For over a decade, Portugal reigned most popular golden visa residence by investment schemes in the World. On July 19, 2023, the Portuguese parliament voted to remove all real estate investments while still preserving the golden visa program. There is still time now for property investors to apply for golden visa, until the law is signed by the president of the Republic which we expect to take 2-3 weeks and then the law will be in force from the date of publishing in the national gazette, which we expect to happen in September. The President can still send either approve or decline or seek amendments to legislation by sending back to the parliament. It is worth mentioning that only all property investments either direct or indirect will be unavailable for foreign investors with the amended GV law. The Capital transfer investments such as bank deposits and government bonds will also be removed.
Americans remain the biggest chunk of clients applying for Portuguese golden visa program, because of the geographic proximity connecting two continents. Over 90% of the investors in PGV are property investors, but once the law passes to decouple property investments from the GV program, it wont be possible to residence permits for real estate investing either directly or indirectly.
Portugal has unique benefits compared to other golden visa program, the most important benefit is the path to portuguese citizenship which allows you to become a EU citizen. While all other European golden visa programs, enforce strict residency (continuous living without breaks) and citizenship conditions and long waiting times, Portugal requires you to spend just 2 weeks annually in the territory, giving you the eligibility to apply for citizenship after just 6 years. Family members who have golden visa can also receive citizenship. This very important perk many investors are not aware of. It takes a lot of hard work and effort to acquire citizenship in other EU countries.
Here are the most important benefits.
– Residence permit for investment activity
– Free movement in Schengen and EU states (Bulgaria, Romania, Cyprus)
– Path to EU citizenship after six years
– Affordable cost of living.
– Right to work and study in Portugal. After citizenship, live work and study in any EU member states
– No military service,
– No citizenship tests
– Portugal will qualify for US E-2 visa in the future.
– Portuguese passport is so powerful and highly respected.
– Take advantage of Non habitual tax regime
Last Minute Slots
We still board clients who dont want to miss the last golden opportunity to apply for Golden visa investing in real estate. We have one very last investment project available to foreign investors. You will get the entire investment back after five years, guaranteed by the developer. This is the last project readymade we offer due to time constraints all under one package. We don’t want to waste valuable time searching for residential properties. Before investing in this project we will help you to get Tax number and open bank account, through our dedicated law firm in two weeks, so that applications with SEF immigration authority can be filed in time before the official law is passed, which can happen in early Sep 2023. We still have time.
On the date on which this law enters into force, any pending applications for the residence permit for investment shall remain valid.
– Government Law Proposal, p.70
Palace Hotel (Buyback shares)
A Luxury Hotel Project will convert existing historical palace and property into Deluxe Hotel with 50 apartment rooms in Prime Urban location. Become co-owner of historical luxury hotel
- Reduced 280,000€ investment (Last Few slots left. Almost sold out)
- Exit strategy: Shares fully refundable after 5 years by developer (guaranteed)
- Booking reservation fee – 10%
- 4-6% Yield Annual returns
- Lawyer fee waived
- Hotel operation starting 2025
- Limited Availability (less than 10 slots left)
- Free yearly stay in three exclusive hotels
- EU citizenship after 6 years
- IMT Tax (covered by developer)
- VAT (covered by developer)
- EU Citizenship after 6 years.
(Photos and brochure of this unique investment available on request)
To save time, please prepare the required documents from your side. The most important documents are
- Passport / ID card / Utility bills
- Criminal record certificate from the country of origin or the country of residence, issued in last 3 months
- Proof of taxpayer number/ TIN from the country of origin, country of residence or country of tax residence (if possible)
Apply through Best Citizenships. Our Services are free of charge for Portugal golden visa clients. We don’t want clients to regret for missing out on the last ride to invest in Portugal real estate market and an important EU citizenship opportunity (once in a lifetime). Please contact us for a free consultation.
PGV Golden Visa Status Update
The closure of GV program in Portugal will go through the following legislative process (status as of today):
- Initial Discussion (completed): General discussion of the law proposal in the Parliament plenary session
- Committee Review (completed): Relevant committees examine the proposal and hear from experts and stakeholders
- Parliament Voting (completed): Parliament can propose amendments and the proposed law is debated and voted upon
- President Ratification (in progress): The President can ratify, veto or send the proposal back to parliament for further review
- Constitutional Court Validation (pending): The President or other parties can request a constitutional assessment
- Official Publishing (pending): The new law is enacted five days after its official publication in the Government Official Gazette
There are already some relevant bullet points to highlight, as follows with submission of applications:
- New applications for the Golden Visa will be accepted until the new law comes into force – we don’t know when this will happen, reason why the sooner we submit the applications, the better
- There will be no retroactive effects on the processes already submitted (meaning that even if your process was submitted after 16th February, and until the law coming into force and being published, it will be accepted by the immigration office;
- Pending applications and future renewals, at that renewal stage, will be converted into a “special D2 Entrepreneurs Permit” – on this point, the only clarity already given by the draft of the law is that the minimum stay requirements will be the same as applicable normally for the golden visa (an average of 7 day per year stay requirement as before), so there’s no need to spend most of the time in Portugal as it happens with normal “D2 visas/permits”;
- New applications for residence permits relating to investments or support for artistic production, recovery or maintenance of cultural heritage country will continue to be possible even after the program is terminated – meaning that the program remains but only for this “special cultural investments”;
- The provisions of this draft are equally applicable to the granting or renewal of residence permits for family reunification.
