Welcome to Madeira Island, Portugal

Imagine arriving at your dream home in a charming Portuguese freguesia, ready to settle in with your family, only to discover you can't use the top floor because someone else legally has the right to live there. Surprisingly, this isn't just a hypothetical scenario; it recently occurred with a property shown to a prospective buyer. Luckily, the buyer thought to inquire about the top floor, prompting the agent to casually mention this critical detail. This arrangement, known as usufruct (usufructo), is a legitimate and fairly common property practice in Portugal. Simply put, usufruct gives someone the right to use and benefit from a property, or a part of the property, without actually owning it. To many international buyers, this concept can initially sound unusual or even concerning, but in Portugal, it's quite standard.

Think of usufruct as something akin to lending someone your car indefinitely. They can drive it, maintain it, and enjoy all its benefits, yet technically, you remain the owner. Usufruct rights can be established for a lifetime or a defined period. Often, these arrangements arise within families to manage inheritance smoothly. For instance, elderly parents might grant themselves usufruct rights while transferring ownership of their home to their children, ensuring lifelong security and comfort.

In many familiar property markets, buyers typically rely on clear documentation and explicit disclosures about property encumbrances, such as usage rights or easements. Usually, title insurance protects against any undisclosed issues. However, in Portugal, real estate transactions commonly utilize a Promissory Contract (Contrato Promessa Compra e Venda or CPCV). These contracts often favor sellers, tend to be less detailed, and frequently omit explicit disclosures about existing usufruct or similar arrangements. Portuguese real estate agents typically represent sellers exclusively, even if they suggest otherwise, and may not always share complete details about the property's legal status. Remember, any verbal assurances must be explicitly documented in the contract to be legally valid.

Real-world examples highlight the importance of understanding usufruct thoroughly. One practical instance involved a member of our own team trying to buy a family property in Madeira. Initially, all heirs involved in the inheritance agreed readily, and the process appeared straightforward. However, complications arose upon discovering lifelong usufruct rights held by an elderly family friend. After this usufruct holder moved into assisted living, negotiations halted unexpectedly. Another individual, who held power-of-attorney, demanded an additional 30% premium over the previously agreed price to relinquish the usufruct rights. Unfortunately, this unexpected condition ended the potential sale.

To avoid surprises like these when purchasing property in Portugal, hiring an experienced local real estate attorney is essential. They will thoroughly review contracts and uncover hidden complications. Clearly communicate your preferences to your agent, explicitly requesting to avoid properties burdened by usufruct rights or complicated inheritance scenarios. Your attorney will explain all obligations, property rights, and contractual details clearly and simply, ensuring you fully understand everything before finalizing your purchase. Being aware of Portugal's distinctive real estate practices, different contract types, and the absence of title insurance will empower you to make confident and informed decisions, ensuring your Portuguese dream home truly becomes your reality.

Depending on where in the world you want to live, narrowing down a European country for relocation typically needs to start with finding the best visa and residency programs. Some countries make it more difficult if you live outside the EU or even Europe. Then, you need to do as much due diligence as you can, before you dig into the lifestyle options. As we did our research, the most accessible programs that also welcome NON-EU citizens are Portugal (including Madeira), Italy, Spain, Malta and Greece.

We've created this checklist that can be used for any country. In this case we're doing the due diligence for our top Four residency programs and have noted the results in the checklist below.

Visa and Residency

There are many variations and options that we have not listed. Below is a quick summary noting the most popular paths to residency for non-EU citizens.

Safety and Security

The GPI releases a composite index measuring the peacefulness of countries made up of 23 indicators each weighted on a scale of 1-5. The lower the score the more peaceful the country. The prisoner count is just a quick look at the differences in imprisonment.

Schools and Education

Madeira's education options will be looked at more in-depth.

Presented is data published by the OECD in the form of the PISA index scores (higher is better). Evidence is shows that higher PISA scores, the stronger the educational systems. But this is highly dependent on the higher GPA countries and tourism rates.

Cost of Living (One Person / Month)

Cost of living is a tough one to pin down. If you look outside the city hubs, you'll find rents much lower and more availability (but possibly fewer conveniences or English speakers). The following are approximations based on one person in or near a metro area.

