Can I have 2 EU residency permits at once?

Question

I am thinking to apply for the Portuguese Golden Visa program where I will have to live only 14 days a year in Portugal to maintain my residency, and I am thinking to work and live in Spain, as my main language is Spanish and I prefer to live in Spain rather than Portugal.

So is that allowed to hold the Portuguese investor visa, then apply later on for a residency in Spain? (trabajar por cuenta propia) so I will be working on my own but I need a residency.

So is that allowed? Or I can't have two EU Schengen countries residencies?

Answer 1

Yes, there is no rule against having several residence permit. The Schengen regulations are about visits and short stays and have very little to say on stays longer than 90 days and residence. EU law does have some rules about that but each member state remains largely free to manage immigration as they see fit.

Usually what you envision would be difficult to pull off for a longer period of time because most residence permits come with presence requirements and can lapse if you are out of the country. Typically, other requirements (holding a job, making progress in your studies, living together with your sponsor) also effectively require being in the country most of the time.

However if you believe that you could maintain a residence permit in Portugal without living there and that you would qualify for a residence permit is Spain, there is no EU rule against having both at the same time.