A full EU member state, lower operating costs, and a real market to prove your model in. This is the overview of how we take non-EU businesses from outside the bloc to trading across it — starting in Portugal.
Getting a company registered in the EU is straightforward. Turning that company into a business with customers, working unit economics and a credible path to scale is where most entries stall — usually because the legal side and the commercial side were handled by people who never spoke.
We run entry as one project: the right entity and tax setup, and the market research and commercial launch that make it worth having. Portugal is where it begins, because the cost of learning is lowest here.
A Portuguese company is a full EU company: EU banking and payment infrastructure, GDPR standing, VAT/VIES for intra-EU trade, and the right to contract and sell across every member state — without incorporating separately in each one.
Entry is a series of decisions, each with its own page. Start wherever your uncertainty is greatest.
Sizing, competition, pricing and live pilot testing — the evidence that tells you whether the market wants what you're selling.
ExploreLisbon, Porto, the Algarve, Madeira and the Azores behave differently. Where you land changes your costs and your read on demand.
ExploreWhat entry actually costs — setup, running, and the budget you'll want for a proper pilot. No optimistic accounting.
ExploreThe autonomous regions offer lower VAT and, in Madeira, a licensed business centre — real advantages that reward real presence.
ExploreEvery EU country gives you the bloc. Portugal gives you the bloc with a lower cost of being wrong.
A Portuguese company is an EU company — banking, payments, GDPR, and cross-border contracting across all 27 states.
Operating and acquisition costs sit well below the Western European core, so your test-and-learn budget stretches further.
Around ten million euro-paying consumers under EU rules — a genuine market, not a sandbox that flatters your numbers.
Functioning pathways for founders and key staff to actually move here — useful if you intend to be present, not just incorporated.
Lisbon's expat ecosystem, English-friendly services and startup scene make the learning curve shallow by European standards.
Cultural and legal proximity make Spain and Southern Europe a short leap onward — Portugal as launchpad, the EU as destination.
Most firms hand you either a company or a marketing plan. We sequence both, so the structure you build reflects the way you'll actually operate — and the launch sits on foundations that won't need redoing.
Each stage below has a home elsewhere on the site; this is how they fit into one entry.
The big-picture questions before you get into the detail pages.
Because a Portuguese company gives you exactly the same EU market access as a German or French one — the same 27-state reach, banking and legal framework — but at a materially lower cost of entry and operation. That gap is your margin for error. You get the credibility of a proper EU entity without spending a major-market budget to discover whether your model works.
No. Much of the setup and ongoing operation can be handled remotely with the right structure and representation. That said, Portugal offers genuine residency pathways if you or your team do want to be based here — and some banking and commercial relationships go more smoothly with occasional presence. We tell you where it actually matters.
Not at all. We work with early-stage companies validating a first EU market, and with established businesses that need an EU entity for regulatory, commercial or restructuring reasons. The entry logic — structure it right, prove the commercials, scale deliberately — applies whether you're testing product-market fit or extending a working business into Europe.
Legally, immediately — your Portuguese company can trade across the bloc from day one. Commercially, we treat it as a staging point: prove the model in Portugal, then use that data and structure to move into Spain and Southern Europe first, where the cultural and commercial proximity makes the step shorter, and outward from there.
Depends on your biggest unknown. Unsure there's demand? Start with Market Research. Worried about budget? Cost of EU Market Entry. Deciding where to base yourself? Regional Market Structure. Or just talk to us and we'll point you to the right one.
Tell us where you're based and where you want to sell. We'll map the entry — structure, market, pilot and scale — into one plan you can actually follow.