Your ways to invest in Portugal
Portugal’s Golden Visa
Portugal's Golden Visa program allows non-EU citizens and their families to obtain residency in Portugal by investment and after a 5-year period apply for Portuguese nationality.
Since its creation in 2012, Portugal’s Golden Visa has attracted investment from all four corners of the world, including the US, China, Brazil, South Africa, and Turkey, and almost 11 thousand permanent residencies have been granted through the Golden Visa program.
Benefits
Successful applicants of Portugal’s Golden Visa are entitled to the following benefits:
Schengen Area – your right to visa-free travel across 26 European countries.
Portuguese Nationality – your right to apply for Portuguese nationality after 5 years of legal residency in Portugal.
Physical presence in Portugal – physical presence requirement can be met by you only spending 7 days of your first year and 14 days of your two subsequent years in Portugal. This also means you are not required to have tax residence in Portugal.
Diversifying Investment Portfolio – the opportunity of diversifying your investments by investing in Portugal’s property, and/or capital markets.
Family regroup – your Golden Visa application can later extend to your family members, meaning they can also enjoy the benefits of the Golden Visa.
Quality life – access to Portugal’s highly ranked schools and universities, quality lifestyle, local cuisine and wines, rich culture, mild climate, high level of security, and quality healthcare.
Qualified Human Resources – access to highly qualified professionals if you wish to set up your business in Portugal.
Creative and Innovative Market – the possibility of starting your business in a country that in recent years has been considered one of Europe's future technological hubs.
Investment options: Investment options include investing in property, investment funds, capital transfer, and the creation of jobs.
Property
This investment option allows you to obtain a Golden Visa by purchasing either a commercial or residential property in Portugal if you meet the following minimum investment requirements:
€280,000 if the property you purchase is (a) older than 30 years or located in an area of urban regeneration and is renovated by you; (b) and in low population density areas.
€350,000 if the property you purchase is older than 30 years or located in an area of urban regeneration and is renovated by you.
€400,000 if the property you purchase is in a low-density area.
€500,000 for any property that you purchase (note our comments below about residential property).
***The Portuguese government does impose restrictions on the locations you can purchase a property if it is for residential purposes. The restriction is that you can only purchase a property for residential purposes if it is located in the Autonomous Regions of Açores and Madeira or specific areas of Portugal’s countryside.
Capital Transfer and Investment Fund
This investment option requires you to transfer a certain amount of money to a Portuguese bank account or invest in an investment fund.
Details for both options are below:
Capital Transfer – a minimum investment of €1.5 million requirement being you transfer this amount or more to a Portuguese bank account.
Investment Fund – a minimum investment of €500,000 requirement being you invest (a) in an investment fund (e.g., venture capital fund, real estate funds, etc.); (b) created under Portuguese law; (c) with a maturity of at least 5 years; (d) and as long as 60% of the portfolio you invest also invests in companies with registered offices in Portugal.
Business
You could also invest in businesses leading to the creation or keeping of jobs, or by simply creating jobs. The minimum investment would be to:
invest a minimum of €500,000 in the creation of a company in Portugal, combined with the creation of five permanent job positions;
invest a minimum of €500,000 in the maintenance of a company in Portugal while at the same time creating or maintaining five permanent job positions; or
create 10 local jobs (note you would be able to reduce it to 8 local jobs if those are created by you in low-density areas).
Portugal’s Golden Visa would neither require your family nor yourself to relocate to Portugal.
This is because you would be able to meet the Golden Visa requirement by simply staying 7 days in Portugal in your first year and 14 days in the two subsequent years.
The Golden Visa could be a good option if you are seeking to diversify your investment portfolio and, at the same time, have free access to Portugal and other countries of the European Union. You would also have the option to relocate to Portugal although this would not be a requirement under the Golden Visa.
If you wish to relocate to Portugal, other options could include seeking Portugal’s passive income visa (known as D7 Visa) or Portugal’s entrepreneur visa (known as D2 Visa) or Portugal’s remote work visa.