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Hi Sir ,Madam
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After buying a house u can apply for golden visa .the process takes a while ,almost one year.
You can send us an email about all ur concerns.Please,
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Regards
Meryem

Are you planning to live in Portugal?  If so, the Golden Visa is unnecessary.  You can simply apply for a Residency Visa, with much less stringent requirements.  The Golden Visa is for foreigners who don't plan to live in Portugal.

Interesting.   It seemed like, from what I read, the Golden Visa was pretty easy.   All it required was a $500Euro property investment to obtain it....plus a lot of paperwork.   We do plan on living in Lisbon, but, since we will be retired, we would probably spend several months per year traveling throughout Europe in general.   But, yes, Lisbon would be our home base/residence. 

I will look into the requirements for a Residency Visa, and compare the 2 of them.  ??

Thanks.

Jeff

Yes, it's easy, if you want to buy a 500 euro (600 USD) property without ever having lived here, knowing if you like it, knowing what the neighborhoods are like, etc.  Real estate agents will be happy to show you properties that are more than likely worth much less, but aimed at the Golden Visa customer, usually Chinese, who just wants to park some money here.   It's a personal decision, good luck.

I very much appreciate your input.  I did some more research into just a regular "Resident Visa" and it appears you are clearly 100% correct.   It is many, many thousands of dollars cheaper.   Since we do plan on living in Lisbon, this seems like the much less expensive, and much faster option.  It also allows us to maybe rent for a while before buying, so we can learn the neighborhoods much better.   

Thank you so much for your advice!!

You're quite welcome.  For the regular (non golden) visa, some of the consulates in the US (dependent on where you live) do require proof of an address in Portugal.  But a 6 month lease is less of a commitment than a huge capital outlay.  Best of luck to you.