Our GOLDEN VISA Team

golden visa FAQs

AThe Golden Visa Program launched by the Portuguese Authorities in October 2012 is a fast track for foreign investors from non-EU countries to obtain a fully valid temporary residency permit in Portugal (“Golden Visa”).
The technical name is Investment Residence Permits (ARI) but these are commonly known as Golden Visas and considered golden tickets to enter the European space and all its potentialities.
Golden Visas represent a successful measure, with gains to every party involved, supplying a rejuvenation of investment in Portugal simultaneously opening a new gateway to foreign investors.

AAll third country citizens who conduct an investment activity, as an individual businessperson or through a company set up in Portugal or in another EU Member State and who, in addition, is stably settled in Portugal, provided that these citizens fulfil the quantitative requirements and the time requirements set out by the relevant legislation.
The Golden Visa legal mechanism does not apply to individuals with Portuguese citizenship and to EU and EEE citizens.

AOne of the following investments in Portuguese territory will have to be made in order to obtain a Golden Visa:

• Acquisition of a property with a minimum value of € 500.000,00;
• Acquisition of a property built more than 30 years ago or located in an urban regeneration area and execution of renovation works, with a global investment value of at least € 350.000,00;
• Transfer of funds for an amount equal to or greater than € 1.000.000,00;
• Incorporation of a company creating at least 10 jobs;
• Transfer of funds above € 350.000,00 for scientific research activities;
• Transfer of funds above € 250.000,00 for artistic/cultural activities and/or regeneration or preservation of national cultural heritage;
• Transfer of funds above € 350.000,00 for acquiring participation units in investment funds or venture capital for the capitalization of medium and small companies.

AOnce the Golden Visa is granted and the respective residence card issued, it will be valid for 1 (one) year. Between 90 (ninety) and 30 (thirty) days before the expiry date, the Applicant(s) should renew this card, which will then be valid for 2 (two) year. After this (between the same period before expiring) the Applicant(s) has to renew the residence permit one second time, to complete the 5 (five) years of Temporary Residence.

AThe Golden Visa Program will provide investors (and their family member who apply for Family Reunion) with the following advantages:

• No need to obtain a residency visa to enter Portugal;
• Freedom to travel Visa free throughout the Schengen Area;
• Living and working in Portugal, even with residency in a different country
• Extremely low minimum stays requirements: 7 days (1st Year) + 14 days (1st Renewal – 2nd and 3rd year) + 14 days (2nd Renewal – 4th and 5th year).
• Attractive tax regime for those wanting to live permanently in Portugal (“NHR”);
• Permanent Residency after 5 (five)years;
• Portuguese Citizenship after 5 (five) years;
• The program is not blacklisted by the OECD unlike many other Golden Visa programs;
• Residency immediately extended to family members – Family Reunion.

AThe Schengen Area is an area comprising 26 (twenty-six) European states that have officially abolished all passport and all other types of border control at their mutual borders.
The holder(s) of the Golden Visa is allowed to travel visa free to the following countries: Spain, France, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Island, Italy, Leetonia, Republic of Latvia, Check Republic, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Nederland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia, Sweden e Switzerland.

AUnder the Golden Visa Program, the investor’s family members may also apply and obtain a resident permit from Portugal by applying for “family reunion”. The Golden visa will be extended to family members, and there’s not a limitation of people, as long as they fulfill the legal and specific requirements each.

A • A spouse or partner;
• Children under 18;
• Adult dependent children over 18 and under 26, as long as they are unmarried and enrolled as full-time students (as well as economically dependents from the main applicant);
• Fully dependent (as a result of an incapacity medically/legally proven) and unmarried children over 26;
• Parents of either spouse if over the age of 66 years old (or 55 and dependent); and/or:
• Siblings under the age of 18 years from either spouse or partner if legally responsible.

AThe simplicity of the Golden Visa Program implies a very reduced number of requirements being asked from the investor. The Golden Visa Program sets out that the investor must comply with general requirements applicable to all types of qualifying investments and also with the specific requirements of each type of qualifying investment.
This being said, all investors have to comply with the following general requirements:

• Keep the investment for a minimum period of 5 years;
• Funds for investment should come from abroad – “international bank transfer”;
• Entry in Portugal with a valid Schengen visa (if applicable);
• Absence of references in the Portuguese Immigration and the Schengen services;
• Absence of conviction of relevant crime;
• Minimum periods of stay in Portugal: 7 (seven) days during the first year and 14 (fourteen) days during each subsequent period of two years.

AUnder Portuguese Legislation any person that has held a valid Portuguese temporary residency title (for example the Golden Visa) for a period of at least 5 years, will be entitled to obtain Permanent Residency in Portugal.
The investor and family members will have to comply with the following main requirements in order to be eligible for Permanent Residency:

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

AThe Portuguese legislation also sets out that any person who has been validly resident in Portugal for at least 5 (five) years (either under a temporary or permanent residency title), is eligible for obtaining Portuguese Citizenship. The Portuguese passport is top-notch travel document allowing visa-free travel to 182 countries.
In order to be able to obtain Portuguese Citizenship, the investor and family members will also have to comply with the following requirements:

• Absence of conviction of any relevant crime;
• Make and pass a simple Portuguese language test, to prove sufficient and basic knowledge of Portuguese.

