The Portugal Golden Visa program has proven to be the most popular scheme in Europe with investors attracted to its flexibility and benefits. Launched in 2012 the investor visa program has been actively promoted internationally by the Portuguese government. An investment of €500,000 in real estate in Portugal will gain a residency permit for a family including dependent children. The golden visa can be renewed every two years providing the applicant spends two weeks in the country every two years.
It gives foreign investors who spend 500,000 euros on a property here the right to live in Portugal.
They are also free to travel around all the EU countries in the Schengen area and after six years they can apply for Portuguese citizenship.
High demand
Since the residence scheme began in 2012, the Portuguese government says it has issued 734 so-called “Golden Visas” and that’s generated more than 440m euros.
Not all of that has come from property sales though because foreign investors can also get a Golden Visa by investing a million euros in capital or creating 10 jobs in Portugal.
Lower price tags
Foreign investor residence schemes have long existed in the UK and other parts of the world.
But Europe’s new wave has lower price tags. In Portugal and Spain investors have a minimum spend of 500,000 euros on a property to get a permit, in Cyprus it is 300,000 euros, and in Greece, it is 250,000 euros.
To find out more about applying for citizenship by investment programmes, please send an email to enquiries@connaughtlaw.com. Please include contact information, as well as any information about previous time spent on jobs, business or any work.
To find out if you are eligible for citizenship by investment in the UK, Europe or Caribbean through one of the currently available programs, please call us today.
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