CITIZENSHIP BY INVESTMENT – EUROPE – PORTUGAL

Portugal is now one of the top level destinations for investors who are looking at getting a new nationality.  After researching extensively over several investment programs, Portugal is usually selected for the following reasons:

1) Does not require to live full time basis in the country

Minimum requirements of stay are 7 days in the 1st year and 14 days every each 2 years after that.

2) Is the only country in Schengen space which allows the investor to Work, Live and Study without any restrictions

Several countries in Europe are afraid the investors will still their management positions at local companies, most of the investors have other motivations than going to find a job in Europe. But freedom of moving in Europe plus the idea of being able to settle down if for any reason they want to move to Europe, brings to investors a good feeling.

3) Investment in Real Estate in Portugal is now in the right moment

During the last 5 years investment in Portuguese Real Estate have been quite low. With lack of liquidity from Portuguese banks, construction slowed down a lot and prices went a lot down. The new reality with this program is that there are new investors arriving everyday to acquire new properties and the amount of new properties in the market is quite low. Prices are already picking up and an increase of more than 20% in premium areas is giving a lot new confidence for bigger projects.

4) Tax System

Portuguese tax system is complex and quite heavy but one thing good is that if you do not live in Portugal over 183 days per year you are not required to declare your global earnings. You will just need to declare your earnings inside Portugal and respecting the double tax agreements between your country of residence and Portugal.

5) Portugal needs people.

Not only most of Portuguese are open minded in terms of race, culture or age, but we also have a birth rate lower than countries with restrictions such as China. For the economy to be sustainable we urgently need to get young people into the country in order to revitalize most of the industries and services.

If you are looking for Citizenship by Investment, Portugal is clearly one of your best choices if not the best. If you need additional information I would be happy to help.