Your Guide to Portugal Golden Visa Through Real Estate Acquisition
At Get Golden Visa, we worked with investors from all over the world interested in making a real estate investment in Portugal and getting a Golden Visa.
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Important Note: As of July 19th, 2023, Portugal’s Golden Visa Program is on the verge of serious changes. The program will soon cease to accept real estate purchases as qualifying investment options. So, a 280,000€ real estate rehabilitation investment in low-density areas will no longer qualify for a Golden Visa in Portugal. However, certain Portuguese funds will continue to be an eligible investment. You can read what we know so far here.
According to the report on The Global Residence and Citizenship Programs, Portugal’s Golden Visa Programme is the world’s best residence by investment program. The report uses ten indicators, namely: citizenship requirements, compliance, financial requirements, processing time and quality of processing, quality of life, reputation, taxation, time to citizenship, total costs, and visa-free access. From all these indicators, Portugal’s program achieved 79 points out of 100.
The lowest real estate investment threshold for the Golden Visa program in Portugal is €280,000. In order to qualify for this option, the property needs to be older than 30 years old, renovated, and located in a low-density area.
Important: If you want to make a real estate investment in Lisbon, Porto, or in a city along the coast, commercial property is the only option. Residential properties in these spots don’t qualify investors for a Golden Visa as per the changes that came into effect into in January 2022.
What You Will Find in This Article
- Relevant Investment Options of Portugal Golden Visa
- Property Renovation Option of Portugal Golden Visa
- €280,000 Option of Portugal Golden Visa
- The Most Popular Lower Density Areas in Portugal
- Advantages of the Lower Density Areas
- Where Are Low-Density Areas in Portugal
- Get Golden Visa: Who We Are And What We Do
Relevant Investment Options of Portugal Golden Visa
Real Estate
The investors may choose to invest in Portuguese property of at least €500,000. They may want to invest as an individual or as a joint legal entity. If the property is in a “low-density area”, the minimum requirement gets reduced to €400,000.
Real Estate and Rehabilitation
Investors may choose to invest in Portugal property that requires rehabilitation and restoration. In this case, the minimum requirement decreases to €350,000. The property either has to be built more than 30 years ago or has to be located in a designated area of urban rehabilitation. If the property is in a “low-density area”, the minimum requirement gets further reduced to €280,000.
This minimum required investment amount refers to the property purchase price + the renovation amount combined.
Property Renovation Option of Portugal Golden Visa
To be able to use the property renovation option of Portugal Golden Visa, investors must make sure that the project gets approved by the Town Hall (Camara Municipal). The subject property should be confirmed at the Town Hall through the property owner or an architect.
The Golden Visa investment in this option involves the property price and the ex-VAT cost of the contracted renovation works. Other expenses such as assistance fees, government fees, and taxes do not count towards the investment amount.
€280,000 Option of Portugal Golden Visa
Portugal Golden Visa Program has several investment options, as mentioned above. Economically most advantageous one of these options is the €280,000 option. However, this is only a short-term advantage, because more expensive options in more accessible areas tend to yield better returns in the long term process.
The €280,000 option of the Portugal Golden Visa is available only on the rehabilitated properties in lower-density areas. In order to incentivize investments in these areas, the minimum investment value of €350,000 is decreased by 20 percent. Therefore, if the applicant chooses to invest in a property that is designated for rehabilitation, they get 20 percent off of the €350,000, which is €280,000.
Lower density areas are designated according to the population of the region. If the area has less than 100 inhabitants per square meter, it is considered a low-density area. Another criterion of this is the gross domestic product per capita which qualifies a region as a lower density area if it is below 75 percent.
The main aim of this reduced option is to attract investors to less accessible areas and attract capital to underdeveloped areas. There are some that bear a great potential for capital appreciation.
The Most Popular Lower Density Areas in Portugal
Many neighborhoods like Alentejo, Viseu, Évora, and Beja are both popular spots among tourists and offer affordable property prices. The most popular such areas in the country are: Viseu, Santarém, Leiria, Braga, Aveiro, Viana do Castelo, some neighborhoods of Porto, and Coimbra.
