Today, a large number of people, including U.S. families, are investing in Golden Visa Portugal because of the low-cost education and healthcare benefits. The families of applicants for a Portugal investment visa can benefit from high-quality education in international schools in Portugal and affordable healthcare in the country, where the cost is almost a fraction of what American families have to pay in the United States.
What is the Golden Visa Portugal?
Portugal Golden Visa, a residency by investment program launched in 2012, provides non-European citizens a 5-year residency permit that can later turn into citizenship if the applicant meets the eligibility criteria. According to the Passport Index Ranking, Portugal has a very strong passport, ranking in 4th position among other passports in 2025. The investors who have a Portugal Golden Visa have a huge benefit of traveling visa-free to almost 188 destinations, including the EU Schengen States.
Moreover, the Portugal residency by investment program only requires a 7-day stay per year, which is beneficial for people who have commitments in other countries. Furthermore, the applicants can also include their family members in the program, so they also have the right to access the best and affordable education and healthcare systems through Golden Visa Portugal.
How Can American Families Save on Education in Portugal?
The U.S. families who have relocated to Portugal by EU residency by investment can massively save on education in Portugal without compromising the quality of education because of:
High-Quality Education in Portugal
Portugal has an ideal educational system that ranks at the top globally because of its high standards and quality. The 99.7% literacy rate in the country demonstrates the government’s commitment to education in Portugal, where most Portuguese students perform remarkably well, near or above the OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) average, mostly in areas like mathematics, literacy, and science. According to Times Higher Education, the country is home to 51 universities, including 14 public, 36 private, and 46 polytechnics. Many public universities in cities of Portugal, like the Algarve, Porto, and Lisbon, provide world-class education and research opportunities to foreign investors and their families.
University Tuition in Portugal
Although universities in Portugal offer globally recognized programs to their students, the tuition fee is significantly lower than that in the United States. The families who have moved to Portugal from the US by investing in the Portugal Golden Visa already face many changes and thus want to find a good international school with community-focused environments for their children at low costs. There are many international schools in Portugal with educational levels, i.e, primary, middle school, and high school, and they charge very little comparatively. According to Camila Costa, who is a financial advisor, some families who have enrolled their two children in international schools in Portugal instead of the United States have saved almost $288,000 for a 12-year academic period.
Portugal vs America: Tuition Fee Comparison
| Education Level | Portugal | USA |
| Primary | $4,200-$65,00 | $25,000-$32,000 |
| Middle School | $4,600-$7000 | $27,000-$36,000 |
| High School | $6,000-$9,500 | $30,000-$45,000 |
Thus, the above table shows a major gap between the cost in USD per year for the tuition in Portugal and the United States.
Public Universities in Portugal
American families can save a lot by getting admission in leading public universities of Portugal, as according to the European Commission Eurydice Database 2024, the cost of studying in public universities in Portugal ranges from €697 to €3,500 for most undergraduate programs. The degrees in these universities are aligned with the Bologna Process, which is a series of voluntary intergovernmental agreements that aim to create a European Higher Education Area (EHEA). The undergraduate programs are typically of three years instead of four, which reduces the cost of living and tuition.
| Degree Level | Portugal | USA |
| Bachelor’s | $1,100-$3,300 | $10,000-$25,000 |
| Master’s | $1,500-$4,400 | $12,000-$30,000 |
| Medicine | $1,500-$8,800 | $30,000-$65,000 |
Private Universities in Portugal
The Top Universities of Portugal, including Universidade Catolica Portuguesa, a university in Lisbon, and Nova School of Business and Economics, a university in Carcavelos, cost $6,000 to $15,000 per year, which is much less than the costs of private university education in the United States.
MBA Programs in Portugal
The MBA programs in Portugal are among the most affordable MBA programs in Europe, costing only $25,000-$35,000, compared to the US, where the cost is $80,000-$160,000. Thus, people should invest in Golden Visa Portugal to get benefits from low cost education in Portugal.
Healthcare Affordability in Portugal
It is common that families compare the health care of many countries to see which is the best among all and is feasible for them. Thus, they seek residency by investment programs that help them relocate to countries offering low cost and good healthcare. Portugal Golden Visa benefits stand out among many EU residency by investment programs and Caribbean CBI programs for the healthcare costs in Portugal.
Portugal has a public healthcare system named Serviço Nacional de Saúde (SNS) that provides free healthcare to children under 18 and people aged 65 and above who contribute to social security. The dental services offered by this system are for a specific group and are much cheaper than in many countries, which cost approximately €50 to €75. The affordable private healthcare Portugal reduces the medical expenses of US families who leave the US and start living in Portugal because the primary care visits in Portugal cost only $16-$66, while in the United States, they cost $150-$200.
Conclusion
Numerous American families have saved a lot of their money by moving to Portugal by investing minimum €250,000 in Portugal residency by investment program. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation (2024), a US family of four people having private health insurance pays around $22,000 per year in premiums and thousands more in deductible amounts or copayments, while the cost of the same services in Portugal is $2,000, which means they could save $20,000 if they were investors of Portugal Golden Visa. Hence, people living in the US should start investing in Portugal residency by investment program to save on healthcare and education in Portugal.