Insurance & Healthcare

Climate

Taxes

Some countries offer expats and high earners tax breaks but the rules are too complex for a quick overview. Use the figures below as an estimation.

Is it hard to become a Madeiran resident? If you pre-plan and follow all details, it's not hard. Be prepared, follow these steps and do your fact checking. This is a brief overview of three important stages for 2025. Beware of old guides and tips.

Stage 1: The Due Diligence Steps

1. Review the visa types (in this article we're using the popular D7).

2. Check the personal requirements and the expectations for that visa type.

3. Identify your regional Portuguese consulate (or VFS).

4. Immediately create your visa appointment, don't leave it until the end.

5. Download the official application and official checklist.

Stage 2: The Application and Documentation Stage

Consult YOUR downloaded official checklist and keep all documents in the same order of that list (no staples). Below are of some of the docs you may need during Stage 3 for 2025.

1. Continue to pester, email and call your console to narrow down a date for your visa meeting. From that date you can calculate the timings of bank statements, insurance, and items that have deadlines. It's the most important thing on this list.

2. Make sure your passport is good for at least another year. Get a notarized copy.

3. Find a local Madeiran friend or a US-friendly Portuguese bank that is willing to help you. Banks can get it all done - NIFs, health insurance and much more.

4. Get your NIF (similar to a Social Security Card)

5. Fund your Madeiran bank (you'll need that NIF) with one year's total minimum wage based on Madeira's wages.

6. Start looking for a year's rental or a property to buy to provide official Proof of accommodation in Portugal. If you have local family, you can fill out a notarized (in Portugal, by a lawyer) Letter of Invitation. We will list other options and tips for this in our complete guide.

7. Get Schengen travel insurance with medical benefits and COVID coverage when you have your dates assigned to you

8. Get an FBI criminal record certificate, apostilled (similar to notarized. It's a pretty simple task involving getting yourself fingerprinted and going online to the FBI's dedicated page. Note: they only last a short time, check the details.

9. Request a Portuguese criminal record check by the Foreigners and Borders Service (AIMA)

10. Two passport photos of you (EU size)

11. Personal statement declaring the reasons why you are seeking residency in Portugal

12. Proof of income, including passive rental or remote income (printed within xxx weeks before your meeting)

13. Fill out your downloaded or digital Application for a National Visa

14. Organize it all according the the checklist order, double check it all, make digital copies and hard copies for your records.

15. Then go to your console meeting and prepare to surrender your passport for up to a month or two.

16. If you the receive your passport in the mail, and it has the approved visa stamped in it, look at it closely. It has the date of your SEF appointment. Make sure it's not scheduled for after your visa expires (it happens, DM for receipts!)

17. Immediately try to reschedule the SEF appointment with your console's help, if needed. You'll be glad you did.

Stage 3: Congrats on Your Approval! Time for Another Interview.

In Stage 3 you'll get to know the Portuguese way of doing things, including setting your SEF approval! The SEF is extremely hard to reach by phone or even online. This is where your bank rep or local friend will really help out. The best advice is to come OVER prepared.

1. Don't miss your appointment! And triple-check your documents and throw in a few extras that we will tell you about.

2. Bring a local, if possible, or your banker. They can make anything happen. It is seriously the best advice we can give.

3. When you enter, identify your balcão (desk) and take a ticket number for ONLY that specific desk.

4. If you're lucky that day, and your documents aren't a mess, you'll be approved and soon receive your official two-year residency card and can move immediately to your dream home in Madeira!

Madeira’s culinary scene has discovered ponchas and espetadas and their popularity have made them two of the most familiar icons in Madeira Island. They are featured in every laminated tourist menu but don’t order either of them, it will just end in disappointment since you need to find specialists to enjoy authentic poncha and espetada experiences.

At Least It’s Not Pigeon and Grog

If your espetada arrives without a skewer, leave at once! Remember that espetada literally means “skewer.” Without being grilled over an open flame with fragrant bay laurel twigs, really you’re just getting broiled meat on a metal plate, maybe with rice and salad.

Or if you order a random poncha, beware, it may be a sickly sweet, pre-mixed concoction. And if there’s no wooden muddler in sight, you’re drinking a tourist trap version.

