Portugal: One of the Best Locations for Golden Visa Investments
New research has revealed the best nations to invest in for both citizenship and residency where the bonus of visa-free travel is concerned.
Astons, experts in alternative residency and citizenship acquisition, found that while some nations allow for direct citizenship through investment and access to between 51-151 additional nations visa-free, the alternative is to gain residency via investment in a nation that falls within the Schengen Area.
The Schengen Area is a zone of 26 European nations that have abolished their internal borders with each other to allow for free and unrestricted movement.
By gaining residency via investment within one of the 26 nations included in Schengen (22 EU nations and four non-EU nations), it allows investors visa-free travel across 26 countries, except for Jersey and Ireland.
Arthur Sarkisian, managing director of Astons, said that “There are numerous reasons that someone might look to gain citizenship through investment. However, the ability to travel to over 180 countries without requiring a visa is undoubtedly up there as one of the most attractive.", adding that “We’ve seen this ability to travel unrestricted grow in popularity over recent months for those looking to escape life and the current restrictions imposed due to Covid-19.”
“Of course, in normal circumstances, the primary benefit is being able to travel for business without the need to deal with the red tape of visa requirements. Unfortunately, this activity has been dampened by the current landscape,” he continued. “Regardless, visa-free travel remains a strong pull for those looking to gain citizenship through investment and depending on individual requirements there are plenty of options that can provide this benefit at a range of investment levels and time frames.”
Golden Visas in some of the UK’s favourite holiday destinations such as Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal and Spain – which are open only to non-EU nationals – will soon be on offer to British investors once the transition period ends and British citizens are no longer counted as EU citizens.
There’s been something of a grey area since the UK officially left the EU at the beginning of this year – and entered the 11 month-long transition period, during which the UK has no longer been a member but has remained bound to the EU’s rules, and part of both the EU customs union and the single market, but starting on the 1st January 2021 UK residents will be eligible for Golden Visas
The nuances and intricacies vary, but a Golden Visa is effectively a permanent residency visa issued to individuals who invest, often through the purchase of property, a certain sum of money into the issuing country.
Two of the most popular schemes are in Greece and Portugal, countries which used the initiative to encourage investment – and kickstart their economies – in light of the financial meltdowns they endured in the years after the global financial crisis.
Portugal’s Golden Visa programme, launched in 2012, has proven to be one of Europe’s most popular, with investors attracted to its flexibility and benefits.
The investor visa scheme, which has been actively promoted internationally by the Portuguese government, typically requires an investment of € 500,000 (or € 350,000 reduced option) in real estate in Portugal, which will gain a residency permit for a family. The golden visa can be renewed every two years providing the applicant spends two weeks in the country every two years.
