BRIDGES expert
Investment Programs Expert, BRIDGES
I match the programme to the client’s life, not the other way round: those living on passive income, working remotely or already holding a second passport and wanting to add Europe. Thirteen years in residence and citizenship programmes, at BRIDGES since 2021.
Path
Porto, Saint Petersburg, Lisbon. First the Golden Visa and visas for retirees in Portugal, then programmes for remote workers, now choosing programmes for BRIDGES clients.
Born in Porto into a family of teachers. She learned Russian herself, starting with Tolstoy in translation and continuing in the original.
Faculty of international relations and an exchange year in Saint Petersburg. There she realised how many people want a second home in Europe and how little they know about where to start.
Six years at an immigration firm: the Portuguese Golden Visa, visas for retirees and people with passive income. She learned to compare programmes by the client’s life, not by the entry price.
Studied programmes for remote workers and spent a year working remotely from Madeira herself. She knows how digital nomads live and where their status breaks.
Joined BRIDGES to choose programmes for clients whose lives do not fit the standard route: remote work, retirement, a second passport already in hand.
Investment migration expert at BRIDGES. She compares Portugal, Italy, Greece, the UAE and the Caribbean for the client’s goal and guides them to a decision.
Approach to cases
Six rules Sofia applies when choosing a programme.
Where the client wants to live, on what, with whom and how many days a year. The programme follows those answers, not the lowest threshold.
A remote worker’s visa rests on an employer and income. If the client wants to stay long term, we look for firmer grounds.
Retiring in Dubai does not require a two-million-dirham apartment. We check every route first, then do the numbers.
A client with a Caribbean passport applies to Europe directly. We look at what the client already has before building anything new.
If the goal is an EU passport, we count deadlines, days of residence and language from the start, so no years are lost.
Two or three programmes side by side: timelines, amounts, requirements, tax. The client chooses with clear pros and cons.
Talks and media
Sofia speaks at conferences on remote work and investment migration in Lisbon. You can book a meeting in advance.
Upcoming conferences
Sofia online
Beyond work
At BRIDGES I handle the first and most important choice: which programme suits a person. I love conversations where a client comes for one country and leaves with another, because together we understood how they really want to live.
I am from Porto and live in Lisbon with my husband and son. I spent a year on Madeira working remotely, so I know the nomad’s life not from articles. I learned Russian out of love for books, and now I speak it with clients every day.
In the mornings I surf in Cascais when the ocean allows. I read Russian classics in the original, bake pastéis de nata from my mother’s recipe and spend a week in the Algarve with the family every summer.
Situations
These are the questions clients most often bring to Sofia.
Case stories
Italy · residence
The client came to Italy on a digital nomad visa and realised he wanted to stay for good. But a nomad visa rests on a remote contract and income: change jobs and the status is in question.
We moved him to Italian investor residence on the “approval first, investment second” model: the money went only after the permit. Now his status depends on neither an employer nor a contract.
Outcome: Italian investor residence instead of a nomad visa
UAE · retirement visa
The client is 58, has finished his career and wanted to live by the sea. Everyone advised buying a two-million-dirham apartment for the Golden Visa.
I showed another route: the UAE retirement visa for people over 55. A three-year deposit qualified, we gathered his work history, insurance and documents, and he sponsors the visa himself.
Outcome: A 5-year UAE retirement visa, a move to Dubai
Greece · residence
Nikolai’s family obtained Antigua and Barbuda passports with us a few years ago. Now they wanted a home in Europe and came back to us: we know their story and their documents.
With a Caribbean passport the family applies for the Greek Golden Visa directly. We chose a property, opened accounts and filed the documents for the couple and two children in one pack.
Outcome: Greek residence added to the Antigua and Barbuda passport
Reviews
Client reviews from matters Sofia ran: who the client is, where they are from, which programme - and a link to the full case.
RuslanInvestorSofia put together a file without a single error, and the digital application brought the Nulla Osta in about 30 days. Faster than I hoped.
Read the case
BorisBRIDGES clientI did not intend to move, but I wanted an EU passport. Sofia chose the Portuguese Golden Visa through a fund with a minimal stay. I am on my way to a passport without changing my life.
Read the case
Andreya married couple from Russia, 49 and 46, living on passagesWe live on a yacht, and visas were a constant headache. Sofia chose a Vanuatu passport, and we sailed through the season without a single visa problem.
Read the caseMaterials
BRIDGES knowledge base materials signed by Sofia: programme comparisons, visas for passive income and remote workers, the road to EU citizenship.
BRIDGES sections
Team
A matter is never run by one person: the legal position, the filing, the documents and the work on the ground each have a named owner.
Irena SokolovskaHead of European PracticeThe European office and clients in Europe
Darya MelnikSenior Investment Migration AdvisorSupporting the family from decision to status
Dmitry NagyInternational Tax ConsultantTax after the move
Martina VeberHead of Case ProcessingFiling applications and correspondence with authoritiesINITIAL ASSESSMENT
We will design a solution for your case, choose the country and the right status, and take the whole process through to the result.
