Uncategorized

Immigration Department Inspectors Claim Lack of Staff

Portugal Immigration department inspectors which are responsible to provide Investors Visa ( Golden Visa ) claimed today they are running with too little staff and can not cope with the amount of demand from this program.  The Inspectors Union launched a communication where they say the system is fragile because of lack of training to inspectors not allowing them to be able to control well the rules and details of the investment. This week Internal Affairs Ministry announced that the internal procedures inside Immigration Department will be modified to ensure the procedures are performed with best practices avoiding mistakes or delays as such as we have been experiencing the last months.

Inspectors Union refers to all this problem as lack of staff and lack of training with a natural consequence of extra work and overload per each inspector.  The conclusions of the last audit to Immigration Department refers to disorganization and lack of clear rules and procedures to process all this applications.

It is already known that the new manual of procedures should be in place within 30 days and after an initial phase of training improvements should start to be noticed. At this current moment they apology for the delay they have been creating in so many applications and expect this issues to be resolved for the near future.

For all our investors which are having their applications in process, please note that quick resolutions are expected soon.

 

Internal Affairs Ministry Anabela Rodrigues

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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.

investmentcapital

 

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Golden Visa

Overstay with a Portugal Short Term Schengen Visa – Tourist or Business

Since several of our investors got a problem of too short term visas while deciding to travel to Portugal we took the decision to post the current solution for their problem.

When you feel frustrated by seeing that embassy where you applied your visa only gave you a 7 days schengen visa or if your visa is expiring and you will not be able to travel since they will not give you a new schengen visa before the expiration of the old one, please find bellow the procedures and considerations which you have to make before do your trip.

1) Schengen Touristic / Business Visa are pretty easy to extend so the key point is to book an appointment for your Visa extension to be able to stay longer than you have permission

2) When coming to Portugal is important that you fly out of Lisbon/Faro/Oporto directly from out of Schengen space. You will not be able to make the following procedures if your flight has a stopover in Germany, or France or any other Schengen country.

To be able to extend your visa you need to state the following things:

a) Hotel Booked and ideally paid till the end of your planned stay

b) Flight ticket with the date of departure over the Schengen Visa expiring date

c) Means of Subsistence something like a Visa credit card or a bank statement will work or cash over 1000 Euro will work.

d) 2 Passport Pictures

Those are the required documents to be able to extend once you arrive for the extension meeting at Immigration Office. Please be aware that Immigration Office only allows you to book the appointment for one day before your expiration visa date, in that way leaves you only one day to react in case you need to leave Schengen space the next day.

How does it normally happen the procedure? The answer is simple, usually Immigration Office is so crowded with work that if you try to apply for this appointment they will give you a meeting much over the date of your visa expiration. If this happens than you are one of the lucky one which can overstay till the date of the meeting and just need to present the paper with appointment booked at immigration office. No fines or other issues will be raised, but please be aware that you can only do this if you leave schengen space from Portugal directly to outside. Usually delay is about 3 weeks from booking time which will provide you plenty of time to enjoy the best of Portugal. In the meanwhile you should not leave the country to other Schengen country since this document will not be valid outside of the country and you might get into troubles with authority.

For any other details we recommend you keep updated with Immigration Office (SEF) before making a trip where you plan to overstay. For Investors is very important that comply with regulations to avoid having problems issuing the Investor / Golden Visa.

How to Overstay with a Schengen Visa in Portugal

Schengen Visa Example

 

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Golden Visa

Changes: Police Clearance Report Requested Over 16 Years Old

Even though majority in Portugal is considered only over 18 years old, the criminal responsibility starts over 16 years old.  In the past we have been requesting Police Clearance Reports only for adults when applying for Investors Visa but since the last changes we will continue to fulfill Portuguese law and request criminal responsibility for all persons over 16 years old when joining the Golden Visa / Investors Visa Program.

Please note that Police Clearance report should be issued on your residence area from last 3 years and should be translated into English or Portuguese and stamped at correspondent Portugal Embassy from issuing document Country. For more informations about it, please consult any member of our team for more details.

Police Clearance Report is a document issued by Police or Local authorities confirming that person in case have no police record or in case there are records which type of records are there. Please note that according to our understanding is not a requirement to have a clean Police Clearance Report since the crimes for what you have been condemned might not be translated into Portuguese law. The important information is that for any case where your police clearance report has some records, we are able to provide as much information as possible about that matter.

For more specific information feel free to get in contact with us for a better understanding. For those who did not provide Police Clearance Report for minors over 16 years old before, be aware that when renewing your golden visa residence permit card you will have to present it.

Police Clearance Report for Golden Visa - Investors Visa Application

Minors Over 16 years old are called to comply with this requirement.

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Citizenship - Portugal, Golden Visa

Vice-Prime Minister confirms 772 Investors Visa granted till now and only 11 rejections

 

Investor Visa | Golden Visa | Paulo Portas Vice Prime Minister PortugalVice-Prime Minister Paulo Portas confirmed that 772 Investors Visa have been already granted and so far they have only made 11 rejections. This leaves the rejection rate at very low levels such as less than 2%.

From those 11 rejections 7 were dependents which have seen their residence permit not granted by the fact they could not meet the criteria. From the remaining 4 investors which could not see their application approved, most of the issues are related to criminal record or lack of documents to confirm that investment have been performed.

After reviewing this numbers, it is easy to conclude that this Investors Program so far is being a big success and that the quality of applicants is really high. It is clear that this program will stay for longer period since the foreign investment amount that this is bringing to Portugal is substantial.

