Golden Visa is a visa issued by the Portuguese state exclusively for non-EU citizens and can be obtained in exchange for a qualified investment.

Portugal Golden Visa program is also known as the residence permit for investment activity (ARI), as the main advantage is a residency by investment scheme. A minimum of €500,000 subscription in a qualifying Portuguese fund is needed to obtain the Golden Visa.

(*Consult here the Portugal Golden Visa Investment Options: What Types of Investments Qualify for the Golden Visa?)
(*Consult here the Difference among investing in a FUND vs REAL STATE).

The holders of a Portuguese Golden Visa Residence Permit have many advantages:

• You do not need a visa to enter Portugal or travel through Europe (Schengen Area).
• You can live and work in Portugal, even with residency in a different country.
• Portuguese residency can be extended to family members.
• It has extremely low minimum stay periods compared to other residency / citizenship programmes.
• You can attain permanent residency after five years.
• You can attain citizenship after six years.
• Possibility to make the investment through a Portuguese one person limited liability company (LDA), which can be founded in a single day with EUR 1 share capital.
• Currency risk diversification.

(*Consult here the *why GV document for more info).

Three types of investment qualify for the Portugal Golden Visa Residence Permit. You only need to make of these investments:

• Acquisition of property in the amount of or greater than € 500,000.
• Transfer of funds above € 1,000,000.
• Creation of at least 10 (ten) jobs in Portugal.

The Portugal Golden Visa Residence Permit Program is one of the most popular residency by investment programmes beacuse of its simplicity, speed and limited number of requirements.  

The Portugal Golden Visa Residence Permit Program requires investor to comply with the following general requirements across all types of qualifying investments: 

• Maintain the investment for a minimum period of 5 years.
• Ensure funds for the investment come from abroad.
• Entry into Portugal should be with a valid Schengen visa.
• There must be no breaches or reference in the Portuguese Immigration and the Schengen services.
• Absence of conviction of crime both in Portugal and in home country.
• Minimum stay in Portugal: 7 (seven) days during the first year and 14 (fourteen) days during each subsequent period of two years.

The Portugal Golden Visa Residence Permit Program allows considerable freedom in each type of investment:

(a)  Property investment: 

• Minimum investment of € 500,000
• Purchase of one or multiple properties
• All property types qualify
• Possibility of co-ownership;
• Freedom to use, rent or lease 

(b)  Transfer of Funds 

• Minimum investment of € 1 million
• Funds transferred from abroad to a bank in Portugal
• Total freedom to invest the funds
• Possibility of using the funds to invest in shares of companies 

(c)  Job Creation 

• Creation of a minimum of 10 jobs
• No minimum investment value
• No limitation on areas/activities
• Compliance with Social Security obligations

The Portugal Golden Visa Residence Permit Program will be valid for an initial period of 1 (one) year and then will be renewed for subsequent periods of 2 years.

The Portugal Golden Visa Residence Permit Program will be extended to family members, namely children, spouse and dependent family members.

The family members will also be eligible for Permanent Residency after 5 years Portuguese Citizenship after 6 years.

Residence permits can also be granted to family members of a successful main applicant through the family reunification procedure. The Golden Residence Permit is individual, yet the investor may apply for family reunification and the procedures may run concurrently or at a later stage, according to the preference of the investor. In all cases, approvals are subject to the successful application of the main applicant.

Portuguese law defines family as:

• The spouse of the applicant.
• Minors of the couple or of one of the members of the couple.
• Adopted children by an unmarried applicant or by his/her spouse, provided such adoption was authorized by the relevant authority of the country of origin and has the same legal effects to those natural children, and that such decision is recognized in Portugal.
• Children of age, who are financially dependent on one or both parents, provided they are single and studying.
• First degree ascendants (parents) of the couple on the condition that they are financially dependent.
• Minor siblings (on the condition that they are legally under the responsibility of the resident in their country of origin).

Under the laws of Portugal, any person that has held a valid Portuguese temporary residency card (Portugal Golden Visa Residence Permit) for a minimum period of 5 years, will be entitled to obtain Permanent Residency in Portugal.

