Citizenship - Portugal, Golden Visa, Investment

UPDATE: Now Accepted – OLD Alert: Open Investors process without documents is no longer accepted at Immigration Department

Update: We are now able to submit your biometric data at your first trip without any documentation ready. Please disregard the communication bellow.

We have been receiving investors in Portugal within the past 2 years that are coming without the full set of documents to present to Immigration Department. Due to the changes on internal procedures inside Immigration Department for the following period of time all Investors which decide to travel to Portugal to submit their finger prints and their biometric data need to have their documentation required.

Due to this changes, we are now requesting all Investors to collect their Police Clearance Report duly stamped by Portugal Embassy of their document issuing country before traveling to Portugal. In case you are bringing your family please also collect their Police Clearance Report, Marriage Certificate or Birth Certificate in order to be able to start the process (all documents need to be duly stamped at Portugal Embassy).

Since the demand of the program is increasing quickly it is now requested that Investors advise their travel intentions 4 weeks before their traveling date in order to assure a visit to Immigration Department. In case you are planing to fly in a much shorter period than the one announced here, please contact us in order to identify the risks and possible solutions.

For those who intent to travel without the documents, please be aware that after your investment is completed and your process is been approved you will need to travel to Portugal to submit your biometric data in order to be able to receive your residence permit card.

The Golden Visa Immigration procedures are being revised, for the time being those are the current rules, once the system has been updated we will inform you.

Citizenship - Portugal, Golden Visa, Investment, Real Estate - Portugal

Golden Visa Numbers 2014 – Stats for Investor Visa

Investor Visa 2014 in Review

Its easy to make a simple and easy short evaluation of what was the Investor Visa Program during 2014. At this moment all institutions are very happy with the course of this program and Investors are welcome to continue to boost Portuguese economy to leverage the capacity of the Government to revitalize our beautiful country.

The Published Numbers are:

2014 – 1526 Investors Approved

2013 – 424 Investors Approved

2012 – 2 Investors Approved

Number of Family Members Approved

2014 – 2395 Family Members

2013 – 494 Family Members

The Total Investment Generated by this Program:

By Acquiring Real Estate:

1.110.702.081,12 Euro (1.110 million euro)

By Capital Transfer:

117.271.745,77 Euro (117 million euro)

The Total Number of Investors per Type of Investment:

1916 Investors choose Real Estate Option – 95%

103 Investors choose Capital Option – 5%

3 Investors choose to create over 10 Jobs – 0%

Main Nationalities

China: 81%

Brazil: 3%

Russia: 3%

South Africa: 2%

Lebanon: 2%

After seeing the results it is easy to understand that 95% of the Investors choose to purchase Real Estate and elected this option as their preferred, in average they added 1,18 persons to their program which is less than 2 persons per investor and in 1 years the demand for this Golden Visa Program has increased over 350% compared to previous year. The expectation that is 2015 will beat the record of applicants and will reach at least 2000 application successfully approved within one year. The origin of the Investors is clearly dominated by China.

Citizenship - Portugal, Golden Visa, Investment

UK Travels Alert

As we known, all citizens with valid residence permit in European Union have freedom of traveling around European Union Countries. In this sense, all citizens from non-EU countries with a valid residence permit should be able to freely travel within European Union Space (Schengen and Non Schengen Countries).

As recently British Prime Minister David Cameron is restricting the access to foreign citizens to UK, they have been rejecting access of Non-European Citizens with valid residence permits in European Countries.

As principle, this violates the main European Union statements and recently a Colombian Citizen with valid residence permit in Spain have appealed in UK Courts based on the fact that was rejected to enter UK with Valid European Union Residence Permit and won the case with European Union Court counseling.

For all Investors which hold residence permit cards from Portugal please note that by law and principle you should be granted access into UK for traveling purposes not for residence or work purposes however due to the latest behavior of UK Immigration Border Offices it becomes unstable to take it as a guaranteed entry. It is very important that in case you decide to try entering UK (at your own risk) with Portugal Residence Permit Card that you state that you are living in Portugal, otherwise your entry will be refused.

Attached please find a newspaper article with a court case with this matters.

Citizenship - Portugal, Golden Visa, Investment

Capital Investment Over 1.000.000 Euro – Rules Changed

For all investors considering to apply for 1.000.000 euro capital investment option, please note that Immigration Department is now restricting the assets in which you can apply the capital. You are able to buy Portuguese companies stocks or leave the money in a time deposit at the bank. All investments to be done in foreign assets will not be accepted. This also involves all investment funds which are located outside of Portugal and investing in Portuguese stocks or Portuguese Investment Funds which are exclusively investing outside of Portugal.

Due to the fact that several Investors when applying for their Investors Visa have choosen to buy sovereign bonds from other countries or by investing in their own investment funds, government is not restricting the options on which you can choose for investment to make sure the spirit of the law is respected.

