What is the Portugal Golden Visa program?
Portugal Golden Visa is a popular visa program that provides the opportunity of residency by investment in Portugal. The program was initiated in October of 2012; 10,000 applicants have received their Golden Visas since then.
This visa is available for non-European citizens who make a considerable investment in Portugal through real estate, business investment, or by creating job opportunities.
Now, you can fulfill your dream of living a European life with the help of a Golden Visa. First, let’s see the eligibility criteria, investment options, and the Portugal Golden Visa benefits.
Eligibility for the Golden Visa application
You must fulfill the following requirements for eligibility for a Golden Visa.
- You are above 18 years of age.
- You make a valuable investment that is advantageous for Portugal’s economy.
- You don’t have any history of criminal records.
- All the money you invest is yours.
- You keep the investment in Portugal for five years.
Investment options for Golden Visa
You can choose one of the following investments for eligibility for a Golden Visa:
For eligibility for a Golden Visa, you can make one of the following investments:
- Buy a private property of a minimum of 500,000 euros, or if the property is in an area with a low-density population, the value could be 400,000 euros.
- Buy a property in the Urban Regeneration Area valued at, at least 350,000 euros. Or if the area is low-density, it could be 280,000 euros.
- You can invest 350,000 euros in an investment fund.
- Open a Portuguese bank account and transfer 1 million euros to it.
- Buy shares in any Portuguese company worth 1 million euros.
- Start a business and create a minimum of ten jobs for people in Portugal.
- Invest 350,000 euros in forming a company or strengthening the shared capital of a company, from which you provide five permanent jobs.
- Transfer €350,000 to any public or private, scientific research institute for research activities in science and technology.
- Transfer €250,000 to reconstruct a national heritage or support the arts of Portugal.
Benefits of getting a Golden Visa
Wealthy investors greatly desire the Portugal Golden Visa Program. It provides a variety of benefits for the investor and his family. Some of them are as follows:
- Work and live in a European country.
You can live and work in Portugal without any problem. Portugal is a member of the EU Union, which indicates that you can get a Portuguese passport and live in an independent, democratic, and secure community with European citizenship.
- Education and healthcare facilities
As a Portuguese citizen, you and your family benefit from all of Portugal’s public services, like education and healthcare.
Portugal’s Serviço Nacional de Sade is a publicly sponsored healthcare system. As a result, Portugal was third in the World Index of Healthcare Innovation for 2021 for medical infrastructure and patient care.
All levels of education in Portugal are of a comparatively higher standard. For example, Portugal has a 99.44 percent literacy rate, and students consistently do better than average on PISA exams.
- Low living costs in all of Western Europe
While maintaining a high standard of living, Portugal has considerably low living costs. Food, education, healthcare, recreation, and social activities are all relatively inexpensive. Though the cost of living partly depends on your chosen lifestyle, you can technically live in Portugal for about $1,400 a month.
Portugal is one of the top choices for expats, continually scoring high in global surveys. It’s the only European nation to enter the top twenty list, according to Expat Insider 2021.
- Travel Europe visa-free
If you hold a Golden Visa, you can visit any European country without obtaining a separate travel visa.
Once you get a Portuguese passport, you can also travel to more than 100 countries visa-free.
How to apply for Golden Visa
Below are the steps to obtain a Portuguese Golden Visa:
- Visit Portugal and decide on an investment option.
- Open a Portuguese bank account.
- Make the investment.
- Apply for Portugal Golden Visa.
- Get a residency permit.
- Apply for permanent citizenship in Portugal.
Summary
Golden Visa is a popular visa program that provides the opportunity of residency by investment in Portugal. This visa is for non-EU nationals who make significant investments in Portugal through real estate, business investment, or starting a business and providing jobs to citizens. Portugal is regarded as the top destination for expats, with some of the lowest living costs in Western Europe.
