Portugal’s Golden Visa is a shortcut to Schengen Visa
Portugal set to curb tax breaks for wealthy foreigners
Coming from a country that try to prevent people from cultures they don’t like to get ‘in’ by making its border more difficult to pass than before Schengen it seems a bid funny that you ‘just have to invest in the very lucrative & profitable real estate market get a Visa to Schengen as a bonus – the ‘key’ to Denmark.
Now it seems that restrictions are on the way – that Golden Visas only will be granted for real estate investments outside Lisbon & Porto which somehow makes sense given the exploitation of the Lisbon’s old neighborhoods that are emptied from local life to give room to Short Term Rentals. But that’s another story…
Until the restrictions gets through the parliament its still possible to obtain the Golden Visa – and the lucrative access to Schengen – by investing in real estate in Lisbon and Porto.
If the restrictions gets through, there will be other ways to invest and obtain the Golden Visa – check out the possibilities below.
Good Luck,
Annette & Thomas
Portugal issues “golden visas”, known officially as residence permits for investment, in exchange for property purchases of €500,000 or more. The permits bestow the right to travel freely within the EU’s borderless Schengen area and are often touted as a step towards Portuguese citizenship, although there is no legal connection between the two.
There are "cheaper" ways to obtain the Golden Visa
A few days ago we blogged about how easy it is to get NHR Tax Status (Low tax). For strange reasons nobody spend the few minutes it takes to get directed to the Official Online Application that is easy and fast to use. Like we did ourselves from a hotelbed and got the status in two days. Instead people pay fortunes to accountants and consultants specialized in NHR services.
It’s not as easy obtain the Golden Visa. So if you’re considering obtaining one we recommend you to consult specialists. BUT before spending costs on lawyers & consultants the least you should do is to get an overview of your possibilities. Because unlike most people think, there are 7 other ways to get your Golden Visa than investing in Real Estate. And even within real estate there are ‘cheaper’ alternatives to the 500,000 € you always hear as the minimum investment.
We get a lot of requests from friends outside Schengen – and from guests staying with us. So as a special ‘service’ we have spend some time getting an overview of the possibilities.
To make it easy all we have just uploaded the 8 different requirements that grants Visa to Schengen from The Portuguese Immigration and Borders Service.
1. Start a business and create ten jobs in Portugal
(or transfer capital of minimum €350,000, to start a business or increase the share capital of a company with a registered office in Portugal and create five jobs for a period of 3 years)
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2. Invest in real estate at a minimum value of €500,000 (which is the most traditional route).
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3. Invest in real estate with construction completed at least 30 years ago or located in urban rehabilitation area, with the execution of rehabilitation works. The minimum investment is €350,000
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4. Transfer of capital of minimum €350,000, which is invested in research carried out by public or private, scientific research institutions that are part of the national scientific and technological system.
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5. Transfer of capital of minimum €250,000. Invested in support for artistic production, recovery, or maintenance of national cultural heritage.
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6. Transfer of capital of minimum €1,000,000.
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7. Capital transfer with a value equal to or above 500 thousand Euros, for purchasing shares in investment funds or in venture capital geared to capitalize small and medium companies that, in turn, must present a feasible capitalization plan.
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8. Transfer capital of minimum €350,000, to obtain units in an investment fund or venture capital fund.
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IMPORTANT: Please have a look at the date this post is published AND dbl check the validity of the documents with SEF (The Portuguese Immigration and Borders Service)