The Golden Visa Portugal program is a hugely popular program designed to help investors gain citizenship in Portugal and the European Union. In exchange for investing in the Portuguese economy (typically through investment funds or real estate), non-European Union resident investors are put on a fast track for residency and a passport.
Decide between five investment options: real state, investment funds, capital transfer, job creation or donation.
Get all the necessary documents in order (passport, criminal record, etc.) for the main applicant and dependents. Documents must be translated and notarized. Hiring a lawyer can help with this part.
Open a bank account in Portugal and get your NIF (VAT identification number). Your lawyer can do this for you. (passport, criminal record, etc.) for the main applicant and dependents. Documents must be translated and notarized. Hiring a lawyer can help with this part.
Time to pay your investment! Property: €350,000 to €500,000 Capital transfer: €1.5 million . Investment fund: €500,000 . Donation: €250,000 to €500,000 Job creation: 10 jobs.
After purchaing you investmnet and getting your paperwork together, it's time to submit your online pre-application to SEF, your lawyer can take care of this for you.
After SEF reviews your pre-application, they will invite you to an appointment in person. Your dependents must also be there to be eligible.
After your appointment, it usually takes 4 months for you and your dependents to get your golden visa. Your golden visa card has a two-year expiration. You will need to renew it annual
After 5 years, you can become a permanent resident. After 6 years, you can become a Portuguese citizen, a process that can take up to 1 year.
The advantages of the Portugal Golden Visa include visa-free travel across the Schengen states, the right to live and work in Portugal, the ability to include each qualifying family member within the residence program, and the possibility to apply for Portuguese citizenship once you held your Golden Visa for at least five years.
After submitting your completed application to SEF, you can expect to receive your biometrics appointment in around six weeks. Once that’s done, SEF currently takes 4-6 months to issue the Golden Visa residency cards. This timeline may get shorter in 2022 if SEF receives additional staffing. The Portugal Golden Visa program remains very much in demand.
Not necessarily. Residency and tax residency are two different concepts. With a Golden Visa, you can maintain residency rights without ever becoming a tax resident.
However, if you choose to live full time in Portugal (meaning you spend more than 183 days per year in country), you’ll be considered a tax resident and you’ll need to declare your worldwide income to Portugal. Thanks to Portugal’s NHR tax program, you may be eligible for preferential tax treatment on various parts of your income.
NHR is a special tax program. It stands for non-habitual resident). This program allows you to become exempt from your foreign-sourced income. For more information please refer to our NHR program guide.
NIF number is your legal taxation number in Portugal. With your NIF number, you can carry out fiscal activities in the country.
The investor is not required to live in or use the real estate. It can be rented out or used as the investor wishes.
Your first Golden Visa card is valid for a two-year period; you should satisfy the stay requirement of 14 days in two years. You may then renew your Golden Visa residence card and the next cards will each be valid for three years at a time. Within those three years, you should spend at least twenty-one days in Portugal. As long as you maintain your investment, you may renew your Golden Visa card as many times as you wish.
Your real estate rental income in Portugal is taxed at a flat rate of 28 percent in Portugal. Real estate investments that are not rented out or generating income do not lead to any income tax.
You may. However, you’ll be making a significant investment in order to apply for the Portuguese Golden Visa. So, it’s highly recommended that you use a professional advisor and a legal representative in pursuing the program.
Portugal doesn’t require you to live in the country full time if you have a Golden Visa. You merely need to stay in Portugal for at least seven days per year in Portugal. Besides that, you may live in your country of origin or any other place you wish to live in.
At that point, you have three options as a Golden Visa holder: (1) to continue with the Golden Visa for Portugal, (2) to become a permanent resident, (3) to become a Portuguese citizen. If you choose to become a permanent resident or a Portuguese citizen, you can then sell or liquidate your investment as you wish. You only need to hold on to it if you decide to continue with the Golden Visa temporary residence program instead.
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