Consider yourself lucky, even with a mediocre poncha or espetada! When the settlers landed in Madeira, they brought the espetada method of open-fire cooking, a technique dating back to Medieval Europe and North Africa. But early espetada was made with skewered goat, rabbit, and lots of pigeons. And the poncha was not yet a thing, however they had many recipes to prevent scurvy, like preserving lemons in alcohol or making grog for sailors.

1400-1500s: Prince Henry’s Discovery Kicks it All Off

You could say it all started with Prince Henry the Navigator and his need for eyeglasses..

When Prince Henry landed on the fishing village (and municipality) of Câmara de Lobos shore in an expedition shortly after Madeira’s discovery in 1419 he was delighted that the bay was teeming with fish. He also mistook the large population of lounging sea lions as wolves (lobos). Finding the presence of wolves on an ocean shore, he named the settlement, Câmara de Lobos (Den of Wolves).

Despite the name, its natural harbor and fertile land became a very important economic area, including helping with the sugarcane supply, another huge economic contribution. All sailors carried ad-hoc medicinal remedies for scurvy. Typically, lemons were preserved in alcohol, or other global recipes. But thanks to the distillation of aguardente, immediately after the sugar cane first emerged in the 1400, the Portuguese began using aguardente with lemon and honey, consumed for its medicinal benefits, but also for its strong kick that landed hard enough to cause a sailor to forget his fishing nets at port.

1600s-1800s: Espada Gains Beef and Popularity in Festivals

While poncha was cementing its place in Madeira’s drinking culture, espetada was preserving its own traditions. Beef may have been out of reach for most Madeirans, but the Catholic Church provided a solution. During arraiais (the numerous festivals celebrating saints throughout the year) gave even the poorest Catholic citizens access to free, open-fired, fantastic grilled beef as part of the celebration.

It was during one of these festivals that a creative, soul, maybe a vineyard worker, skewered their espetada using a bay laurel branch instead of a regular stick. The result? A rich, smoky aroma infused into the meat, a hallmark of espetada still enjoyed today.These arraiais remain an essential part of Madeiran culture. In the summer months. The festivals are enormous and the best espetada and poncha i Câmara de Lobos can still be found during these vibrant festivals.

1600-1800s: The Poncha is Named and Creates the Tavern Culture

As the sugarcane industry in the 1600s turned Madeira into one of the world's largest sugar exporters, it also led to the production of aguardente, a sugarcane-distilled rum with a fiery kick, the poncha ingredient that can’t be substituted.

Then around the 1700 the poncha gained the indispensable muddling sidekick and was given its official name. The caralhinho, that custom wooden muddler, was invented to help blend the sticky honey, lemon peels, and aguardente, an essential tool, not just a tradition, as it extracts oils and flavors from the lemon peels. This new version was a hit with the workers and launched the taberna (tavern) culture, similar to the British pub culture that continues to this day.

By the 19th century, Câmara de Lobos had developed a reputation among wealthy British travelers, with Winston Churchill playing a big part in helping gain desirability throughout the island! Even the wealthy Brits that lived in Madeira because of the wine culture were often carried in hammocks to visit the area while documenting the exciting excursions in their journals.

1900s: Espetada Enjoys New “Restaurant-Worthy” Status

By the mid-20th century, Câmara de Lobos had grown beyond its fishing village roots and was becoming Madeira’s culinary capital. In 1950, Francisco da Silva Freitas had a vision: turn espetada into a restaurant dish. He opened the first espetada-only restaurant in Estreito de Câmara de Lobos, and it was an instant success.

This shift marked the moment when espetada became a staple of everyday dining, not just festival food, but to a commercially viable meal. It put all of Câmara de Lobos on the map and propelled espetada’s popularity in Madeira Island and beyond.

Then, by the 1990s, Portugal joined the European Union and the McDonald’s era began. This lowered the price of beef and raised the quality, making it accessible for any family. Refrigeration techniques were now highly developed and espetada became mostly associated with tender, filet of beef.

The Authentic Ponchas and Espetadas Are Always the Best

Locals know that traditional methods and communal gatherings in Câmara de Lobos are what make up a fantastic meal and beverage feast. Hearty laughter and the races to pluck the mouthwatering tender beef off each skewer, is part of the recipe. You just can’t beat it, especially if you include sipping that freshly muddled poncha and toasting (or roasting) everyone at the table. Then arguing for the last piece of Bolo do Caco (buttery island garlic bread) that sits under the juicy skewered beef, it’s really what the entire experience has been like since the beginning.

