Comparison of retirement visas in France and Portugal

Introducing the retirement visa in France and the retirement visa in Portugal

It is possible to get a residence permit through a retirement visa in France and Portugal. Now we will introduce this method. It should be noted that the person who is applying for a residence permit through this method must have a good financial ability and must be able to pay for his/her and his/her family’s living expenses. He/she must prove to the government of that country that he/she can afford his/her living expenses and does not need to work in the destination country or receive a grant from the government. In this method you do not need to provide a language certificate. There is no age limit for this method in France and Portugal, and people of any age can apply for it. Having an academic degree is not a requirement in this method neither. You just have to have good financial ability (financial means) and show your financial means both in cash and in real estate and prove that you have a good monthly income. We will discuss this in more detail below.

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Topics reviewed in this article:

• The required qualifications and documents for getting a residence permit in France and Portugal
• Comparison of retirement visas in France and Portugal
• The required financial ability for getting a residence permit in France and Portugal

The required qualifications and documents for getting a residence permit in France and Portugal

About the requirements and the required documents for getting a residence permit in France and Portugal, we must state that each one of these countries and their governments has set some requirements for those who intend to get a residence permit through in this method. There are no age limit or degree requirement to get a retirement visa in France and Portugal. In terms of financial ability, the applicant must put some cash into his/her account and must have at least one or two real estate deeds and must show that he/she has sufficient monthly income. Also, in addition to the cash mentioned (the cash should remain in the account for about 6 months), they must also provide one or two property deeds (real estate documents) and prove that they have a good monthly income. In France, through this type of residence, a person is not allowed to work for the first 5 years, but can buy a property or own a business and earn money this way, but cannot be employed by a company in France. For this reason, he/she must be able to afford his/her own and his/her family’s living expenses for at least 5 years.

Comparison of retirement visas in France and Portugal

According to the laws of these two countries it can be said that there are some differences between residence permits for retirees in France and Portugal. One of the most important differences between these two countries is the requirement of being present. For this type of residence permit in France, there are no requirements for being present in this country and it is enough for you to be in this country only one week in a year. But for a retirement visa in Portugal you have to be in Portugal for 6 months in a year. This is very important for those who are not able to leave their country for a few months because of their jobs and business, and they can easily have their own business by getting a residence permit in France through a retirement visa. Another point is the amount of money that must be in the applicant’s account for both countries. The following table compares the amount of cash that must remain in the applicant’s account for 6 months:

Another difference between retirement visas in France and Portugal is that you will not be allowed to work in France for the first 5 years, which means that you cannot be employed by a company in France and in fact you cannot take the place of a French worker. But as mentioned, you can earn money by buying and selling property or renting it. But in Portugal you are allowed to work from the beginning and you can even work and be employed in private companies in Portugal and you even can have your own business. Another point is about children. Education for children in both countries is free for those who apply for a retirement visa. In France, children will be on their family’s file until the age of 18 (they are dependent on their families till 18), but in Portugal, dependent children can stay with their family until the age of 21. In Portugal, even the applicant’s parents can get a residence permit if they can prove that they are dependent on their child and are unable to manage their life on their own.

The required financial ability for getting a residence permit in France and Portugal

As mentioned in the previous sections, getting a residence permit as retirees means having a sufficient financial ability (financial means) and the applicants must be able to prove this. The required financial ability in each of these countries is different from each other and as mentioned in the table above, in France 40,000 euros for the main person, 20,000 euros for the spouse and 10,000 euros for each child must be deposited into the applicant’s account. It is also recommended to show one or two real estate deeds to ensure that a person can afford his/her living expenses. However, for a retirement visa in Portugal, the applicant must deposit 10,000 euros into his/her bank account for himself/herself, 5,000 euros for thee spouse and 3,000 euros per child. In France it is not required to show a monthly income, but for Portugal one must show a minimum monthly income of 635 euros. All of these things are to show that you can pay for your own and your family’s living expenses.