Advantages of the Lower Density Areas
The lower capital required for investment in these areas gives more freedom to the investors in their business affairs. Away from the overwhelming crowds, these areas of Portugal are great for new beginnings. Also, a lot of these areas are popular among tourists of different kinds for their versatile nature. The inner cities of Portugal are getting more and more popular among students. As the youth population increases in these cities, the need and opportunity for catering to them intensify. New investors can easily take advantage of this need in their business affairs. Finally, people who choose Portugal as their retirement residency might like these places better because of their calmness and lower costs of living.
Get Golden Visa: Who We Are And What We Do
Get Golden Visa is a full-service investment immigration agency & investment advisory company. We provide end-to-end solutions on residence and citizenship by investment programs in numerous countries worldwide.
We have a local office in Portugal with legal professionals and licensed real estate professionals in our team.
We’ve worked with hundreds of clients from all around the world. We’ve helped them obtain the Portugal Golden Visa and make real estate investments in Portugal.
Contact us and talk to one of our experienced team members to help you with any and all your questions.
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Where Are Low-Density Areas in Portugal
Below you’ll find a table of all the Low-Density areas as of 2021.
| City/ Municipality | Neighborhoods | |
|---|---|---|
| Águeda | União das freguesias de Belazaima do Chão, Castanheira do Vouga e Agadão | União das freguesias do Préstimo e Macieira de Alcoba |
| Amarante | Ansiães | Candemil |
| Gouveia (São Simão) | Jazente | |
| Rebordelo | Salvador do Monte | |
| União das freguesias de Aboadela, Sanche e Várzea | União das freguesias de Olo e Canadelo | |
| União das freguesias de Bustelo, Carneiro e Carvalho de Rei | Vila Chã do Marão | |
| Amares | Bouro (Santa Marta) | Goães |
| União das freguesias de Caldelas, Sequeiros e Paranhos | União das freguesias de Vilela, Seramil e Paredes Secas | |
| Caminha | Dem | União das freguesias de Arga (Baixo, Cima e São João) |
| Castelo de Paiva | União das freguesias de Gondar e Orbacém | Real |
| União das Freguesias da Raiva, Pedorido e Paraíso | – | |
| Condeixa-a-Nova | Furadouro | – |
| Guimarães | União das freguesias de Arosa e Castelões | – |
| Loulé | Alte | Ameixial |
| Salir | União de freguesias de Querença, Tôr e Benafim | |
| Marco de Canaveses | Várzea, Aliviada e Folhada | – |
| Ourém | Espite | União das freguesias de Matas e Cercal |
| União das freguesias de Freixianda, Ribeira do Fárrio e Formigais | União das freguesias de Rio de Couros e Casal dos Bernardos | |
| Pombal | Abiul | Anais |
| Ponte de Lima | Ardegão, Freixo e Mato | Associação de freguesias do Vale do Neiva |
| Bárrio e Cepões | Beiral do Lima | |
| Boalhosa | Cabaços e Fojo Lobal | |
| Cabração e Moreira do Lima | Calheiros | |
| Estorãos | Friastelas | |
| Gemieira | Gondufe | |
| Labruja | Labrujó, Rendufe e Vilar do Monte | |
| Navió e Vitorino dos Piães | Poiares | |
| Serdedelo | – | |
| Porto de Mós | São Bento | – |
| Santarém | União das freguesias de Casével e Vaqueiros | – |
| Silves | São Marcos da Serra | – |
| Tavira | Cachopo | Santa Catarina da Fonte do Bispo |
| Tomar | Olalhas | Sabacheira |
| União das freguesias de Além da Ribeira e Pedreira | União das freguesias de Casais e Alviobeira | |
| União das freguesias de Serra e Junceira | – | |
| Vale de Cambra | Arões | Junqueira |
| Valença | Boivão | Fontoura |
| União das freguesias de Gondomil e Safins | União das freguesias de São Julião e Silva | |
