Gerry McCann, father of Madeleine, has flown back to Portugal for the first time since returning to the UK after the disappearance of his daughter.
He will meet his Portuguese lawyers to discuss the search, family spokesman Clarence Mitchell said.
Madeleine, of Rothley, Leicestershire, was nearly four when she vanished from a holiday flat in Praia da Luz, in the Algarve, on 3 May 2007.
Mr McCann said the visit would be "the first of several" in the coming months.
He flew into Faro Airport in the Algarve in the morning and was met by British officials. He then moved on to Lisbon for talks with his legal team and is expected to return home on Wednesday.
Suspects
Mr McCann and his wife Kate insist they will continue to believe Madeleine is still alive until presented with firm evidence to the contrary.
Prosecutors in Portugal initially placed "arguido" - or formal suspect - status on the couple but this was lifted in July when the case was shelved as detectives stopped actively searching for the youngster.
"We very, very much want to focus on what can still be done for the search"In an interview with news agency Lusa, Mr McCann said he wanted to work "as much as possible" with police and other officials in Portugal.
Any history of animosity due to his former arguido status was "just not really relevant at the moment," he said.
"We want to make it absolutely clear what's gone on in the past is, by and large, done and we very, very much want to focus on what can still be done for the search.
"That's what our priority is and it always has been really."
Mr and Mrs McCann have had thousands of pages from Portuguese police files translated into English.
They continue to painstakingly go through them and it is understood they are being assisted by a small team of retired senior British police officers.
^ Back to top | BBC Sport Home | BBC Homepage | Contact us | Help | ©
~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~26~RS~)