According to the Portuguese Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF), the Portugal Golden Visa program has generated over €7.1 billion in investment for Portugal since it was launched in 2012. Of this amount, over €6.3 billion was invested in real estate.
Portugal’s Golden Visa programme is essentially a government scheme which offers citizens of non-European Union countries the opportunity to obtain residency – and potentially, citizenship – in Portugal once they have invested in Portuguese property. It is dealt with by the Portuguese Immigration and Borders Service, or the Servico de Estrangeiros e Fronteiras (SEF) and has helped Portugal generate foreign investment and employment in the country.
The benefits of the Portugal Golden Visa program include:
To be eligible for the Portugal Golden Visa program, applicants must be non-EU citizens and must make one of the following investments:
The cost of the Portugal Golden Visa program depends on the type of investment that is made. For example, the minimum investment for real estate is €500,000, and the minimum investment for a capital transfer is €1 million.
To apply for the Portugal Golden Visa program, applicants must submit a completed application form, along with supporting documentation such as a passport, proof of address, and proof of investment. Applications can be submitted online or through a Portuguese embassy or consulate.
The processing time for a Portugal Golden Visa application is typically 2-3 months. However, it is important to note that the processing time can vary depending on the complexity of the application and the workload of the Portuguese Immigration and Borders Service (SEF).
To maintain a Portugal Golden Visa, holders must spend at least seven days in Portugal per year. Additionally, holders must renew their visa every two years. To renew their visa, holders must submit proof that they have met the residency requirement and that they have paid the applicable fees.
Yes, holders of a Portugal Golden Visa can apply for Portuguese citizenship after five years. To apply for citizenship, holders must meet the following requirements:
The tax implications of the Portugal Golden Visa program vary depending on the applicant's residency status and other factors.
Resident taxpayers in Portugal are subject to Portuguese income tax on their worldwide income. However, there are a number of tax benefits available to resident taxpayers, such as the Non-Habitual Resident (NHR) regime. The NHR regime allows new residents of Portugal to benefit from a reduced tax rate on certain types of income, such as foreign-sourced pension income and foreign-sourced investment income.
Non-resident taxpayers in Portugal are only subject to Portuguese income tax on their Portuguese-sourced income.
It is important to seek professional advice from a qualified tax advisor to understand the specific tax implications of the Portugal Golden Visa program.
Whether or not the Portugal Golden Visa program is a good investment depends on the individual applicant's circumstances and goals.
The program offers a number of benefits, such as the right to live, work, and study in Portugal, free movement within the Schengen Area, and the possibility of obtaining Portuguese citizenship after five years. However, the program also has some costs, such as the investment requirement and the application fees.
It is important to weigh the benefits and costs of the program carefully before making a decision.
If you are interested in the Portuguese Golden Visa programme, IP Global is happy to help investors through the process. Simply contact us here.
Portugal’s Golden Visa programme has become hugely popular among non-EU citizens looking to invest in Portuguese property.
Since the Portuguese government launched the scheme in 2012, it has generated an impressive EUR5.2 billion as of June 2020 in foreign investment and is a strong incentive for property investors worldwide.
But how exactly does the programme work and what makes it so popular among would-be investors? Check out our guide answering the top 10 questions.
Portugal’s Golden Visa programme is essentially a government scheme which offers citizens of non-European Union countries the opportunity to obtain residency – and potentially, citizenship – in Portugal once they have invested in Portuguese property. It is dealt with by the Portuguese Immigration and Borders Service, or the Servico de Estrangeiros e Fronteiras (SEF) and has helped Portugal generate foreign investment and employment in the country.
An individual must be a citizen of a third-party country to apply for a golden visa, which means Portuguese and EU nationals are not eligible to apply.
Since launching in 2012, the scheme has mainly attracted high-net worth individuals, highly-skilled professionals and retirees.
To qualify for a golden visa, one of the following three key criteria must be met:
In some cases, people who are investing in small and medium businesses, or in the arts and culture or scientific research may qualify too but the vast majority (90%) receive the visa through real estate investment.
In some cases, property investments valued at €350,000 or above may qualify, but the SEF will only approve these if the property being purchasing is more than thirty years old, is located within specific regeneration areas and requires extensive renovation work. If an investor elects to pursue this route, it is important to seek legal advice first.
The scheme requires that the investor maintains their investment for five years and complies with the minimum required periods of stay during this time. Most applicants need to provide proof of medical insurance to stay in the country, and the government may carry out checks to ensure applicants have a clean criminal record.
Many investors like Portugal’s Golden Visa programme because it is a fast-track way to acquire residency and allows investors to gain residency permits not only for themselves but also their spouse and any dependent children they may have. It also allows for travel throughout the EU Schengen zone without any additional visas - and once residency or citizenship has been gained investors and their dependents can live, work and study freely throughout the zone.
Once a golden visa is issued, the holder is also entitled to tax exemptions from other overseas income, if the investors lives in the country for less than 183 days per Portuguese tax year. Please speak to a tax advisor for more information.
The visa is valid for one year and it must then be renewed every two years after that. After five years, most people can apply for permanent residency and after six years, it is generally possible to apply for full citizenship by investment.
To keep a golden visa valid, the holder must spend at least seven days in the country during their first year as part of the programme, and after this, two weeks in the country every two years. Once an investor applies for permanent residency, they may have to pass a basic language test.
When applying to the scheme, the following documentation must be provided:
Once a qualifying property has been purchased and the paperwork submitted, an investor should be able to expect to receive their visa within three months or more, depending on if any problems exist with the application and supporting documentation.
