How to get Portugal golden visa for €280,000?

Portugal Govt offers a 20% discount for golden visa investors for buying properties in low population density rural areas to encourage more investments. Many foreign investors do not know about this concession which is applicable for both €350,000 and €500,000 real estate investment categories.

Important update: New changes to Golden visa regime will permit 280K euro investments until Dec 31, 2021. After this date the minimum investment for real estate will increase to 500K euros from 2022 for new properties. Property investments in Lisbon, Porto, Algarve and other coastal regions will be closed for golden visas and will be shifted to inner regions. It will be a golden opportunity for those who want to invest in Lisbon, Porto and Algarve.

So, Instead of 350K and 500K, you only invest less in real estate and dont need to pay more, when you invest in rural urban development areas.

• €280,000 in Rural areas (30 year old refurbished properties) in Lisbon, Porto, Algarve etc.
• €280,000 in Hotel buyback shares after 5 years.
• €350,000  (New properties in inner low density regions)

Note: You can buy €350,000 renovated properties in Lisbon/Porto/Algarve or coastal areas until Dec 31, 2021

The only condition is the property must be in rural areas

• Low density territory on NUTS III level with less than 100 inhabitants per Km2  (or)
• GDP per capita less than 75% of the national average

You must invest for 5 years. In this reduced €280,000 option, there is a possibility to

•  Sole shareholder limited liability company;
• Invest in co-ownership;
• Capitalize investment.

The real estate may be acquired in a co-ownership regime. Investors can also acquire shares in residential or commercial projects. Prices are very steep in inner cities, capitals but as you go further out to rural areas, prices flatten give you more square meter for the same price.

For example if you invest 280,000 euros, following property taxes apply

Note: This  €5,100 golden visa filing fee charged by Govt.

The first step to apply for Golden visa scheme is to obtain a Tax number and open Bank account.

The whole process from start to finish is 4 to 8 months.

You can also invest in the low density areas, with the lowest property prices are below.

• Baixo Alentejo
• Alto Alentejo
• Douro
• Médio Tejo
• Alto Tâmega
• Beiras e S.Estrela
• Beira Baixa
• Tâmega e Sousa
• Lezíria do Tejo
• T.Trás-os-Montes

Another important thing to remember is Portugal provides easy access to citizenship with less stringent living conditions (unlike Greece, Malta, Spain etc) for property owners. After 5 years you can request portuguese citizenship or permanent residency, provided you satisfy 7 day residence requirement, have no debt to tax and social security authorities and no criminal record and meet A2 language proficiency .

NUTS

The Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS) is developed by Eurostat, and employed in Portugal for statistical purpose and the system classifies into NUTS1, NUTS2 and NUTS3 regions

NUTS III Property Prices

Below is the prices of median value per m2 of dwellings sales by category of housing unit, Portugal and NUTS 3, 1st Q2020

Source: INE Portugal