Direct answer: Most people who apply for a golden visa do not plan to move. They want the right to live in Portugal, Italy or Greece if they need it. This shelf covers what holding that right asks of you: how often you have to be there, how renewals work, what happens to your tax position, and what to check if you do end up spending time there.
Stay rules at a glance
From our program pages, each with its official sources and the date we last checked them:
- Portugal: at least seven days in Portugal in the first year and at least fourteen days in each later two year period. Details and sources.
- Italy: for the first five years there is no requirement to live in Italy continuously. Details and sources.
- Greece: no minimum stay; time spent outside Greece does not stop you renewing. Details and sources.
A permit does not by itself make you a tax resident. In Portugal and Greece, spending more than 183 days in the country in any twelve month period is one of the tests that does. The pieces below go into the details.
On this shelf
Every rule in these reads cites an official source with the date we checked it, or carries a "to confirm" marker until it is verified.
- Visits and Schengen time. What a residence permit changes about the 90 days in any 180, and what the EES and ETIAS mean for you.
- Renewals and minimum stay. How long each permit lasts, the days each country asks for, and what renewal costs.
- Keeping the permit while living elsewhere. What can cost you the permit, and what the years count toward if you live somewhere else.
- Tax residency traps. The day counts and home tests that can make you tax resident without meaning to, and the home country rules that keep you in.
- Schools, if you do spend time there. Which children the permit covers, and what to check before a term or a year.
Where next
Not sure which program fits how much time you expect to spend there? Take the two minute quiz, or compare the three side by side.
Portugal, Italy or Greece
Which golden visa fits you?
Talk to us: a free 20-minute call
Tell us what you are weighing. If it helps, we introduce you to a vetted visa or fund partner who handles the application. We do not file applications, and we are paid when we introduce you.
Not ready yet? Get rule-change alerts for Portugal, Italy and Greece: when a rule, fee or threshold changes, we tell you what changed and link the official source.