If you are interested in the Portuguese Golden Visa programme, IP Global is happy to help investors through the process. Simply contact us here.
*Update: The Portuguese government announced in February 2020 that it intended to omit the coastal cities from the regions applicable to the golden visa programme in order to boost inland investment and create more jobs. This, however, has been tabled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For the foreseeable future Porto and Lisbon remain the best options for investors in terms of capital upside and visa acquisition.
The Portuguese capital of Lisbon is one of Europe’s most thriving cities, but that hasn’t always been the case: one of Europe’s oldest cities, Lisbon was among the worst-hit areas during the country’s sovereign debt crisis in 2008.
Fast forward a decade and this vibrant city on southern Europe’s Iberian Peninsula has made a remarkable recovery. Since the country received a bailout of EUR78 billion from IMF and the EU in 2011, Lisbon and other Portuguese cities have gone from bust to boom.
Here are six reasons why Lisbon is now the perfect place to buy property.
Since the 2008 Great Recession hit Portugal, the county has undergone an extraordinary revival, and economic growth continues. Five years after exiting the 2011 bailout programme, the country now boasts a stable macro economy, with the headquarters of many multinational companies occupying its thriving capital and many imports and exports passing through Lisbon’s port.
The Lisbon HQs of Portugal’s financial companies represent almost half of the national GDP and a labour productivity rate that’s 1.3 times higher than the national average.
Another by-product of Lisbon’s financial evolution has been its transformation from a service-based economy to a more digital one, and with a decreasing unemployment rate – which fell from 16% in 2013 to 6% in 2019 – and a growing employment rate, Lisbon is now among Europe’s most competitive cities.
A discrepancy in supply and demand means there’s a growing need for real estate in Portugal and, as cited by the real estate agency Golden Tree, the cities of Lisbon and Porto create 50% of the country’s total housing demand alone.
According to Colliers, international demand has accounted for a quarter of Lisbon’s residential market since 2015 and CBRE reported that as a result, the city’s house prices had soared by 9% by 2017.
While average house prices may have plateaued, the residential market is still performing well. A further 70,000 new homes were said to be needed in Portugal last year and this supply and demand discrepancy only strengthens the appeal for real estate investors from overseas.
The influx of both business and leisure travellers in Lisbon continues to increase. The number of passengers moving through the city’s airport reached a record high of 29 million last year and the country’s strength of infrastructure shows no signs of wavering. Thanks to a EUR1.15 billion contribution from the French construction company VINCI, the airport is set to undergo an ambitious expansion, alongside a new civil airport in Montijo, while both Lisbon and Porto have received a EUR517 million investment for a Metro network expansion.
On a broader scale, the urban renewal project, known as the City of Lisbon Investment Plan 2016-2020, will see everything from drainage networks to cultural venues being revived. According to sources from Carris, Aurobus and Civitatis, local transport, school facilities and public green spaces will also benefit from EUR523 million worth of funding to help boost Lisbon’s smart city status.
Thanks to new strategic approaches to regeneration, Lisbon is proving itself to be a powerful player in the global technology world. In 2014, this innovative metropolis became the first European city to set aside EUR1 million for the development of start-up incubator networks in historic centres and through initiatives such as Horizonte 2020 and the StartUp Visa programme, it’s becoming a magnet for talented investors and entrepreneurs.
Now a host of the annual Web Summit conference, the city is making noticeable efforts to maintain its position within the European start-up ecosystem. The Portuguese government is contributing EUR110 million toward the conference, which will be hosted in Lisbon for ten years. With participant numbers set to increase by an estimated 30,000, this will only strengthen Lisbon’s credentials as a Smart City and maintain its reputation as the newest tech capital in Europe.
As Portugal’s key university hub, Lisbon’s student population has thrived in recent years, reaching a total of 130,000 across the city’s three highly-regarded universities.
While some 20,000 undergraduates attend the Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Portugal’s most highly-ranked university, the University of Lisbon now accommodates more than 50,000 full-time students. With a strong international student population – 17% of the student body – the institution is set to receive a brand-new campus, thanks to EUR16 million in funding.
Meanwhile, the Instituto Superior Tecnico, ranked the 11th largest engineering school in Europe, continues to strengthen Lisbon’s academic prestige. Many graduates are electing to stay in Lisbon following their studies, thanks to the city’s now-thriving jobs market.
Thanks to the Non-Habitual Residents Initiative which launched in 2009 and offers preferential tax treatment for foreign investors, Portugal has become extremely appealing to those looking to buy property from overseas.
Launched with foreign, highly-skilled professionals, wealthy individuals and pensioners and retirees in mind, this fiscal incentive rewards foreign buyers with double tax exemption for ten years. High-net worth individuals who take residency in Portugal are also awarded a range of benefits.
In addition to the Non-Habitual Residents Initiative, the Golden Visa Programme has heightened the appeal for any non-EU citizens investing in Portugal. So far, the initiative has attracted huge interest from Chinese nationals, generating EUR3.9 million in foreign investment for the country.
You can find out more in our Golden Visa guide here.
We don’t anticipate Lisbon’s appeal faltering any time soon. The city’s population is set to increase to more than three million in 2025 and tourism numbers continue to grow. Firmly on IP Global’s radar for top European investment locations, Lisbon’s fascinating Mediterranean heritage and growing cultural attraction continue to attract travellers and investors alike.
What to learn more about Lisbon? You can download IP Global’s Investor Guide today or read our recent Q&A with IP Global Director Grant Reynolds.
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