The investor and family members will have to meet the following criteria in order to be able to apply for Permanent Residency in Portugal:

• Absence of conviction of crime during the last 5 (five years).
• Proof of income / financial independence.
• Proof of accommodation in Portugal.
• Basic knowledge of Portuguese.

The Portuguese legislation also sets out that any person who has been validly resident in Portugal for at least 6 (years (either under a temporary or permanent residency title), is eligible for obtaining Portuguese CitizenshipIn order to be able to obtain Portuguese Citizenship, the investor and family members will also have to comply with the following requirements:

• Be at least 18 years old (or at least 16 but married or legally responsible).
• Absence of conviction of any crime.
• Pass a simple Portuguese language test, which will serve to show sufficient knowledge of the language.

The application for the Portugal Golden Visa Residence Permit requires submission of the following documentation: 

• Proof of Investment.
• Passport & Valid Schengen Visa.
• Portuguese Fiscal number.
• Clean Criminal Record statement from country of residency.
• Clean Portuguese Criminal Record.
• Declaration from the Portuguese Tax Department proving the absence of debts to the Portuguese Tax Authorities.
• Declaration from Portuguese Social Security proving the absence of debts to Portuguese Social Security Authorities.
• Declaration from the investor confirming compliance with the investment requirements.
• Health Insurance valid in Portugal.

It should be noted that:

• Any document that is not in the Portuguese or English languages needs to be translated to Portuguese and the translation must be certified.

• Document issued by foreign authorities need to be legalized before being submitted in Portugal.  This legalization means obtaining the Appostille of the Hague Convention (when applicable) or legalization by the Portuguese Consular services.

Typical application costs paid to the Portuguese Immigration and Borders Services (SEF) for the Portugal Golden Visa Residence Permit:

• Initial application – € 520.40
• Issue of Investor Residency Permit – € 5,202.60
• Renewal of Investor Residency Permit – € 2,601.30
• Family application analysis – € 80.20
• Issue of Portuguese Residency Permit for Family Members – € 5,202.60
• Renewal of Portuguese Residency Permit for Family Members – € 2,601.30

For the Portugal Golden Visa Residence Permit via property investment, an investor must also consider the following taxes and costs:

a) Payable when the property is purchased:

• “IMT” or Property Transfer Tax”, is the tax on transfer of ownership of property and varies with price of the property  (. It is sliding scale based on the purchase price – a guidelne figure is circa 5-6%)
• Stamp Duty – normally 0.8% of the property price

b) Payable on an annual basis:

• “IMI” or Council Tax, which is the annual municipal property tax; it is levied between 0.3% and 0.5% on the property’s tax value

c) Payable on an annual basis:

• Rental income will be taxed at a rate of 28%.

There is no obligation for the investor to live in the property that he has bought for the Portugal Golden Visa Presidnce Permit.  It can be rented if the investor wishes.  It must be noted that rental income will be taxed at a rate of 28%.  

The investor is also free to sell this property and purchase another (within 2 months) but pof the Golden Visa residence permit via property investment, the minimum investment of 500,000 Euros must be maintained for the full 5 year period.

If the holder of the golden visa does not stay in Portugal form more than 183 consecutive days, he/she will not be required to pay taxes for income generated outside of Portugal.

Only income arising in Portugal (eg from rent, interest) is taxed in Portugal at 28%.

Yes, the investor is free to sell the property / investment if he no longer wishes to continue with the Golden Visa programme.  However to qualify fully, investor must hold the investment during Portugal Golden Visa’s validity period – 5 years.

The investor (or any family member) will be refused the Golden Visa, or its renewal, if:

1. The investor has not maintained the investment for the minimum period of 5 (years)
2. The investor has not complied with the minimum periods of stay in Portugal
3. The investor  has been convicted of a crime
4. The investor in a period where he/she has been banned entry into Portuguese territory following a removal measure of the country

The Golden Visa may be also refused on the grounds of public order, public security or public health.