Portugal Citizenship by Investment

Table of Content:

1. CLIMATE
2. THE PORTUGUESE
3. GEOGRAPHICAL
4. THE COUNTRY
5. BEST QUALITY OF LIFE
6. COST OF LIVING
7. TAX RULES
8. PORTUGAL – CITIZENSHIP BY INVESTMENT
9. THAT’S A BIG DIFFERENCE.

Yes, it is! Why? Convince yourself by reading the below facts.

Imagine living in a country where you can find a huge diversity of landscapes and environments in a small area: sandy beaches as far as the eye can see, golden plains and mountains, vibrant and cosmopolitan cities and a millennial heritage.
Here you can practice water sports, play golf on the best courses in the world, contemplate nature, experience the most novel well-being treatments, or just get out into the country and discover unbeatable heritage, wines and cuisine.

Climate

In terms of climate, our winters are mild and summers are hot and dry. Did you know that the number of hours of sunshine per year reaches values as high as 3300 in the south of the country and 1600 in the north, some of the highest in Europe?

The Portuguese

The Portuguese are gracious and friendly, welcoming all visitors regardless of where they come from. And, in fact, visitors do come here from all over the world, as the country is located on the western coast of Europe and, as such, is a point of entry into the Schengen zone. A large part of the population speaks foreign languages, specifically English.

Geographical

Portugal has an excellent geographical location. At the meeting point between three continents – Europe, Africa and America -, it has always been central to the most important international routes. Here you can find international airports all over the country – Lisbon, Faro and Porto have regular connections to major cities in the world.
Did you know that Lisbon is just two and a half hours away from Paris and London by plane? If you want to discover the beauties of Portugal, the country has a modern road network waiting to be explored: it only takes two hours to get from Lisbon to Porto or Faro, the major cities in the north and south of the country. Madrid is just six hours away.

The Country

With almost nine centuries of well-defined geographical borders, Portugal’s democratic parliamentary regime with political stability prevails.
Portugal has been a member of the European Union for 26 years and forms part of the European Monetary System, using the European single currency. According to the World Bank, Portugal is the 43rd largest economy in the world, with one of the highest GDP growth rates over the last 40 years among the OECD countries.
Portugal is the 17th most peaceful country in the world out of a sample of 153 countries (Global Peace Index 2011) and holds 32nd place out of 182 countries in Transparency International (Corruption Perception Index 2011): Portugal holds 32nd place out of 182 countries.

Best Quality of Life

In 2010, the European Consumers Choice Awards rated Lisbon (the capital of the country) as the “Best Destination 2010” and in 2011 it was voted one of the 42 cities in the world with the best quality of life, by the Worldwide Quality of Living Survey 2011.

Cost of Living

Most foreigners consider the cost of living to be low.
According to UBS (Prices and Earnings 2010), the price indices are attractive:
Food: 68.2 (index: New York = 100);
Clothing: 53.3 (index: New York = 100);
Services: 67.9 (index: New York = 100);
Metro ticket: € 1,40 (journey of approximately 10 km);
Bus ticket: € 1.80 (journey of approximately 10 km);
Restaurant: € 40 (3 course meal in a good quality restaurant).

Tax Rules

Portugal is also one of the best countries for buying a house, because it has clear and transparent tax rules and offers facilities for obtaining residence permits, as part of new legal provisions that are more attractive to foreign investors.
It also has a special regime for non-habitual residents, aimed at attracting foreign investors through very favorable income tax rates.

Portugal – citizenship by investment

In Portugal, with EUR 280,000, you could buy a property and start making a return on your investment. Don’t want to spend that much? You can donate EUR 200,000 in support of artistic production or in the recovery or maintenance of national cultural heritage. Or if you are into business, you could create a minimum of 8 new jobs to qualify as an investor.

The Algarve is such a market of interest right now.

Whether you’re looking for a vacation home or thinking about a permanent move overseas, in retirement or earlier on, with a business or a family, this country has an awful lot to offer, especially along its southern coast. And the important point to keep front and center in your thinking is that prices in this charming, sunny region may never again in our lifetimes be as attractive in U.S. dollar terms as they are right now.
If you’re in the market for a vacation home on the Continent, a second home in the sun that you could rent out when you’re not using it, the Algarve has an important advantage over the Spanish Costas (another region that you might also be considering in this context). In Portugal, the tax on property rental income for nonresidents is 25% of net income. In Spain, it’s 24% of gross income.

That’s a big difference.

Bottom line, the most transfer tax you’ll pay in Portugal is 6%, but you’ll pay much less if you’re buying something small. The truth is, in today’s market, it’d be hard to spend more than a half-million euros here unless you’re really looking to go all in.
Portugal also offers the advantage of an active mortgage market for nonresidents. You can borrow up to 80% of the purchase price if you qualify. Note that banks cap mortgage terms at 75 or 80 years of age, depending on the bank.
One final advantage of buying property in the Algarve is the large English-speaking infrastructure thanks to centuries of connections between Portugal and Britain. You’ll have no trouble finding English-speaking real estate agents, bankers, attorneys, and other service providers.

No doubt and by all means Portugal can be the best place where anyone can live, invest and this is all because of the governmental flexibility, low taxes, easy to reach and of course the weather.

More detailed information is available through The Immigration Office assessment. All our Investment assessments are free, individually made according to your needs and 100% confidential.