You can easily obtain residence and work permits for yourself and your family in Portugal through investment, and you can later obtain Portuguese citizenship and then live in every country in the European Union. In this article, we will talk about the investment options required to obtain the Portuguese Golden Visa, the requirements for maintaining the continuity of the visa, and for requesting citizenship if you wish, and finally the opportunities you will earn.
Minimum Investment Types Required to Apply for a Golden Visa in Portugal:
To apply for a Portuguese Golden Visa, you must make at least one of the following investments:
- Real estate investment worth a minimum of € 500,000
- Real estate investment worth a minimum of € 350,000 to renovate a building that is more than 30 years old.
- Capital transfer of € 1,000,000
- Establishing a business to open 10 permanent job positions
- A minimum of € 350,000 capital investment in scientific research,
- Capital investment of € 250,000 for artistic production or cultural conservation
For investments in companies, the company must be in Portugal, or if it is in another EU state, at least one part of it must be in Portugal.
How the Portugal Golden Visa Works
Once you have documented at least one of the above investments, you can apply for the Portuguese Golden Visa program. You need to renew your visa periodically for five years, but at the end of these five years, you can get a permanent residence permit or even apply for citizenship at the end of the sixth year. If you get a visa, you will first get a residence and work permit in Portugal for yourself and your close family. For the continuation of the visa, you must spend at least 7 days in Portugal during this first year. You apply for a renewal of your visa for the second and third year at the end of the first year. During these two years, you are expected to spend at least 14 days in Portugal. At the end of the third year, you are again applying for a visa renewal for your fourth and fifth year, and you have to live in Portugal for at least 14 days during these two years as well. At the end of the fifth year, it is your choice to apply for a permanent residence permit or to repeat the same five-year procedure. If you apply for a permanent residence, you can apply for Portuguese citizenship after one year, thus at the end of the sixth year in total.
Learn more about the experiences of some Golden Visa applicants in Portugal.
Opportunities Provided by the Portuguese Golden Visa
Apart from living and working in Portugal, you have the right to travel freely in all Schengen countries at the same time with the Portuguese Golden Visa. During your stay in Portugal, you and your close family members who have the right to live on your Golden visa can benefit from the health and education facilities of the Portuguese state as a citizen. In this visa program, in fact, you are luckier than Portuguese citizens taxation-wise; you are not taxed from your non-Portuguese and international sources of income unless you spend most of the year in Portugal. The Portugal Golden visa makes it easier for you to freely invest in real estate if you wish to continue to invest in Portugal and help you move more freely within Europe.
In order to learn more about the changes that were introduced to Portugal’s Golden Visa program, you can check our article here.