Portugal Golden Visa

Portugal is a southern European country bordering Spain and is a Member State of the European Union and belongs to the Euro & Schengen Zone. The Portuguese government passed a law in October 2012 to launch the residency by investment program, also known as a Golden Visa program.

The Portugal Golden Residence Permit Program

The Portugal Golden Residence Permit Program is a five-year residence-by-investment program for non-EU nationals. Once you buy a certain type of property in Portugal, you become eligible for a Golden Visa – this is the first step in an immigration route which enables you to apply for permanent residency after five years and citizenship after six years. This unlocks several fantastic personal, financial, and business advantages for you and (if relevant), your spouse and children (provided they apply before they are 18). Investors find many opportunities in Portugal’s secure and fast-developing market with access to the entire Schengen zone. The residence permit gives the right to live, work, and study in Portugal and allows free circulation in Europe’s Schengen Area. Furthermore, the program only requires an average of seven days per year stay in Portugal over this period, which can also count towards citizenship eligibility after five years.

Citizenship by birth

In November 2020, Portuguese government enacted a law wherein children born to foreign parents, at least one of whom has lived – legally or otherwise – in Portugal for a year will be eligible for Portuguese citizenship at birth. Children born in Portugal to foreign national’s resident in the territory already did qualify for birth-right citizenship, at least one of their parents had to have been resident in the country for two or more years. The new law reduces that timeframe to one year. Portugal is also on track to become a United States E1 and E2 treaty country, a change to would score another major competitive advantage for the golden visa program.