Many people often confuse between Portugal D-7 visa and golden Visa. We explain the difference between these two visa categories in detail.
The most important difference is the D-7 visa requires you to permanently move and live in Portugal for atleast 6-8 months every year. With golden visa you are not required to live in Portugal at all, just visit any time for atleast 7-14 days a year. Another difference is you pay full taxes in Portugal with D7 visa because you will be becoming tax resident staying more than 180 days. This is not the case with golden visa.
Both the visas require you to start the process at the Portuguese embassy in your country if you are outside EU.
D-7 Visa
The “D7” visa is ideal for retirees and those who earn passive income. It is a fixed residency. You must be able to prove financial sufficiency to apply for these visas.
- Adult — 7200 euro / year
- Per Dependant — 3600 euro /year
- Per Child – 2160 euro
Golden Visa
The Portuguese golden visa will give you full residence rights for investment activity in Portugal.
No requirement to live in Portugal makes it very convenient for many investors. It is only residency not citizenship. It is the most popular program for those who are not interested in acquiring citizenship.
We tell clients to apply for residency programs like Portugal if dual citizenship is not permitted by home country.
The minimum required investment is
- Real estate – 280K euro in rural areas
- Real Estate – 350K euro in Porto, Lisbon and Algarve
- Hotel Shares – 350K euro (buyback)
- Treasury securities / Government bonds – 1M euro
- Band deposits – 1M euro
We explain the differences in table below..
| D-7 Visa | ARI Golden Visa | |
| Legal background | Article 58 paragraph 1 of Law no. 23/2007 of July 4 Article 24 d) of Regulatory Decree no. 84/2007 of November 5 | The Aliens Act – Law n. 23/2007 of 4 July (as subsequently amended) Regulatory Decree n. 84/2007 of 5 November (as subsequently amended) Decree n. 305-A/2012, of 4 October |
| Issued for | Passive Income / Self employed / Retirees | Investors – Real Estate or Capital transfer investments |
| Minimum investment | Not required | 280,000€ |
| Residency conditions | Must live 6-8 months per year | 7 days per year |
| Visa Free movement | Schengen and certain EU countries | Schengen and certain EU countries |
| Rent a housing | Required | Not required |
| Health insurance coverage | Required | Required |
| Residence permit | Temporary residence permit issued for 1-2 years with extensions | Temporary Residence Permit (2 years) Permanent Residence Permit (5 years) |
| Processing time | 3-4 months | 3-4 months |
| Family members | Yes | Yes |
| Taxes | You become Tax resident since you will live in Portugal for more than 183 days | No taxes if you dont live for more than 183 days a year. Income arising from property taxed at 28% |
| Rights | Live,work,study, healthcare | Live, work, study, healthcare |
| Additional Tax benefits | Non habitual tax residency | Non habitual tax residency |
| Permanent residency | After 5 years of uninterrupted living | After 5 years (no strict residence conditions) |
| Citizenship | After 5-6 years of uninterrupted living | After 5-6 years (no strict residence conditions just meet 1-2 weeks visit to Portugal every year) |
Please contact us for more information.
