Golden Visa and child of age

Residencies & citizenships Portugal Golden Visa 🇵🇹
1

Hi,

We need some guidance on the Golden Visa for a child of age. Our oldest child is currently 17. We hope to be applying for the GV within the next 1-2 months (decision on investment by end of August).

Based on what we have read, we believe that our child must meet all of the following criteria in order to qualify for GV/Portuguese citizenship:

  1. SINGLE
  2. UNDER 26
  3. DEPENDENT ON US FINANCIALLY
  4. STUDYING

Do all of these need to be true in order for a child of age to qualify for the GV?

Our main area of concern is whether our child’s study/university timeline will align well with the timing for presenting proof for the criteria above to SEF. Between the time that we apply for GV and when she will receive her Portuguese citizenship, how many times and at what stages of the GV process do we need to provide proof to SEF that our child meets the criteria above? For example, assuming some timings for the various GV stages:

  • At GV application time? e.g. Sep 2021
  • At GV application approval time? e.g. Jan 2022
  • At GV Biometric appointment? e.g. Apr 2022
  • At receipt of the GV cards? e.g. Jun 2022
  • At first GV renewal after two years? e.g. Jun 2024
  • At second GV renewal after 4 years? e.g. Jun 2026
  • At application for permanent residency/citizenship? e.g. Jun 2027
  • At the time she receives permanent residency? e.g. Jan 2028
  • At the time she receives citizenship? e.g. Jan 2029

Since our child will be 18 next year, the following will probably be her study/university timeline:

  • 2022/2023: 18 years old and 1st year of university
  • 2023/2024: 19 years old and 2nd year of university
  • 2024/2025: 20 years old and 3rd year of university - Graduates with bachelor’s degree
  • 2025/2026: 21 years old and 4th year of university - Starting master’s degree
  • 2026/2027: 22 years old and 5th year of university - Graduates with master’s degree
  • Beyond mid-2027 we are not sure whether she will continue to study or start work.

We would like to make sure that with our child’s study timeline above, she will still qualify for Portuguese citizenship through the GV. This is the reason that we are asking about at which points we need to show proof to SEF that she meets the criteria because until mid-2025, there is absolutely no problem since she will be studying in university for her bachelor’s degree. Until mid-2027, there probably will not be issues since it is very likely that she will continue her studies to get a master’s degree, but after mid-2027 (or if she decided to get a 4-year bachelor’s degree instead of a master’s degree finishing in mid-2026), we may have an issue? It’s a very close and tight alignment between the two things if criterion #4 (studying) is definitely required in order for her to qualify all the way to citizenship.

Apologies for the long-winded post, but it’s a complex topic and we did not know how to better describe it. Hope that we have some other parents out there who may have considered and gone through the same or similar questions who can help address this topic.

Thank you in advance!