If I have a Portuguese golden visa, can I apply to study or work in another EU country like Germany or France?

Question

P Sinha · Accepted Answer

Many people assume a Golden Visa means freedom to live or work anywhere in the EU &mdash; but that&rsquo;s not how it works.

A Portuguese Golden Visa gives you residence rights only in Portugal.
It allows visa-free travel across the Schengen Area for up to 90 days in any 180-day period, but that doesn&rsquo;t include study or work permissions elsewhere.
To study or work in Germany or France, you must apply for that country&rsquo;s national visa, just like any non-EU resident.
These countries do not accept the Portuguese Golden Visa as a substitute for their own long-term permits.
Full EU mobility .meaning the right to live and work in other EU countries &mdash; only comes with Portuguese citizenship, not permanent residency.

Until then, each EU country requires a separate application if you want to stay longer than 90 days or engage in study or employment.

Shruti T · Answer

A Portuguese Golden Visa doesn&rsquo;t give automatic work or study rights in other EU countries like Germany or France. It&rsquo;s a residence permit for Portugal,  not a Schengen visa, though it does allow short-term travel within the Schengen Zone.
You can visit other Schengen countries for up to 90 days in any 180-day period, but that&rsquo;s as a tourist. If you plan to work or study in Germany or France, you still need to apply for a national visa or residence permit from that country.
For example, enrolling in a French university requires a French student visa, even if you already hold a Golden Visa for Portugal. The same applies for employment &mdash; each country processes those applications separately based on their own immigration laws.
So while you can travel, you can&rsquo;t relocate without going through the proper national visa route.

V Ritik · Answer

A Portuguese Golden Visa does not automatically allow study or work in other EU countries like Germany or France. It grants residency rights in Portugal, not EU-wide freedom of movement for non-EU nationals.
To study in another EU country, a separate student visa for that country is still required. For work, it&rsquo;s the same &mdash; each EU member state has its own employment visa process for non-EU citizens. However, the Portuguese residency can help with smoother documentation or visa applications due to existing EU residence status.
Some have used the Golden Visa to live in Portugal while studying remotely or applying separately to schools elsewhere, but it&rsquo;s not a shortcut to avoid local visa rules. If the goal is mobility across Europe, applying for long-term EU resident status (after 5 years of legal residence) might help. That status can sometimes be transferred to other EU countries under certain conditions.

Ishaan M · Answer

It&rsquo;s a common assumption that a Golden Visa in one EU country gives access to work or study across the whole EU &mdash; but that&rsquo;s not how it works.
&bull; The Portuguese Golden Visa gives residency only in Portugal. It doesn't grant work rights in Germany, France, or any other EU country. &bull; To study in Germany or France, a separate student visa must be secured from their embassies. The same applies for work. &bull; Short visits under 90 days are allowed across Schengen countries, but only for tourism or business &mdash; not for enrolling in university or taking up a job. &bull; One advantage, though: having legal EU residency in Portugal can sometimes make visa processes slightly faster or smoother in other EU states. &bull; A long-term solution is the EU long-term resident permit &mdash; after 5 years in Portugal, it may open doors to move within certain EU countries with fewer restrictions.