For those investors which have already performed their investments, Government clarified that will be checking randomly the types of investments they have been doing and in case they do not respect the law spirit will be notified to reconvert their assets. By the time of renewals any investor which holds a capital investment in the bank by using foreign titles, it will be required to reconvert their assets in acceptable investment options in order to have their applications successfully processed.

Golden Visa, Investment, Real Estate - Portugal

Golden Visa : Invest in Rural Properties with High Income Returns

Since the Golden Visa Program started in Portugal, lots of investors have chosen the option of buying an apartment in Lisbon city center or a Villa around Cascais as their main priorities. However with prices increasing and rental market still focused on Portuguese people which is far away from booming, the return rate of residential properties investments is becoming lower and lower.

This raises the opportunity to find other locations or to diversify the investments into Rural properties. Portugal Rural properties or agriculture properties are at this stage sold with a very big discount and at incredible prices, however is necessary to understand the cost structure of each specific unit to be able to feel confident about this kind of investment. Since Portugal was for many years developing agriculture of subsistence which consists in producing your own food just for living, most of available properties in the market are small fractions of land which do not reveal to be productive and able to generate high income returns.

According to our experience it is very important to choose properties which have already in place plantations over 50 hectares and that costs structure is lean enough to generate high returns. Costs of electricity, water and other products have increased substantially within the last years and food price is pretty much stable. If you plan to invest in Rural Properties which have a high return we recommend you to choose between the following cultures: Cork Trees, Olive Trees, Vineyards with own Wine Production, Pine Trees or Eucalyptus. Those are the plantations which offer you a stable and high return that can even reach 20% a year. Since there are very good perspectives of seeing land price increase within the next years, you might be investing in a business that is able to generate over 20% a year within the next 5-10 years.

We have already selected a numerous rural properties with high income returns, in case you would like to visit them feel free to get in contact with us by email or phone.

Portugal Rural Properties at Right Stage for Investment

Golden Visa, Investment, Real Estate - Portugal

Portugal: Real Estate Prices Rising Fast vs Tourism Industry

Yesterday Lisbon was considered a touristic destination able to beat Barcelona within the next 2 years by a leader of a major Low Cost Airline while visiting the country for contract signing. Major low cost airlines are uniting efforts to improve the amount of passengers they bring to Portugal in order to take advantages of huge discounts on airport taxes. The amount of visitors that landed in the city exceeds 15 million passengers per year. This equals to 1.5 times the Portuguese population and explains why the economy is surrounded by tourism industry all around the country.

With Portugal Investors Program, golden visa ( temporary residence permit for investors ) bringing a lot of Real Estate Investors into the country, the effect is awaking other investors non related to visa deal to come back to Portugal for Real Estate Investments. With Financial crisis still in place, Banks are unable to lend money for developers com back to their jobs and start building new properties, leaving the market without enough supply for the amount of demand that is arriving every day.

Some Real Estate companies are still not that optimistic because the product they are bringing to market are not attractive for foreign investors and on this I am considering badly located properties, low quality construction properties, old properties not in conditions of usage or properties which have no perspectives of generating income.

Investors are being very rational when approaching Portugal Real Estate market, they are not coming here to fall in love for properties which they might identify themselves with, they mostly choose properties where the foresee price increase within next years and at same time have a good rental income.

For properties which fall into this category the supply is getting less and less every day and I do not foresee any changes on this situation for the next 3-4 years since in order to build a new development might take at least 2 years to complete everything.

The message is clear to those investors out there if you have any intentions of investing in Real Estate in Portugal as soon as you land in Lisbon to choose your property as faster you make money. Prices are starting to rise and we will see and uncontrolled prices going up within the next 2 years, please be prepared to make money while enjoying your Residence Permit Card without living in Portugal and wining the ability to live in any Schengen Country at your wish.

Golden Visa, Investment

English Summer School in Lisbon

In reply to several requests from Investors about English Schools in Portugal, we take the opportunity to invite potential Investors applicants or current ones to provide a Lisbon experience of a Summer School in English for all kids.

During Summer, St Julians School one of the most well known international schools in Lisbon, is developing full schedule of activities which provide full entertainment for all.

Activities: Children will be engaging in sport, music, visual arts and drama activities, lead by our coordinators, as well as learning and developing their English with their senior assistants, through games and group work. They will be going to the beach and on other exciting trips.

Groups: Children are divided into groups according to their age and activities are planned accordingly.
Group 1: 3-5 years old
Group 2: 6-9 years old
Group 3: 10-14 years old

The price is about 240 Euro per week, with several discounts when applying with several children at same time. Nothing better than have a real feel of education in Portugal, while your kid is having lots of fun.

For any more detailed information we suggest you contact St Julians School using this link:

http://www.stjulians.com/co-curricular/summer-school/

Lisbon English International School Summer Camps

Citizenship - Portugal, Golden Visa, Investment

How to Renew my Investors Visa or Golden Visa ?

Hot to Renew your Golden Visa

At the time of renewal, what do you need to present to be able to renew your Investors Visa or Golden Visa ?

