Golden Visa. Portuguese Residence Permit Through Investment
August 13, 2020
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The Portugal “golden visa” program is a win-win. An applicant doesn’t give their money straight to the state, but rather invests it in the property that generate income.
€500,000 is a standard fee, but it can be reduced to €280,000 under certain circumstances. Investors and their families get visa-free access to the Schengen countries along with rights to live and work in Portugal and become EU citizens in 6 years.
Advantages of the program
€280,000 is a minimal investment amount
The investments are refundable and there are no dontations
The real estate is profitable, you can rent or sell your property
Fits for the whole family, including grown up children and parents
Visa-free Schengen and freedom of movement in the EU
Moving to Portugal is voluntary, no obligations
The right to work and preferential taxing for new residents
Portugal citizenship in 6 years, you can keep your original passport
About the Program
The Portuguese “golden visa” program was launched in 2012 and have been getting more and more popular ever since. By 2020 more than 14,500 foreigners (investors and their kin) have obtained residence permit. More than 90% of the program participants choose to buy property, even though there is a whole bunch of other options.
The Portugal immigration program gives the investors ultimate freedom of choice: it is permitted to invest to any amount of units of any purpose (whether it is housing or commercial real estate), in any part of the country. All the investments are returnable and profitable since the property is allowed to be rented out. The “golden visa” opens visa-free access to Schengen countries and lets you to live in Portugal the whole year (there is no obligation, though).
The first “golden visa” is issued for a year and then should be renewed for 2 years twice. During all this time the real estate must stay in the participant’s possession. After 5 years investors can apply for a residence permit and for citizenship after one more year. To sum up, it takes 6 years to get the passport. For this purpose you have to pass a language exam, but you won’t need to live in Portugal permanently (35 days during the 5 years is enough). Portugal recognizes dual citizenship so you won’t have to renounce your original one.
Investment Options
€ 500 000+
Investments into property
€ 350 000+
Investment in the fixer-upper
For this amount you can choose any property (one or many) in any region of the country. The whole amount must be paid from a personal account of the applicant without appealing to Portugal’s mortgage options.
If the property located in regions with low population density, a 20% reduction coefficient is applied. Therefore the minimum investment is €400 000.
For this amount you can choose any units/objects (one or many) in any region of the country. The whole amount must be paid from a personal account of the applicant without appealing to Portugal’s mortgage options.
If the property located in regions with low population density, a 20% reduction coefficient is applied. Therefore the minimum investment is €280 000.
Please note!
Early in 2020 the Portuguese parliament wanted to exclude Lisbon and Porto from the list of the regions, purchase in which allows you to get a residence permit. The changes in the “golden visa” program were to enter into force in 2021. Nevertheless, the global coronoavirus crisis has made the government to waive this initiative. The authorities decided not to limit investors in order to raise funding. Soб the most liquid real estate is still available.
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Family members of the main investor can also claim residence permit. The spouse can be legal or common-law. Children of the applicant must be younger than 18. If they are not married and study full-time, they must be under 26 years of age. Parents of the investor and investor's spouse ,ust be older than 66 years, or older than 55, if they are financially dependant. Sibling must be younger that 18 years of age.
Requirements for Investors
There plentry of requirements in terms of documents and finances, but the main ones are:
To be a third country (i.e. countries outside the EU) national of age
To invest to Portugal economy
To have no criminal record in Portugal
To have no denial of visa or entry to the EU
To get a medical insurance covering the time of presence in the country
To spend at least 7 days in the country in the first year and 14 days during the following two-year periods
The documents issued abroad must be translated into Portugese and notarized.
To apply you need:
A passport or any other ID
An approval of legal entry to Portugal (a Schengen visa, for example)
Medical insurance issued within three last months
A certificate of criminal record from the country of origin issued within three last months
A taxpayer identification number
Applicants have to show their willingness to maintain their investments for at least 5 years. Also, it is neccessary to provide some proofs of the investments already made.
A sale contract on the property
A statement from a Portuguese bank about the investments made
An encumbrance free certificate
An extract from the company register (if the purchase is made for a legal entity)
For the family members to get residence permits the following is needed:
A marriage certificate,
Children’s birth certificates
A certificate of no criminal record
To prolong the “golden visa” you might need an evidence of having spent sufficient time in the country (7 days in the first year and 14 days during the following 2-year periods).
The fees are around 2 times smaller, when you prolong the residence permit.
Lawyers’ fees will depend on the investor’s household and the peculiar company’s prices. But the ballpark is €5-10 thousand.
Also, getting a taxpayer identification number and a 1-year medical insurance will cost a couple of hundred euros.
Total cost will make approximately 9-10% of the property’s price. This includes taxes, a stamp duty and other fees. The main expenditure item is the property transfer tax (IMT).
Algarve, Portugal
Rights and Obligations
An applicant has the right to:
Request residence permits for their whole family at once
Travel across the Schengen area visa-free
Legally work and run a business in Portugal
Use state medical care
Have their children taught in both public and private Portugal schools
Rent their property as well as generate other income
Become a tax (fiscal) resident and get (synonyms) a “Non-Habitual Resident” preferential fiscal treatment. According to it, the income generated abroad will be untaxed for 10 years.
Apply for a permanent residence status and Portugal citizenship with all the requirements met.
An applicant is obligated to:
Maintain investments at least for 5 years and prove it with documents
Stay inside the country for the required amount of time
Avoid violating the laws of Portugal and the Schengen area
The whole process of getting residence permit takes up to a year and half.
