As a residency by investment program, Golden Visa Portugal has provided Portuguese residency for over 10,300 applicants since 2012.
It has attracted foreign investors from around the world because of the advantages it provides. For instance, it opens the way for Portuguese citizenship after five years. In addition, it doesn’t require a long stay period to keep your residence permit.
Find more details about the program below.
What is Portugal Golden Visa?
It’s a program that provides Portuguese residency for foreign applicants and investors. Known as ARI, Portugal Golden Visa aims to get foreign direct investment from non-EU and non-EEA nationals.
The program provides a fast way to get EU residency compared to traditional methods.
There are several investment methods you can pick from while applying for a Portuguese Golden Visa. Two of the most popular among them are real estate investment and fund investment. You can find more details about these options in the following sections of this article.
Advantages of Having a Portuguese Golden Visa
You have a bunch of benefits once you obtain your Golden Visa.
- Bring your family with you: Main applicant’s spouse, dependent children, and parents can be included in the program. They follow the same process as the main applicant and can benefit from all the rights that the main applicant does. This also means they can apply for citizenship after five years
- Work and live in Portugal: Portugal Golden Visa Program allows you the right to work and live in Portugal when you obtain a residence permit. You can stay in Portugal for only seven days each year, and keep your Golden Visa.
- Portuguese citizenship: Unlike other naturalization methods worldwide, Portugal’s program demands too little. It requires you to stay in the country for only around seven days each year. When five years of such residency is over, you can apply for citizenship. Citizenship gives you the right to live, work, and study in any EU or EEA country. In addition, more than 180 countries will be available to travel visa-free
- Visa-free travel in Schengen countries: Even if you don’t get citizenship, you can travel to Schengen countries without any visa thanks to Portugal Golden Visa.
- Tax benefits: Your income gained from outside Portugal is not subject to taxation in Portugal. In addition, the Non-Habitual Residency (NHR) program makes things even easier: you’ll be exempt from many of your income taxes for 10 years. For this, you need to become a tax resident in Portugal.
Applying For Golden Visa Portugal: Requirements
Eligibility for Golden Visa Portugal entails some requirements as noted below:
- Being a non-EU, EEA, or Swiss citizen
- For main applicants, being over the age of 18
- Having a clean criminal report, and
- Making a qualifying investment in Portugal.
Also, your funds must come from outside of Portugal, to be eligible.
Let’s now check the investment routes.
Investment Options
Real estate investment has been the most popular option under Portugal residency by investment. This investment route offers four different options in itself. The most basic one is to buy a property that is worth at least €500,000 in Portugal. You can buy such real estate anywhere in Portugal except for Lisbon, Porto, and along the coast. If you buy a commercial property, then you can buy it in these areas as well. If the property is in a low-density area, your minimum investment requirement drops to €400,000.
You can also choose to buy property worth at least €350,000 if it’s in an urban rehabilitation area, or older than 30 years. Under this option, you’ll renovate the property as well. The rehabilitation costs are included in the total price of €350,000. Finally, the last option is to buy a property worth at a minimum amount of €280,000. You can choose this option if the property is in a low-density area besides being over 30 years/in an urban rehabilitation area.
There’s also the investment fund option that mainly attracts entrepreneurs. This option requires a minimum of €500,000 investment in a qualifying Portuguese investment fund.
Other investment options under Golden Visa Portugal include company creation, donation, and capital transfer. However, real estate and investment funds have been the most popular until now.
Application Process for Portugal Residency by Investment
It’s a straightforward process to apply for the program. Basically, you collect the necessary documents, make your investment, and attend a biometrics appointment. Then, you’ll wait for the approval. You can then renew your residence permit every two years until five years are over.