A lot has happened in Portugal over the last 12 months, especially relating to the GoldenVisa programme. Here is a quick recap of the highlights: GOLDEN VISA RULE CHANGES 1. Real Estate investments in Portugal became ineligible for the Golden Visa from 6th October 2023 (foreigners can still buy property, just not eligible for the GV). 2. Investment in Venture Capital Funds which invest in Real Estate also became ineligible for the Golden Visa. The option to simply park €1.5mn in a bank account in Portugal (Capital Transfer) was also taken off the table. Following are the options that remain av ..read more

By now, those interested in the Portugal Golden Visa must be well aware that the Portuguese Government has passed a bill to close the programme with retrospective effect from 16th February 2023. However, the Bill has not yet been passed into a law, and needs to pass through a couple more hoops at the least. There is NO concrete information on WHEN that may happen :-(. 1. ? ? Technically, yes. The existing (familiar) Golden Visa law prevails as of now. And SEF (the department responsible for immigration processing) is still accepting applications. 2. ? In our opinion, only in the following circ ..read more

Many clients and prospects ask us about the Portuguese Healthcare system and benefits, in case they were to move to Portugal for longer periods of time rather than only the 14 days every 2 years required for the Portuguese Golden Visa. Some of the main questions that many potential Portuguese Golden Visa and D7 visa investors have asked are: 1. What are the health care benefits provided by the state for a Temporary Residents of Portugal under a D7 or Golden Visa Program? Are they any different if you have a Permanent Residency in Portugal or become a citizen? 2. Is there any monthly contributi ..read more

So you have found out about the Portugal Golden Visa, the Residency By Investment programme offered by Portugal (also called Investor Visa or Resident Permit for Investment Activity), and are keen to take the next step, but you have two key questions: What IS the next step (and the process thereafter)? How soon can I get my Golden Visa resident permit? In this post, we look under the hood and take you through the nitty-gritties of the process, and also give you a sense of the current lead times we are experiencing. If you would like to read about our views on choosing your investment wisely ..read more

Our goal at Golden Homes Portugal is to help clients - those looking to acquire a Residency Permit (Investment Visa) in Portugal - make a well-informed decision regarding the Golden Visa, starting from whether the Portugal Golden Visa program is itself the right one for them or not. However, perhaps the most time & effort consuming component of the decision is the investment decision - which investment route to choose, how much to invest, where to invest, and so on. In fact, this is why our company's proposition is to provide "SMART INVESTMENT + PORTUGAL GOLDEN VISA" - a turnkey solution ..read more

From over 50% historical share of the Portugal Golden Visa, the Chinese now make up less than 20% of the investors so far in 2022. While this article in Bloomberg specifically analyses the reasons for this change in Chinese applications, it also points to the extremely dynamic scenario in the Residency By Investment space given the current geo-political climate. Rules are changing, priorities are changing, markets are changing....who woulda thunk that Americans would make such a beeline for a European home? One could react in 2 ways - a. become paralyzed by this fluid dynamism, or b. become mo ..read more

I came across this is really interesting and insightful interview with Sr. Pedro Lancastre, the CEO of JLL Portugal. It provides a great summary of the recent history and the current status of the Real Estate market in Portugal. For Golden Visa investors, the good news is that the changes in regulation making residential properties in high population density areas ineligible for Golden Visas, are unlikely to have a huge impact on the real estate market. Apparently GV investments made up only 0.5% of all apartments sold in Portugal in 2021! And the demand still leads supply by a huge margin - i ..read more

I've just returned after spending nearly 4 weeks in Portugal over February and March. I spent my time in Lisbon, Évora, the Algarve, Beja.......I met fund managers, real estate developers & promoters, immigration lawyers, even building contractors....a real nose-to-the-ground trip to get a sense of what is going on in the country in general, and the Golden Visa landscape in particular. So here's a quick report :-). The Country To start with, Portugal has (thankfully!) not been amongst the worst affected countries during the pandemic, although Tourism, which is a major industry, did take a ..read more

Investors looking to apply for the Portugal Golden Visa sometimes ask about funding or routing the investment - taking loans, buying in a joint name etc. In this blog post, I try and address some of these frequently asked questions. As always, please do check with legal and tax professionals in your home country and in Portugal before making any decision. My post is only meant to serve as a starting point based on my understanding, and not as definitive professional advice. 1. Can I take a loan to make my investment? To the extent of the minimum qualifying amount required for the Golden Visa i ..read more

Following on from our earlier blog post “Golden Visa Changes - Should you rush to meet the deadline?”, guest writer Sr. Rui Inácio talks about the evolution of the Portuguese Real Estate market and where the opportunities lie after 2022, especially in the €280,000 Golden Visa Investment segment. Sr. Rui Inácio is a Real Estate Consultant with Re/Max Ideal and brings over 12 years’ experience in the Portugal Real Estate market. The last half decade has taken the Portuguese real-estate market for an authentic ascending ride. In all fairness, there was no place to go but up since the hardest and ..read more