Portugal Golden Visa New Rules Announced

Portugal Golden Visa - New Rules Introduced

Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa has recently granted the “More Housing” bill, his seal of approval which has remained a subject of debate for quite some time. The law comprises some new regulations alongside those that are expected to modify the Portuguese Golden Visa Program. The “More Housing” bill will be carefully reviewed and signed by the Parliament and the government before its official publication within 4-8 days.

The "More Housing" Bill and the Portugal Golden Visa Program

The “More Housing” bill was introduced to make the housing crisis faced by Portugal a bit easier. However, President de Sousa thought that it didn't address the country’s rising real estate prices and couldn’t bring about effective changes to make the situation better efficiently. President de Sousa’s previous use of his veto power in order to hinder the bill’s passage left him with no choice but to enact the law after it gained the Parliament’s approval during the second round of voting last week.

The End of the Real Estate Option to get Portugal Golden Visa 

With the real estate investment option no longer viable, investors are expected to choose the fund investment category in order to qualify for the Portugal Golden Visa.

Portugal Golden Visa funds, which interested parties might already be aware of, are slated to undergo some major modifications in the coming weeks as the real estate investment option is now out of the picture.

The New Investment Options under the Portugal Golden Visa Program

The new investment options in accordance with the “More Housing” bill, which will be available to any prospective Golden Visa applicants from this point on, are as follows:

• Contributing to the creation of a minimum of ten new jobs.

• A contribution of EUR 500,000 or more to research activities conducted by public or private scientific research institutions that are actively involved with the national scientific and technological system.

• An investment of EUR 250,000 or more for arts or preservation of national heritage. These activities must be carried out by central and peripheral direct administration services, public institutes, organisations within the public business sector, public foundations, private foundations with public service status, inter-municipal organisations and those working with the local business sector, local associative entities and public cultural organisations, which contribute to artistic production, restoration or maintenance of national cultural heritage.

• Capital investment of EUR 500,000 or more which is designated to purchase shares in specific collective investment entities, governed by the Portuguese law. These include certain types of funds, whose maturity should be a minimum of five years at the time of investment and comprise at least 60% of the total investments made in domestic  commercial companies.
   
• Investing a minimum of EUR 500,000, for establishment of a commercial company in Portugal with a registered office and creation of five permanent jobs. Another qualifying option is contributing to expanding the share capital of an already established Portuguese company with creation of five new full-time jobs for at least three years, or the maintenance of at least ten jobs with five of them being permanent.

The Minimum Investment Amount Rule

One rule that remains the same is that the minimum investment amounts for the first three options are subjected to a 20% reduction when the investment is made in low-density areas of Portugal, which are regions with less than 100 inhabitants per square kilometre or a per capita GDP of less than 75% of the national average. Cities like Lisbon and Porto are excluded from this category. A few examples of Portugal's low-density areas are Setubal, Evora and some areas in the Algarve like Aljezur and Castro Marim.

Real Estate Option No Longer Available

The key takeaway from the passing of the “More Housing” bill is that real estate investments are officially off the table and are not qualified for the Portugal Golden Visa Program.

The new rules that are set to be implemented in line with this legislation are expected to revamp the Portugal Golden Visa Program quite a bit. Accordingly, interested candidates are advised to consult with legal advisors and experts before moving forward with their application.

For further details about the application process for the modified Portugal Golden Visa Program, feel free to get in touch with us.