Aa) Passport or equivalent travel document, valid for at least six months;
b) Proof of legal entrance in national territory;
c) Proof of Investment;
d) Portuguese Taxpayer Number;
e) Criminal Record of the country of origin and, if applicable, the country in which the investor has lived for more than one year – these documents are valid for three months from the date of issue and must be duly apostilled and authenticated;
f) Updated debt statements issued by the Tax Authorities and by the Social Security, proving that there aren’t any debts in both “levels”;
g) Statement, under an honor commitment, by which the Applicant certifies that he will fulfill the requirements of the investment activity in the national territory for the necessary period;
h) Health Insurance valid in Portugal (if living in Portugal);
i) Receipt of payment of the initial SEF analysis fee.

AAll documents issued by foreign authorities need to be properly legalized before being submitted in Portugal. This can be made by obtaining the Apostille of the Hague Convention of 5th October 1961 (applicable if the document origin country is part of this convention) or legalization by the Portuguese Consular services. These documents will also have to be translated into Portuguese before being submitted.

AConsidering that some foreign documents have a validity period form the moment they are issued, it is essential to properly request them at the right time, in order to avoid having to request updated documentation.
Always keep in mind the following validities (from the moment of issuance):

• Criminal Record – valid for 3 (three) months;
• Marriage Certificate / Civil Status Certificate – valid for 6 (six) months;
• Birth Certificate – valid for 1 (one) year.

AA fiscal number is an identification number before the Portuguese Tax Authorities also known as the tax number). In Portugal, any non-resident who has with our country any economic relationship, for example wanting to buy a property in Portugal, will have, for tax purposes, to obtain a Portuguese Taxpayer Number (“NIF”).

AAll residents outside the EU will have to appoint an individual or an entity with tax residency in Portugal for the purpose of representation with the Portuguese tax authorities.

AYes, it is necessary for the investment to be properly made to open a bank account in a Portuguese bank. For this process the Portuguese taxpayer number is mandatory.

AOne of the great advantages of Golden Visa is precisely the fact that it is a faster process than the other requests for Temporary Residence Permit. Currently, the process is as follows:

1º – After making the investment and gathering all the necessary documentation, the process should be submitted online, at which time it will be necessary to pay the Immigration Office analysis fees;

2º – The analysis of this documentation is done in about 40-60 days (based on our experience), at which time, if you have submitted everything correctly, you will receive the pre-approval and the possibility of scheduling online the appointment at the Immigration Office for the physical delivery of the documents and the collection of the biometric data;

3º – After delivering the original documentation and collecting the biometric data at the Immigration Office, you must wait a period of approximately 3-4 months until you receive the final approval, at which point you will also have to pay the Immigration Office final approval fee;

4º – Finally, after the final payment has been made, you will be notified, within a period of, more or less, 3-4 weeks, to collect your residence permit card (which It can also be sent to a designated address if requested).

AThis process involves payment of the following fees, payable directly to the Immigration Office (“SEF – Serviço de Estrangeiros e Fronteiras”):

i) Analysis fee (1st Year, 1st Renewal and 2nd Renewal):
i. Investor: € 532,70
ii. Each family member: € 83,10

ii) Final approval fee:
a. 1st Year: € 5.324,60 per person;
b. 1st and 2nd Renewal: € 2.662,30 per person.

AThe investor (or any family member) will only be refused the Golden Visa (or its renewal) if he/she:

• Has not complied with the minimum periods of stay in Portugal;
• Has not maintained the investment for the minimum mandatory period of 5 (years);
• Has been convicted of a crime punishable with a prison sentence of more than one year;
• Has been banned to entry into Portuguese territory following a removal measure of the country;
• On the grounds of public health;
• On the grounds of public order or public security.

AThe investor only needs to hold the investment during the Golden Visa’s validity period, so he/she can sell the property / transfer the money to another country/extinguish the job positions, after said minimum mandatory period.

AThe investor does not need to live in the property, and it can be rented out to obtain some monthly income.

AWhat the Portuguese law demands is that, at the time of the submission of the application, the minimum investment is already made. This means that the Investor can only apply for the Golden Visa based on a property acquisition with the promissory purchase and sale agreement if he/she, at the time of the application submission, has already paid the minimum amount (for example € 500.000,00) required (as signal or reinforcement of signal, based on said promissory agreement).

AThere are three taxes (which the exact amount to be paid varies according to the actual value of the acquisition) in Portugal related to property:

I) Payable with the property’s acquisition:

a. “IMT” or Property Transfer Tax, which is the tax on transfer of ownership of property
b. Stamp Duty

II) Payable on an annual basis:
“IMI” or Council Tax, which is the annual municipal property tax.

AIf 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.

Kindly note that if you have any other questions you can contact us by email on crs@crs-advogados.com and one of our experienced lawyers, from the Golden Visa Department, will be glad to help you.