Espetada has always been served straight from a raging fire, skewered chunks of marinated tenderloin sizzling with garlic, bay, and smoky goodness. The butter at the top melts, dripping onto bolo do caco, and as soon as a skewer arrives, it’s time to order the next one.

Poncha should hit you with a citrus kick. It must be muddled and stirred vigorously with the caralhinho to properly blend the sticky honey and release oils and flavor from the lemon peel, blending it all with aguardente, Madeira’s sugarcane spirits, that can’t be missed.

Here’s How to Enjoy Poncha and Espetada, No Compromises.

Step 1: First, gather a lively group of friends.

✔ Poncha and espetada are never enjoyed alone.

✔ If your group isn’t laughing yet, just wait—that’s the poncha’s job.

Step 2: Head to Câmara de Lobos.

✔ Not Funchal. Not your hotel bar. Câmara. De. Lobos.

Step 3: Pick a taberna that specializes in authentic methods for each.

✔ Traditional ponchas are made with honey and lemon peel.

✔ If the menu includes pizza, pasta, or burgers, leave immediately.

Step 4: Start with poncha.

✔ It should be freshly stirred with a caralhinho.

✔ If it comes from a pre-mixed jug, walk away.

✔ The first sip should be strong, honey-sweet, and shockingly citrusy.

Step 5: Here comes the espetada!

✔ If it’s not hanging from a metal hook, demand answers.

✔ The scent of garlic, red wine, bay laurel, and smokeshould hit you before the skewer does.

✔ Slide a piece of beef onto buttery, garlicky bolo do caco.

Step 6: Take a bite, take a sip, and let the laughter flow.

Congratulations! Now you’ve had the real taberna experience.

Madeira’s food isn’t just about individual dishes—it’s a reflection of the island’s unique blend of cultures, history, and flavors - always with a nod to its history, agriculture and geography. From the hearty pratos típicos to the fresh catches of the day, every meal tells a story.

Bolo do Caco.  Let’s get one thing straight: 'bolo do caco' is NOT 'poop bread,' as that hilariously bad translation might have you believe. This Madeiran staple is a soft, garlicky flatbread with a secret ingredient — sweet yam—that makes it irresistibly fluffy. It’s a bread so good it deserves a standing ovation, especially when it’s grilled to perfection and slathered with garlic butter. But wait, there’s more — because no bolo do caco experience is complete until it’s paired with espetada.

Espetada. Espetada is not just a dish; it’s a culinary experience. Imagine tender chunks of beef, marinated and skewered, then grilled over blistering hot coals and hung on special hooks right at the table. Strategically placed below the skewers is the bolo do caco, soaking in that meaty, garlicky goodness, which takes  the dish from amazing to iconic. The meal itself is an interactive feast that’s best enjoyed in the lively company of family and friends. Think boisterous laughter, loud debates, clinking glasses, and at least one small kid weaving between tables like a rogue waiter-in-training, but being looked after by everyone. Aim for a restaurant in Câmara de Lobos and you may find one of those hidden gems where espetada reaches legendary status.

Espada. But don’t confuse espetada with espada, the scabbard fish. While espetada hangs out on skewers, espada swims deep in the Atlantic, looking like it’s auditioning for a horror movie. Don’t let its ghoulish appearance fool you; this fish is a Madeiran treasure. Its mild, tender flesh is perfect for grilling or frying. Feeling adventurous? Try it with banana on top, a dish that screams “tropical Madeira” and whispers “Portuguese tradition.”

Wine. And don’t even get me started on the wine. Skip the fancy bottles and go for the house wine, whether it’s red, white, or even green. It’s served in decanters and is often better than the expensive stuff.

So, what have we learned? Madeira’s food is as warm and welcoming as its people. From bolo do caco to espada, we’ve barely scratched the surface of the island’s tasty culinary landscape. We will cover the rest of the countless other regional dishes, drinks, and flavors waiting to be celebrated, each with its own story to tell. 

Have a favorite Madeiran dish or a question about the island's flavors? Share your stories or ask us anything when you follow us on Instagram, Facebook and the other social media platforms — we'd love to hear from you!