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Effective from October 7, 2023, an amendment to the Portuguese Immigration Law introduces significant shifts in Portugal's Golden Visa investment criteria:

  • Elimination of Real Estate Investments: Direct investments in real estate are no longer eligible, aligning with broader economic goals.

  • Updated Criteria for Investment Funds: Funds eligible for the Golden Visa can now invest using both equity and debt instruments, expanding their investment strategies. Importantly, these funds must exclude real estate investments, aligning with the revised focus of the program.

  • Job Creation and Maintenance Enhancements: The program now demands maintaining at least 10 permanent jobs, an increase from five, with options for creating five new permanent jobs, aiming to bolster employment stability and growth.

Motivated by housing market concerns and anti-money laundering efforts, these changes ensure existing investors retain their rights, reinforcing the program's reliability and integrity.

Updates to Portugal's Golden Visa Program

The enactment of Law 56/2023 — a comprehensive statute focusing on housing measures and implementing various legislative modifications — has introduced significant revisions to the Portuguese Immigration Law. This detailed review aims to dissect and clarify the adjustments made to the investment eligibility within the Golden Visa program, ensuring stakeholders are informed about the current legal landscape for residency permits in Portugal.

Chronological Overview of Critical Amendments to the Portugal Golden Visa Program

 

Initial Investment Options Before Law 56/2023

The Golden Visa program initially offered a range of investment options for applicants:

  1. Capital transfer: capital transfer of an amount equal to or greater than 1.5 million euros.
  2. Job creation: Creation of at least 10 jobs.
  3. Real Estate: Acquisition of real estate valued at 500,000 euros or more.
  4. Real Estate rehabilitation: Acquisition of real estate, with construction completed at least 30 years ago or located in an urban rehabilitation area, and carrying out rehabilitation work on the acquired properties, with a total amount equal to or greater than 350,000 euros.
  5. Research activities: Capital transfer of an amount equal to or greater than 500,000 euros to be applied in research activities conducted by public or private scientific research institutions integrated into the national scientific and technological system.
  6. Cultural investment: Capital transfer of an amount equal to or greater than 250,000 euros to be applied in investment or support of artistic production, recovery, or maintenance of the national cultural heritage, through services from the central and peripheral direct administration, public institutes, entities that are part of the public business sector, public foundations, private foundations with public utility status, intermunicipal entities, entities that are part of the local business sector, municipal associative entities, and public cultural associations that pursue responsibilities in the area of artistic production, recovery, or maintenance of the national cultural heritage.
  7. Investment funds: Capital transfer of an amount equal to or greater than 500,000 euros, intended for the acquisition of participation units in investment funds or venture capital funds focused on the capitalization of companies, established under Portuguese law, with a maturity at the time of investment of at least five years and at least 60% of the investment's value being realized in commercial companies headquartered in national territory.
  8. Company incorporation: Capital transfer of an amount equal to or greater than 500,000 euros, intended for the establishment of a commercial company with headquarters in national territory, combined with the creation of five permanent jobs, or for the reinforcement of the share capital of an already established commercial company with headquarters in national territory, with the creation or maintenance of jobs, with a minimum of five permanent, and for a minimum period of three years.

Current Investment Options After Law 56/2023

Following the enactment of Law 56/2023, Article 3rd the Portugal Golden Visa program's investment options have been updated as follows:

  1. Capital transfer: (Revoked.)
  2. Job creation: Creation of at least 10 jobs.
  3. Real Estate: (Revoked.)
  4. Real Estate rehabilitation: (Revoked.)
  5. Research activities: Capital transfer of an amount equal to or greater than 500,000 euros, to be applied to research activities conducted by public or private scientific research institutions integrated into the national scientific and technological system.
  6. Cultural investment: Capital transfer of an amount equal to or greater than 250,000 euros, to be applied in investment or support of artistic production, recovery, or maintenance of the national cultural heritage, through services from the central and peripheral direct administration, public institutes, entities within the public business sector, public foundations, private foundations with public utility status, intermunicipal entities, entities within the local business sector, municipal associative entities, and public cultural associations involved in artistic production, recovery, or maintenance of the national cultural heritage.
  7. Investment funds: Capital transfer of an amount equal to or greater than 500,000 euros, intended for the acquisition of shares in non-real estate collective investment organizations, established under Portuguese law, with a maturity at the time of investment of at least five years, and at least 60% of the investment's value being realized in commercial companies headquartered in national territory. Note: The capitalization requirement has been removed, allowing Golden Visa-eligible funds to invest in both equity and debt instruments, broadening their investment options. Importantly, these funds must exclude real estate investments.
  8. Company incorporation: Capital transfer of an amount equal to or greater than 500,000 euros, intended for the establishment of a commercial company with headquarters in national territory, combined with the creation of five permanent jobs, or for the reinforcement of the share capital of an already established commercial company with headquarters in national territory, with the creation of at least five permanent jobs or the maintenance of at least ten jobs, with a minimum of five being permanent, for a minimum period of three years.

 

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