Golden Visa Portugal

Program Overview

The Portugal golden visa program offers a real estate investment route to gaining residency and potential citizenship in the country and hence European citizenship. It was launched by the Portuguese government in 2012 to encourage investment into Portugal and has since encouraged several billion Euros in real estate investment and over 2,000 family applications each year.

Investment

An investment of €500,000 is required in real estate in Portugal. The property, either residential or commercial, can be rented for income. Any number of properties can combine to make up the €500,000 minimum investment. Joint buyers can combine investments into one property. The property can be mortgaged for any investment exceeding the minimum.

A lower investment amount of €350,000 is possible for properties constructed more than 30 years ago and in need of refurbishment. La Vida offer a number of projects which qualify for the reduced Golden Visa legalisation and all renovation work is included within the cost, providing applicants with a straight forward ”hands-off” and fully managed investment.

There is also a Portugal Golden Visa Fund option currently €350,000 rising to €500,000 on 1 January 2022.

Process

The applicant needs to have made the investment prior to applying for the visa. Completing the property purchase takes 1 – 3 months. Completing the visa application then takes another few months. Once a property has been selected through ourselves at La Vida, the lawyers who we recommend can take care of the application process, conveyancing and legal work for the property. A typical application involves initial discussion with ourselves followed by a 3 or 4 day visit to view properties, meet with lawyers, open a bank account and visit immigration for biometrics. The application after this point can be processed within Portugal by the clients’ lawyers. Provided everything is done correctly at this stage the client will not need to visit again to collect the residence permits. If you are unable to travel it is also possible to select your real estate investment remotely and complete the process from your home country.

Read more on our process for Portugal golden visa applicants.

Requirements

In addition to the real estate investment applicants will need a clear criminal record and medical insurance to cover any stay in Portugal. Applicants will need to maintain their investment spending one week in the first year and two weeks every two years in Portugal in order to renew the residency visa.

Fees

Government fees per family member for application of the Portugal golden visa are €5,336.40. Renewal fees every two years apply at 50% of those rates. In addition there is a processing fee on application and renewal of € 533.90 for the main applicant plus € 83.30 per family member. In addition applicants need to plan for lawyers’ fees, typically €5,000 per family.

Buying real estate in Portugal attracts certain taxes, stamp duty and fees. We recommend investors budget for around 9%-10% in total, the main element being Property Transfer Tax (IMT).

Family

Qualifying family members include spouse and all children under 18. Children 18 and over can qualify if in full or part-time education and dependent. Parents aged 66 and over also qualify without the need to prove dependency. Parents between 55 – 65 years old can also be included providing they can prove dependency. In some family circumstances it is preferable to reverse the investment to ensure everyone qualifies for the Portuguese golden visa.

Tax Benefits

The golden visa programme in Portugal offers excellent tax benefits for those becoming resident. Investors will only be taxed on their worldwide income if they are resident in Portugal for over 183 days in any year. However, Portugal has a very favourable tax regime for anyone considering living in the country. No taxes are charged on income for the first 10 years. For those non-resident individuals tax is charged at 28% on income derived in the country. This can be reduced with expenses for rental income. Capital gains tax is 28% and there are allowances for costs and depreciation. There is no inheritance tax in Portugal. Annual property taxes (IMI) can vary between 0.3% and 0.8% of the property valuation, but there are a range of exemptions.

Living and Working

Applicants deciding to live full time in Portugal will require medical insurance. However families will have access to all public services including state medical care and schooling. State schooling follows the Portuguese  curriculum but there are many English international schools also. Applicants also have the right to work in Portugal and set up a business there.

Travel

Gaining visitor visas to travel to Europe and the Schengen zone has become problematic from many countries in the Middle East, Asia and Africa. Once granted the Portuguese residence permit allows freedom of travel throughout the EU Schengen zone. Applicants need to simply renew the golden visa to maintain this.

Citizenship and Passport

Applicants can apply for permanent residency and Portuguese citizenship after five years. For citizenship in Portugal there is a basic language test to pass and applicants by that stage will need to demonstrate links with the country. We can advise on this. Once applicants have either permanent residency or citizenship then they are free to dispose of their investment as further golden visa renewals are not necessary.

Benefits

Applicants gain the right to live in Portugal although there is no requirement to do this. There is a very favourable tax regime for those who do. With the residency card all family members will have freedom to travel to and throughout the EU Schengen visa zone with ease and without further visa applications. Eventual passport holders gain European residency, meaning the ability to live, work, study and travel freely anywhere within the European Union.

Summary

The most popular programme in Europe. The Portuguese Golden Visa offers attractive real estate investment conditions in a core European country which is part of the  Schengen zone and with a route open to citizenship after six years with no residency requirement.