Golden Visa in Portugal

Obtaining a Golden Visa in Portugal is one of the safest ways to obtain a residence permit in Portuguese territory, allowing you free movement in almost all European countries.

The Golden Visa allows family reunification, so your whole family can benefit from residency in Portugal.

What is the Golden Visa programme in Portugal?

The Golden Visa is a residence permit granted by the Portuguese government in exchange for making a qualified investment in Portugal.

Obtaining a Golden Visa allows third country nationals to live in Portugal and travel throughout the Schengen Area without the need for a visa.

Unlike other residence permits in Portugal (e.g. D1, D2 D7, D8), the Golden Visa does not imply permanent residence in Portugal.

What are the advantages of the Golden Visa in Portugal?

Obtaining a Golden Visa in Portugal has several benefits:

• You can live, work and study in Portugal
• You can travel throughout the Schengen Area (29 countries)
• Possibility of access to permanent residence after 5 years
• Possibility of access to Portuguese citizenship after 5 years
• Allows you to extend these benefits to your spouse and other dependent direct family members (children, parents and in-laws)
• Access to an attractive tax regime if you become a tax resident in Portugal
• You only need to spend 7 days a year (on average) in Portugal

Who can get a Golden Visa in Portugal?

All nationals of third countries (countries not belonging to the European Union, European Economic Area or Switzerland) can obtain a Golden Visa in Portugal:

• carry out a qualifying investment activity in Portugal;
• are at least 18 years old; and
• have no criminal record in their country of origin (or in Portugal).

Investments can be made personally or through a commercial company incorporated in Portugal or in another European Union state and with a permanent establishment in Portugal.

Permanence and investment requirements

In order to be awarded and renew the Golden Visa, applicants must spend a minimum of seven days a year in Portuguese territory.

Please note: Your investment must be kept for at least 5 years.

7 Steps to get your Golden Visa in Portugal

There are several important steps in your journey to obtain a Golden Visa in Portugal.

1. Choose your type of investment

The first step is to choose the type of investment you want to make. Before making a decision, analyse the alternatives, the costs and the benefits thoroughly.

NEWCO is at your disposal to delve into each of the eligible modalities and help you realise your investment according to your objectives.

2. Get a NIF and bank account

You'll need a tax identification number (NIF) for practically everything, from opening a bank account, buying or renting a property or starting a business. You'll also need to appoint a tax representative in Portugal.

NEWCO can take care of obtaining your NIF and acting as your tax representative, as well as helping you to open a bank account in Portugal, so that everything is ready when you make your investment.

3. Realise your investment

Once you've defined the type of investment, it's time to move on to the most demanding stage of the process: gathering the necessary documentation for the Golden Visa application (specific forms and requirements, birth and marriage certificates, criminal record, etc.).

NEWCO will guide and accompany you throughout the process of preparing your application.

4. Submit your application

Once the investment has been made and we have gathered all the original, translated and legalised documents, we can move on to submitting the preliminary application.

At this stage the application is submitted online, with copies of the documents and payment of the fee for analysing the application. The application for family reunification for other family members is submitted at the same time.

5. Biometric data collection

After analysing the application, the Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA) communicates whether the process has been pre-approved or if additional documentation is required.

If the process is complete and pre-approved, an appointment will be made to hand over all the original documentation and collect biometric data (fingerprint, photograph and signature). This is done subject to the availability of AIMA, the investor and the family.

6. Approval of your Golden Visa

If no additional documents are required and all the criteria have been met, AIMA will confirm the approval of your Golden Visa, request payment of the fees and issue your residence permit.

Don't forget that you must stay in Portugal for seven consecutive or non-consecutive days during the first year of your authorisation.

7. Renewing your Golden Visa

The Golden Visa is initially valid for 2 years. After this period, the first renewal must be made with AIMA.

Once the renewal has been approved, the Golden Visa is valid for a further period of 3 years.

Once again, we would like to emphasise the requirement for the investor to stay in Portugal for at least 7 days a year (on average), whether consecutive or not.

After five years it is possible to apply for a permanent residence permit and even Portuguese nationality, if there is evidence of a connection to the country and mastery of the Portuguese language.

What types of investments are eligible?

You can obtain a Golden Visa in Portugal by making one of the following investments:

¹Acquisition of units in investment funds or venture capital funds aimed at capitalising companies. The investment funds selected must be constituted under Portuguese law and must have a maturity of at least 5 years at the time of the investment. Furthermore, 60 per cent of the investments must be made in commercial companies based in Portugal.
² Setting up or increasing the capital of a Portuguese company, with the creation or maintenance of five permanent jobs. The jobs must be full-time, for a minimum period of 3 years.
³ Workers must be effectively employed through a labour contract and must be registered with Social Security. For companies set up in sparsely populated areas, the minimum requirement is 8 jobs.
⁴ Investment in research activities carried out by public or private scientific research institutions that are part of the national scientific and technological system.
⁵Investment or support for artistic production, recovery or maintenance of national cultural heritage.

Investing in Funds

Purchasing units in an investment fund is one of the most popular options for obtaining a Golden Visa in Portugal.

By investing through a fund, you have the advantage of a profitable, secure investment regulated by the Portuguese Securities Market Commission (CMVM).

Furthermore, although each investment requires a specific tax analysis, it is possible to find reduced income tax rates when applied to the distribution of income by these investment vehicles - e.g. 10% for tax residents in Portugal and 0% for non-tax residents in Portugal.

Investing in Golden Visa Funds is a good idea if:

• You prefer a more flexible, diversified and efficient type of investment
• Managing a company or a team of at least 10 people is not a viable option
• You want to have a source of passive income, rather than investing outright

NEWCO has partnerships with various types of investment funds, all of which are eligible to obtain a Golden Visa.

Investing in business creation

A Golden Visa can also be obtained by investing a minimum of €500,000 in a company in Portugal:

• Set up a company and create 5 permanent jobs.
• Reinforcing the share capital of an existing company by creating 5 permanent jobs or maintaining 10 jobs, at least 5 of which are permanent, for a minimum period of 3 years.

Investing in a company in Portugal is a good idea if:

• Are you looking to enter or expand your business in Portugal or the European market?
• Do you already have a business investment project in mind in Portugal?
• They prefer to have an active source of income, with greater freedom to make their own decisions.

Why invest in a Portuguese company?

Portugal is the gateway to Europe and offers a dynamic and advantageous business environment:

• Reduced tax rate (between 5% and 21%, depending on location - Autonomous Regions or mainland Portugal)
• Barrier-free access to the vast European market
• Political and social security and stability
• Highly qualified human resources

By setting up a company in Madeira, you will not only have access to the Golden Visa, but you will also benefit from an extremely advantageous tax and business environment for your company.

Other ways to get a Golden Visa in Portugal

Alternatively, a Golden Visa can be obtained through an investment in:

• Investment in research activities carried out by public or private scientific research institutions that are part of the national scientific and technological system.

• Investment or support for artistic production, recovery or maintenance of national cultural heritage.