Portugal Residence Permit
Golden Residence Permit Program for life by the ocean and traveling around Europe visa-free
Conditions of the program
Since the launch of Portugal’s residence permit by investment program in 2012, 9,340 investors and 15,965 of their family members have received golden visas in return for a total investment of more than 5.6 billion euros.
To apply for a residence permit by investment, applicants can choose one of seven options, including buying real estate, investing in a business and making a contribution to scientific or cultural projects.
The option of purchasing shares is also gaining popularity. In this option, the applicant invests €500,000 in a closed-end investment fund, undergoes a Due Diligence check at the Immigration Service and, on approval by the authorities, receives a Portuguese residence permit in 2-3 months.
After five to ten years, the shares can be sold and most of the costs of obtaining a residence permit can be recovered
Who can get a Portugal residence permit
Freedom to choose your future
Investment options
Cost of Portugal residence permit received by purchasing units in investment funds
| Purchase units | From €500,000 |
| Fund’s commission on investment | Up to 7,5% |
| Annual commission charged by fund on profit | 0,5% to 3% |
| Tax on profit from investment for tax non-residents/non-habitual tax residents of Portugal | 0% |
| Tax on profit from investment for tax residents of Portugal | 14% |
| Medical insurance | From €400 per person per annum |
| Application fee | €533 зper person |
| Residence permit card | €5,340 per person |
Application procedure
Preliminary check
Our certified Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer conducts almost the same preliminary Due Diligence check as the program department. This allows us to find potential problems and reduces the risk of our clients’ application for a residence permit being rejected to 1%.
Our preliminary Due Diligence check is mandatory.
We do not sign an agreement with the investor until after we have carried out the preliminary Due Diligence.
If risks of rejection are found during the check, we offer an alternative solution to circumvent the problem: for example, we sometimes advise the applicant to choose another program or attach additional documents
to strengthen the application.
The procedure is confidential and takes 1 business day. The applicant is required to provide only their passport.
Remote selection of real estate
Immigrant Invest’s real estate specialists select several properties for the investor to look at online. If necessary, one of our employees in Portugal travels to the site to take photographs and videos.
When an investor selects several variants, we negotiate with the sellers on the conditions for the sale of these properties
Travel to Portugal
The applicant travels to Portugal to personally see the property and choose the appropriate option.
In two or five days, they can open a bank account, register their individual foreigner’s tax number and draw up a power of attorney for a lawyer
in Portugal to act on their behalf.
Registration of a purchase and sale transaction
Immigrant Invest’s lawyers support the investor throughout the process of buying real estate and ensure the legal validity of the transaction.
The client’s lawyer in Portugal signs a preliminary sale- purchase contract and concludes the deal. The investor then transfers the money. The client’s lawyer in Portugal, based on the power of attorney, receives the certificate of ownership of the real estate, which will be required when applying for a residence permit.
Collection of documents and submission of application
Open Window lawyers provide the investor with an individual list of documents that need to be submitted to obtain a residence permit.
They also fill out the required government forms, translate and certify the documents, and collect the title deeds for the property. This can take up to two weeks.
Electronic copies of the documents are sent for consideration to Portugal’s Immigration and Border Service (SEF), which takes one to one-and-a-half months to process the application.
Submission of biometric data in Portugal
The investor and their family need to personally submit their biometric data and original documents
in Portugal. An appointment for submitting biometrics needs to be booked in advance in the SEF’s electronic registry.
When the investor and their family have submitted their application and biometrics, SEF issues
a document confirming this for them. Based on this document, they can live in Portugal until their residence permit cards are issued; however, they cannot enter
or leave the country based on this document.
Approval and receipt of residence permit cards
SEF checks the documents submitted by the investor and their family. It takes up to six months from
the date of submission of the original documents and biometric data to process the application.
Once approval is received, the investor pays a fee
for the production of the residence permit cards. They are issued within two weeks and delivered personally to the investor or their lawyer, who then sends them to the investor.
Renewal of the residence permit
To maintain the residence permit, the investor and their family must spend at least 7 days a year in Portugal every year. The residence permit
is renewable every 2 years.
Residence permit with Open Window
- Open Window is an official representative of the Portuguese residence permit program by investment.
- We support our clients from their first consultation until they are issued with a residence permit. After two years, we help them renew their residence permit cards.
- We also provide additional services, such as helping replace a residence permit card in case of loss, collecting and submitting documents for a citizenship application, applying for tax residency and opening a bank account.
