Top 10 Best Places to Retire in The World for Expats in 2025

Considering EU countries with the best healthcare systems, Portugal’s healthcare system stands out with Serviço Nacional de Saúde (SNS). It provides free medical coverage to some extent and at reasonable costs. 

To benefit from Portugal’s system, you need to receive your residency status. So, through which visas can you do that? Initially, you can prefer investing in Portugal Golden Visa funds, starting from €500,000. Through it, you can obtain 5 years of residency, and if you meet the minimum stay requirements, you can get citizenship within 5-10 years.* Apart from this, you can go for D7 if you have a passive income (mostly preferred by retirees) and D8 if you work as a digital nomad or freelancer.

After your registration with the Serviço Nacional de Saúde (SNS), your doctor will be appointed to you directly. Mainly, it will be one of the first contacts that you will get in touch with in case you need a basic treatment. In urban areas, you can mostly encounter English-speaking professionals and well-equipped medical services. However, the likelihood will get lower as you move to rural areas. 

At this point, you can prefer private healthcare providers to get quick processing times. For this, you may also consider having private insurance, costing €30 to €150 per month. 

*Currently, it is five years, but it may be subject to change.