The Golden Visa Program allows for the
family members of investors to also obtain residency under the family
reunion status. In short, family members that qualify are spouse,
children under 18 and other dependant relatives.
One
of the most frequent questions that arises is if it is possible for
children over 18 years old to also qualify for family reunion. This
matter has created some controversy and unfortunately inaccurate or
misleading opinions and advice.
The General
Immigration Law, states that children over 18 will qualify if they are
dependant and study in Portugal. However, the Golden Visa Program is
clearly an exceptional regime and the Immigration Services recognize the
unique characteristics of this program, having the understanding that
the studies are indeed a requirement but do not have to be necessarily
in Portugal.
We at NDR are very clear about this
subject and we base our opinion not only on the feedback that we receive
from our contacts with the Immigration Services but more importantly,
from our experience, having already obtained for our clients residency
approvals for children over 18.
In light of the
above, it is clear that children over 18 will qualify for family reunion
provided that they are dependant and studying, regardless of the
location of the studies. We believe that this clarification is very
important as this is an important issue to many investors.
Please contact us for further details on this subject.