To be able to renew your residence permit and continue on your Investors Visa program, you are required to get the following conditions:

1- Show a document that proves the required investment

2 – Show a declaration of no debt from Tax Department and Social Security Department

3 – Show a valid health insurance if you do not have Social Security contributions

4 – Show documents that support the fact that you have spent over 7 days in 1^st year in Portugal or in case of 2^nd renewal 14 days from past 2 years. This can be with one visit or several visits. (Hotel bills, flight tickets, etc.)

5 – Show a valid declaration that you will fulfill the remaining requirements for the next period of renewal in Portuguese territory (14 days stay over next 2 years).

If the investment is capital and over 1.000.000 euro, which documents are requested to be presented for renewal?

1 – Declaration of Finantial Institution autorized in National Territory to show that average trimester balance in bank account is over 1.000.000 Euro. In case the investment are stocks from stock market with a current value, if the value is under 1.000.000 Euro it can be used to renew your visa, if the same number of stocks from same companies are kept as the initial investment over 1.000.000 Euro.

If the investment is a company created with over 10 permanent employees which documents are requested for renewal?

1 – Updated declaration from Social Security to confirm that you have kept at least 10 permanent employees during the full period.

If the investment is in Real Estate what do you need to show to renew your Residence Permit?

1 – Property Registry Certification confirming that properties declared as investment are still in Investors name.

The process of renewing your investors visa becomes pretty easy to obtain as long as all the documents are presented. To fulfill all the requirements is advised to check clearly all the papers before submitting the application in order to avoid big troubles. An interruption of Investors Visa might put in risk the possibility of getting citizenship in 6 years.

It is very important that you keep the records from your trips to Portugal and respect all the time frame requirements for Visa renewal. Any doubts we strongly suggest you check our ebook at www.portugalinvestorvisa.com

Citizenship - Portugal, Investment

How to get citizenship by investment with 1.000.000 Euro

Citizenship by Investment – Investing over 1.000.000 Euro

The Law in Portugal opens the possibility for foreign investors to apply for residence permit by an investment which allows a regular entry into Schengen territory without restrictions (Portugal and other European Countries). All investors who hold residence permits in Portugal are entitled to family reunification and are eligible to request citizenship after 6 consecutive years of valid residence permit. This form of investment , can be considered if capital transfer is executed to a Portuguese Bank with an amount equal or greater than 1 million Euro. The investment can be in stocks, shares, bond or even just time deposit or current deposit. Is it a problem to renew the investor visa if an Investor buys shares of a company and after with depreciation the value falls under 1.000.000 Euro ? The answer is no. If the investor purchased shares in value of 1.000.000 Euro and at the time of visa renewal did not sell or exchange the original investment, the document of original purchase and the certified statement from the bank to show investment is kept as original purchase, will be able to renew the visa, even if the market value falls under 1.000.000 Euro.

Citizenship - Portugal, Golden Visa, Investment, Real Estate - Portugal

Portuguese Government expects to collect over 500 million euro investment in Portugal for 2014 – Investor Visa

Vice-Prime Minister of Portugal announced yesterday that he expects to collect over 500 million euro investment for Portugal with Investors Visa in 2014. After a total collection of 306 million euro in 2013, Paulo Portas expects to be able to collect over 500 million which represents an increase of over 60% for 2014.

Investors Visa Program is surpassing the expectations and according to Paulo Portas words, it is a credible and sustainable way to get foreign investment in Portugal and overall results are very positive. This Program is today one of the most important instruments to help Portuguese economy to recover from global crisis.

Investment in Portugal to surpass 500 million euro in 2014 with Investors Visa

Real Estate Industry has been seen an unexpected recovery with this program which can account with a volume increase of 40% in 2013 for number of transactions processed through this program. Till the end of December 2013 have been accounted a total of 471 Golden Visas | Investor Visas.

This is a clear message of how important this program is for Portuguese Government and how much efforts are being put into this resource of foreign investment.

Real Estate prices are already overseeing an increase due to all positive factors that are surrounding Portuguese economy. Great expectations are still open for the period after IMF intervention in Portugal.

Portugal Investor Visa

Citizenship and Residence Permit by Investment – info@portugalinvestorvisa.com – Phone: +351 914976018 – Portugal

Category Archives: Investment

UPDATE: Now Accepted – OLD Alert: Open Investors process without documents is no longer accepted at Immigration Department

Golden Visa Numbers 2014 – Stats for Investor Visa

UK Travels Alert

Capital Investment Over 1.000.000 Euro – Rules Changed

Golden Visa : Invest in Rural Properties with High Income Returns

Portugal: Real Estate Prices Rising Fast vs Tourism Industry

English Summer School in Lisbon

How to Renew my Investors Visa or Golden Visa ?

How to get citizenship by investment with 1.000.000 Euro

Portuguese Government expects to collect over 500 million euro investment in Portugal for 2014 – Investor Visa