From all the applicants Chinese are still almost 80% (612) of the applicants for this program. Vice-Prime Minister Paulo Portas is making a big effort to market this program in different countries to diversify the foreign investment for Portugal.

464 million euro have already been invested in Portugal. Most of the applicants choosing the option of Real Estate as their preferred investment option. Only 4 persons have choose the option of creating a company and less than 40 the possibility of depositing 1.000.000 Euro in a Bank account.

Due to high demand of applicants that are willing to start this program, the Immigration Office is already taking a longer time to approve the applications.

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Citizenship - Portugal, Golden Visa

List for Countries that can apply for Portugal Golden Visa | Investors Visa in Portugal

Please find bellow a list of countries which are able to apply for Golden Visa or Portugal Investors Visa. If your country is not listed bellow and you would like to apply for Investors Visa, please feel free to contact us.

World Map - Counties that Can Apply for Golden Visa - Investors Visa Portugal

World Map

Afghanistan
Albania
Algeria
Angola
Antigua and Barbuda
Argentina
Armenia
Aruba
Australia
Azerbaijan
Bahamas, The
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Barbados
Belarus
Belize
Benin
Bhutan
Bolivia
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Botswana
Brazil
Brunei
Burkina Faso
Burma
Burundi
Cambodia
Cameroon
Canada
Cape Verde
Central African Republic
Chad
Chile
China
Colombia
Comoros
Congo, Democratic Republic of the
Congo, Republic of the
Costa Rica
Cote d’Ivoire
Cuba
Curacao
Djibouti
Dominica
Dominican Republic
East Timor
Ecuador
Egypt
El Salvador
Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea
Ethiopia
Fiji
Gabon
Gambia, The
Georgia
Ghana
Grenada
Guatemala
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Guyana
Haiti
Holy See
Honduras
Hong Kong
Iceland
India
Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
Israel
Jamaica
Japan
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kenya
Kiribati
Korea, North
Korea, South
Kosovo
Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan
Laos
Lebanon
Lesotho
Liberia
Libya
Macau
Macedonia
Madagascar
Malawi
Malaysia
Maldives
Mali
Marshall Islands
Mauritania
Mauritius
Mexico
Micronesia
Moldova
Mongolia
Montenegro
Morocco
Mozambique
Namibia
Nauru
Nepal
Netherlands Antilles
New Zealand
Nicaragua
Niger
Nigeria
North Korea
Norway
Oman
Pakistan
Palau
Palestinian Territories
Panama
Papua New Guinea
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines
Qatar
Russia
Rwanda
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Samoa
San Marino
Sao Tome and Principe
Saudi Arabia
Senegal
Serbia
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Singapore
Sint Maarten
Solomon Islands
Somalia
South Africa
South Korea
South Sudan
Sri Lanka
Sudan
Suriname
Swaziland
Switzerland
Syria
Taiwan
Tajikistan
Tanzania
Thailand
Timor-Leste
Togo
Tonga
Trinidad and Tobago
Tunisia
Turkey
Turkmenistan
Tuvalu
Uganda
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
United States of America
Uruguay
Uzbekistan
Vanuatu
Venezuela
Vietnam
Yemen
Zambia
Zimbabwe

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Citizenship - Portugal, Golden Visa, Investment

How to Renew my Investors Visa or Golden Visa ?

Hot to Renew your Golden Visa  | renew your Investors 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 1st year in Portugal or in case of 2nd 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

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Citizenship - Portugal, Golden Visa

Who can join Investors Visa application? How does family reunification process works?

Family Members that can Join my  Investors Visa application

Several of our clients have doubts about the possibility of including their family members into their Investors Visa. To make it easier to understand we have stated the regulations as they are presented, not excluding any other option which might be approved under special circumstances.  If you have any doubt we will be happy to clarify for you.

As a holder of an Investor Visa , which family members can benefit within same application ?

The Family members which can apply together with Investor for Residence Permit :

1 – Spouse

2 – Minors Kids (sons or / and daughters) or disabled / dependent persons under family responsability;

3 – Minors adopted by the applicant;

4 – Cohabiting Partner duly established under the law – minor kids or disabled kids of the partner ;

When should the application for family reunification be processed?

The application for family reunification can be made after the Investor have been granted a valid residence permit or at a later stage. It depends on investors convenience to decide if he applies together with the family or adds the family at a later stage.

How much it is required to pay for residence permit under Investor Visa ?

The investor once has your application approved will have to pay the sum of € 5,137.50 per each person joining his application and a fee of € 2,568.75 per person for each renewal.

Please note that before paying the full government fee, each investor is requested to pay for a analysis fee and only after application approved, the government fees will be required to be paid. The same applies for every family member which is joining investors application.

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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

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.

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Golden Visa, Uncategorized

Law: Can my adult kids apply for Golden Visa without being students in Portugal?

Many of our investors get quite confused by the fact that we mention that they can add their kids as dependents for the Golden Visa application and then mention that SEF (Government Institution) states that the kids need to be studying in Portugal.

14. As ARI holder, what family members may benefit from this same scheme, where and when may I apply for family reunification, and how much does it cost?

  • –  Children of age, who are dependent on both or one parent, provided they are single and studying in a teaching establishment in Portugal

(source: http://secomunidades.pt/ari/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=127&Itemid=150 )

In fact the reality is that if you are not a resident in Portugal even though you gain Residence Permit, you are entitled to apply for Golden Visa with dependents not studying in Portugal. Our applications are quite successful on this terms and there is absolutely no need to have them studying here. The law is general and was made for foreign individuals which are legal residents in Portugal, not exactly previewing the current situation of Investors Visa which does not require to be a resident.

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