Residency Options in Belgium Spain Portugal for US Citizens

Peeters Law – Cross-Border Private International Law and Multijurisdictional Structuring

North-American Citizens Relocating to the European Union

Citizens of the United States and Canada contemplating long-term residence within the European Union must navigate a plurality of national immigration regimes, each of which operates within the broader framework of Union free movement law and the conflict-of-laws rules of private international law. The granting of visas and residence permits remains the exclusive competence of the national immigration authorities and of counsel admitted to practice before them.

Within these limits, Peeters Law is in a position to assist clients in the visa and residence-permit context, albeit in a circumscribed and indirect manner. The firm does not itself conduct the procedural representation before the immigration authorities. It does, however, contribute to the preparation of such proceedings through the legal analysis of the client's overall situation, the assessment of the available residence routes, the structuring of the underlying private-law arrangements, and, where appropriate, the coordination of the file with a trusted confrère specialised in immigration law, with whom the firm maintains an established professional collaboration. Procedural representation as such is undertaken by that cooperating counsel. This division of competences is intended to ensure that each phase of the relocation is addressed by the practitioner most appropriately qualified for it, and that the substantive private-law dimensions of the relocation are treated in parallel with, rather than subordinated to, the immigration procedure.

The Penteract Methodology

Central to the firm's approach is the Penteract Methodology, an analytical framework developed for the systematic examination of complex transboundary legal questions. The methodology is designated by reference to the penteract, being the five-dimensional analogue of the tesseract, and proceeds from the premise that legal problems of an international character cannot adequately be resolved as isolated issues within a single national legal order, but require coordinated examination across five interdependent dimensions.

The territorial dimension comprises the identification of jurisdiction, the determination of the applicable law and the coordination of the legal orders concerned, having regard in particular to the conflict-of-laws rules under Regulations Rome I, Rome II and Brussels Ia, and under the Succession Regulation (EU) 650/2012. The substantive dimension consists in the qualification of the matter and in the mapping of the pertinent fields of law, whether contractual, proprietary, successory, familial or corporate. The linguistic and cultural dimension seeks to ensure the precise interpretation of legal concepts within their original linguistic and cultural matrix, with due regard for the semantic divergences subsisting between the common-law and civil-law traditions. The normative dimension entails an evaluation of the matter against fundamental rights, the general principles of law, considerations of public policy (ordre public) and the hierarchy of norms. The strategic dimension is concerned with the formulation of an appropriate procedural and substantive positioning of the client, including the assessment of risk and the articulation of long-term patrimonial and personal objectives.

Where the complexity of the matter so requires, the analysis may be extended by a sixth structural layer, denoting those boundary conditions that cannot be wholly resolved within the five-dimensional model, and by a seventh reflexive layer comprising a critical review of the analytical process itself. The methodology is formally denoted as P(T, M, N, C, S) and is employed within the firm both as a client-facing instrument of legal reasoning and as an internal discipline governing the structured analysis of cross-border questions. It is offered as one analytical tool among others, and not as a substitute for the substantive rules of the legal orders concerned.

When applied to residency planning for North-American clients, the methodology is intended to ensure that the choice of residence route in Belgium, Spain or Portugal is not considered in isolation, but is examined in connection with the broader personal, familial and patrimonial situation of the client. A decision to acquire Spanish real property in conjunction with the Non-Lucrative Visa route, for instance, is analysed concurrently for its territorial implications (the Spanish lex rei sitae as against the Belgian or U.S. rules of succession), its substantive consequences in property and tax law, the linguistic nuances of the notarial instrument, its compatibility with the fundamental rights recognised within the Union, and the strategic implications for estate planning, including any concomitant difficulties.

The exposition that follows reflects the principal long-stay residence routes available in Belgium, Spain and Portugal as of April 2026. The financial thresholds set out below are based on the most recent official indices known to the firm at the time of writing and remain subject to annual revision. They are provided for general orientation; verification in the individual case is indispensable.

Belgium

Non-EU and non-EEA nationals seeking residence in Belgium for a period exceeding ninety days are, as a rule, required to obtain a national long-stay visa (Type D) prior to entry, followed by registration in the population register of the competent municipality.

