If you intend to obtain a Residence Permit for Investment Activity (ARI), usually referred to as Golden Visa, you may do so in several ways:
i) Capital transfer with a value equal to or above 1 million Euros;
ii) The creation of, at least, 10 job positions;
iii) The purchase of real estate property with a value equal to or above 500 thousand Euros;
iv) The purchase of real estate property, with construction dating back more than 30 years or located in urban regeneration areas, for refurbishing, for a total value equal to or above 350 thousand Euros;
v) Capital transfer with a value equal to or above 350 thousand Euros for investing in research activities conducted by public or private scientific research institutions involved in the national scientific or technologic system;
vi) Capital transfer with a value equal to or above 250 thousand Euros for investing in artistic output or supporting the arts, for reconstruction or refurbishment of the national heritage, through the local and central authorities, public institutions, public corporate sector, public foundations, private foundations of public interest, networked local authorities, local corporate sector organizations, local associations and public cultural associations, pursuing activities of artistic output, and reconstruction or maintenance of the national heritage;
vii) Capital transfer with a value equal to or above 500 thousand Euros, for purchasing shares in investment funds or in venture capital geared to capitalize small and medium companies that, in turn, must present a feasible capitalization plan.
If you wish to carry out a real estate investment with the aim of obtaining the Residence Permit through the golden visa program and if you don’t intend to make an investment of 500 thousand euros, there are other options, namely through the acquisition of one or more properties in the total amount equal or higher than 350 thousand euros, provided that:
- The property was built more than 30 years ago; or
- The property is located in an urban regeneration area (in this case, it may be less than 30 years old).
We emphasize the fact that it is possible to obtain a golden visa through the acquisition and realization of renovation works of real estate, in the total amount equal to or greater than 350 thousand euros.
However, this amount can be substantially reduced by 20%, with the overall investment being € 280,000 if it is carried out in low-density territories (NUT III level with less than 100 inhabitants per km2 or GDP per capita less than 75% of the National average).
This measure aims to encourage investments in territories with a low population density. This investment can, for example, be carried out in Algarve, in Alentejo, as well as in other locations, which can provide you a pleasant standard of living.
With this article, we intend to provide only a brief explanation on how to carry out a real estate investment and obtain the Residence Permit for Investment Activity (ARI), and subsequently the possibility of acquiring Portuguese nationality. Thus, you can always count on FS Legal (Fonseca Santos & Associados – Law Firm) to carry out and assist you in the entire process. Contact us for more information and clarifications.
This article is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be exhaustive in relation to the matters covered here.
Lisbon, January 2017
Rodolfo José Santos