First Portugal Citizenship Issued under Golden Visa Program
BusinessTech
Good news for non-European citizens who have invested in Portugal's Golden Visa program – which offers residency via investment in property – is that the first Portugal Citizenship has just been issued, with many more in the pipeline and due to be granted in coming months as per Edge International Lawyers.
This is a major step forward and very positive news for investors whose visas are already being processed, but more importantly, it provides considerable comfort for those still considering the Golden Visa program in order to acquire residency and citizenship.
Residency enables applicants to live, work and study and Portugal – with travel rights in Schengen Europe, while citizenship allows you and your immediate family to live, work and study in any of the EU countries.
Citizenship a step closer
After some amendments were made to the original legislation, the program really gained traction. Initially the Golden Visa legislation provided for five years of residency, after which one could apply for permanent residency, and one year later can apply for citizenship.
This has recently been amended, allowing applicants to skip the permanent residency step and apply for citizenship immediately after fulfilling the first five years of residency requirements.
Originally the requirement was for a €500 000 investment, it is now possible to enter the Golden Visa program with an entry level investment of just €280,000, which makes it far more accessible.
Portugal has relatively low tax rates of about 20 percent and no wealth or inheritance tax or tax on overseas pensions.
Apart from all the benefits of ultimately acquiring EU Citizenship, the minimum investment in the Golden Visa program affords applicants visa-free travel in all 26 countries in the Schengen zone and enables them to live and study or work in any of the EU countries. Portugal is ranked 5th in the world in terms of travel freedom – as from July 2019, Portuguese citizens have visa-free or visa on arrival to 184 countries and territories.
Good news for non-European citizens who have invested in Portugal's Golden Visa program – which offers residency via investment in property – is that the first Portugal Citizenship has just been issued, with many more in the pipeline and due to be granted in coming months as per Edge International Lawyers.
This is a major step forward and very positive news for investors whose visas are already being processed, but more importantly, it provides considerable comfort for those still considering the Golden Visa program in order to acquire residency and citizenship.
Residency enables applicants to live, work and study and Portugal – with travel rights in Schengen Europe, while citizenship allows you and your immediate family to live, work and study in any of the EU countries.
Citizenship a step closer
After some amendments were made to the original legislation, the program really gained traction. Initially the Golden Visa legislation provided for five years of residency, after which one could apply for permanent residency, and one year later can apply for citizenship.
This has recently been amended, allowing applicants to skip the permanent residency step and apply for citizenship immediately after fulfilling the first five years of residency requirements.
Originally the requirement was for a €500 000 investment, it is now possible to enter the Golden Visa program with an entry level investment of just €280,000, which makes it far more accessible.
Portugal has relatively low tax rates of about 20 percent and no wealth or inheritance tax or tax on overseas pensions.
Apart from all the benefits of ultimately acquiring EU Citizenship, the minimum investment in the Golden Visa program affords applicants visa-free travel in all 26 countries in the Schengen zone and enables them to live and study or work in any of the EU countries. Portugal is ranked 5th in the world in terms of travel freedom – as from July 2019, Portuguese citizens have visa-free or visa on arrival to 184 countries and territories.