The principal residence categories include employment-based authorisation under the Single Permit procedure; self-employment under the Professional Card regime, which falls within regional competence; business establishment and corporate residence routes; residence on the basis of sufficient personal financial means, corresponding to the status of financially independent person or annuitant pursuant to Articles 9 and 9bis of the Law of 15 December 1980 on access to the territory, stay, establishment and removal of aliens; and residence on grounds of family reunification or for academic and research purposes.

Peeters Law assists in the structuring of Belgian corporate vehicles, the analysis of directors' liability, the coordination of cross-border taxation and the resolution of applicable-law questions under the Belgian Code of Private International Law of 16 July 2004.

Spain

Following the abolition of the investor residence regime under Law 14/2013 (the former Golden Visa programme), with effect from 3 April 2025, the principal long-stay options available to non-EU nationals are the Digital Nomad Visa (visado de nómada digital) and the Non-Lucrative Visa (visado de residencia no lucrativa).

The Digital Nomad Visa is designed for remote workers employed by, or contracting with, entities established outside Spain. The principal applicant must, in principle, demonstrate stable gross monthly income equivalent to at least 200 percent of the national minimum interprofessional wage (SMI), a threshold which, as of 2026, stands at approximately 2,850 euro per month. Incremental thresholds apply in respect of accompanying family members, namely 75 percent of the SMI for the first dependent and 25 percent for each subsequent dependent.

The Non-Lucrative Visa is intended for financially independent persons who do not intend to pursue gainful activity within Spain. The principal applicant must demonstrate sufficient resources corresponding to 400 percent of the Public Multiple Effects Income Indicator (IPREM), which for 2026 amounts to approximately 28,800 euro per annum, supplemented by 100 percent of IPREM (7,200 euro per annum) for each accompanying family member.

Peeters Law has developed particular experience in Spanish real-property law, including propiedad horizontal, usufruct and the lease regime under the Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos; in succession law, including the rules of forced heirship (la legítima) under the Código Civil; in international family law; and in the coordination of social security regimes, in particular as between the autónomo and asalariado statuses. These domains intersect frequently with residency planning where clients acquire or retain assets situated within Spanish territory.

Portugal

Portugal offers a number of residence pathways for non-EU nationals. The Golden Visa (Autorização de Residência para Investimento) programme remains in force, although the real-estate investment route has been discontinued. The qualifying investment options presently comprise a contribution of 500,000 euro to approved regulated investment funds, with at least 60 percent allocated to Portuguese entities, as well as cultural or scientific contributions and job-creating business investments.

Complementary routes include the D7 Visa, for recipients of passive income, with a minimum requirement of approximately 920 euro per month for the principal applicant in 2026, and the Digital Nomad Visa.

Physical presence requirements vary considerably as between the available routes. The Golden Visa imposes only minimal annual stays, typically seven days in the first year and fourteen days in each subsequent two-year period, whereas the other permits require substantially more extensive residence. Following five years of lawful residence, eligible holders may, subject to the applicable conditions, apply for permanent residence and, in due course, for Portuguese citizenship.

Peeters Law assists clients in the cross-border coordination of Portuguese assets alongside Belgian or Spanish holdings, with particular regard to succession planning and to the avoidance of double taxation.

The Complementary Role of Peeters Law

The contribution of Peeters Law lies in the legal structuring of the private-law consequences attendant upon international relocation, undertaken, where the matter so requires, in cooperation with the immigration confrère referred to above. The firm's services in this regard comprise, in particular, the determination of the applicable law and of jurisdiction under the relevant Union regulations (Rome I, Rome II, Brussels Ia, and Succession Regulation (EU) 650/2012) and under the pertinent national rules of private international law; the acquisition, registration and ongoing management of real property, with specific reference to the Spanish regimes of propiedad horizontal and urban lease; international estate planning, the mitigation of forced-heirship conflicts and the coordination of cross-border succession; the treatment of family-law matters, including matrimonial property regimes, parental responsibility and maintenance; and the formation, governance and liability analysis of companies operating in multi-jurisdictional contexts.

In the conduct of these services, the firm endeavours to apply the Penteract Methodology with the appropriate degree of analytical rigour, while remaining mindful of the limits of any analytical model and of the primacy, in each case, of the substantive rules of the legal orders concerned.

Next Steps

Prospective clients are invited to arrange a confidential initial consultation. Consultations are conducted in English, Spanish, Dutch, French or German, and may be held in person or by remote means.

Contact
info@peeterslaw.com
+32 3 377 83 53
Jos Smolderenstraat 65, 2000 Antwerp, Belgium