at fund level.
Potential outcome
A €500,000 investment in the INZ Fund may generate around €40,000 per year, resulting in approximately €320,000 in total income over the 8-year term.
At the end of the investment period, the investor is expected to recover the initial €500,000, bringing the total return before fees to about €820,000. After all fees, the net amount received may reach approximately €740,000—750,000.
Step-by-step of obtaining the Portugal Golden Visa: Carter and Sophie’s path
The process of obtaining the Portugal Golden Visa took Carter and Sophie about 12 months. They saved roughly two months because they already had Portuguese tax numbers, NIFs, and bank accounts, both of which are required for Golden Visa applicants.
The total expenses amounted to €523,392.60.
See how the Portugal Golden Visa process unfolded for the couple, with Carter serving as the principal applicant.
February 2nd, 2025
Preliminary Due Diligence
A certified Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer reviewed Carter and Sophie’s backgrounds using international databases. This initial screening helps reduce the likelihood of application refusal to about 1%.
As everything in Carter and Sophie’s background was clean, Immigrant Invest signed a service agreement with them.
A certified Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer reviewed Carter and Sophie’s backgrounds using international databases. This initial screening helps reduce the likelihood of application refusal to about 1%.
As everything in Carter and Sophie’s background was clean, Immigrant Invest signed a service agreement with them.
+ 2 weeks, €2,000
Documents preparation
Immigrant Invest lawyers prepare a personalised list of documents required to apply for a Portuguese residence permit by investment. They also assist with completing government forms and help arrange translation and notarisation where necessary.
Immigrant Invest lawyers prepare a personalised list of documents required to apply for a Portuguese residence permit by investment. They also assist with completing government forms and help arrange translation and notarisation where necessary.
+ 3 weeks, €507,500
Investment fulfilment
Immigrant Invest helped the couple choose a suitable investment fund, and Carter transferred the investment amount from his Portuguese bank account, plus a setup fee of 1.5% — €7,500.
Lawyers collected the documents confirming that the investment had been completed.
Immigrant Invest helped the couple choose a suitable investment fund, and Carter transferred the investment amount from his Portuguese bank account, plus a setup fee of 1.5% — €7,500.
Lawyers collected the documents confirming that the investment had been completed.
+ 1 day, €1,264.2
Application submission
Immigrant Invest lawyers submitted electronic copies of the documents to AIMA, the Portuguese Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum.
At this stage, Carter paid application fees of €632.10 per person.
Immigrant Invest lawyers submitted electronic copies of the documents to AIMA, the Portuguese Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum.
At this stage, Carter paid application fees of €632.10 per person.
+ 5 months
Review by AIMA
The Portugal Golden Visa application was reviewed by AIMA. The agency may request additional papers, but with the help of Immigrant Invest, Carter and Sophie’s documents were already in order.
During the review period, the lawyers also arranged appointments for Carter and Sophie to submit their biometrics.
The Portugal Golden Visa application was reviewed by AIMA. The agency may request additional papers, but with the help of Immigrant Invest, Carter and Sophie’s documents were already in order.
During the review period, the lawyers also arranged appointments for Carter and Sophie to submit their biometrics.
+ 1 day
Biometric appointment
As Carter and Sophie were already in Portugal, they did not need to plan any travel. They attended their appointment on the scheduled date to provide the original documents and fingerprints required for residence permit cards.
As Carter and Sophie were already in Portugal, they did not need to plan any travel. They attended their appointment on the scheduled date to provide the original documents and fingerprints required for residence permit cards.
February 10th, 2026, €12,628.4
Approval and issuance of residence cards
AIMA reviewed the application and the submitted documents within 6 months of the biometric appointment.
The investors’ application was approved, and their residence permit cards were issued. Carter and Sophie collected them in person.
At this stage, the investors paid €6,314.20 per person as a residence card fee.
AIMA reviewed the application and the submitted documents within 6 months of the biometric appointment.
The investors’ application was approved, and their residence permit cards were issued. Carter and Sophie collected them in person.
At this stage, the investors paid €6,314.20 per person as a residence card fee.
What the Golden Visa actually felt like
The cards arrived on a chilly February morning. Carter and Sophie collected them in person, a brief, unhurried appointment with signatures and relieved smiles exchanged between them. The cards looked almost the same as the previous ones. Yet they felt different.
In the weeks that followed, Carter noticed something he had not anticipated: a reduction in a background anxiety he had not consciously realised he had been carrying. The low-level hum of impermanence, the sense that their life in Lisbon was provisional, had gone quiet. He had not known how loudly it had been running until it stopped.
Sophie found that the change was subtler and deeper than she had expected. She had always thought of security as something purchased: a property, a savings balance, a pension. What she felt instead was something closer to belonging.
‘We came to Portugal for freedom,’ Sophie said one evening on the terrace. ‘And I think what we actually found is that freedom and home are not opposites. They can exist in the same place, and for us it was made official by the Portugal Golden Visas.’
You too can obtain Portuguese residency with the support of Immigrant Invest to secure a European base, access visa-free travel across the Schengen Area, or move to a safe and warm country, as Carter and Sophie did.
