In this article, we will talk about Golden Visa through real estate investing, which has been the most used form of investment due to several factors, namely the attractiveness of the real estate sector in Portugal.
Golden Visa allows anyone who is not a European Union citizen to obtain a residence permit in Portugal, provided that it meets the following requirements:
- Enter legally in Portugal;
- Invest in Portugal;
- Remain in Portugal for at least 7 consecutive or interpolated days for the first year and 14 consecutive or interpolated days for each subsequent 2-year period.
In Golden Visa for real estate investing, the applicant may purchase a property or a set of properties whose acquisition value, as a whole, is equal to or greater than the minimum value required for this type of investment.
Valid investment types are:
- Acquisition of property (s) with a value equal to or greater than 500 thousand euros;
- Acquisition of property (s) older than 30 years or located in urban rehabilitation areas with rehabilitation works in the total value of 350 thousand euros or more.
The value of the investment may be reduced by 20% when made in sparsely populated territory. These are NUT III level territories with less than 100 inhabitants per km2 or capita GDP below 75% of the national average.
Applicants who choose to purchase property for rehabilitation can now enjoy the tax benefits created by the Portuguese Government for the exercise of urban rehabilitation, namely:
- To be exempt from the Municipal Transfer Tax (IMT) tax on the acquisition of such properties;
- Exempt from the Municipal Real Estate Tax (IMI) for three years;
- Benefit from reduced rate of Value Added Tax (VAT), regarding the works.
Golden Visa, is a residence permit and has an initial validity of 2 years and must be renewed for successive periods of 2 years, until the 5 years of the program.
What are the advantages of a Golden Visa?
The holder of the Golden Visa, for 5 years, is entitled to:
- Entering and staying in Portugal;
- Circulate in other Schengen countries without a visa;
- Family reunification, enabling the Claimant’s closest family members to enjoy the same advantages as the Claimant, creating new opportunities in their lives;
- Reconciling Golden Visa/ARI with Non-Habitual Resident (NHR) Status;
- Access to the permanent residence permit in Portugal at the end of the five years;
- To Portuguese nationality at the end of the five years.
