What property to buy in Portugal since 2022 to get a residence permit

Since 2022, participants in the Portugal residence permit program can buy residential property:

• in the Azores and Madeira;

• in the interior regions of the country.

Due to high-density changes, the interior areas do not include the major cities of Lisbon and Porto, Portugal’s coastal and resort regions. A complete list of internal regions is in the annex to the decree of July 13 No. 208/2017.

The changes concern the most demanded real estate to obtain a Portugal golden visa. For example, you can no longer buy apartments in Lisbon and Porto or villas in the resort and coastal areas, such as Cascais, Setúbal and Faro.

Commercial real estate is available for buying in any region, including Lisbon, Porto and resort towns such as Cascais. Investors can purchase both new properties and old commercial real estate for renovation.

Examples of residential and commercial real estate in Portugal

Portugal, Porto

€365,000 — €565,000

Service apartments and commercial premises in a project near the ocean

40 m² — 209 m²

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Portugal, Lisbon

€830,000+

Commercial space in a residential project with guaranteed rental income

311 m²

Portugal, Santarem

€625,000+

Two commercial premises with a lease agreement for 5 years

501 m²

Minimum property investment. To obtain a Portugal residency, investors choose one of two ways:

• from €500,000 — new or resale properties under 30 years old and not requiring renovation;

• from €350,000 — properties older than 30 years old for renovation.

Areas with low density are regions with fewer than 100 people per square kilometre or where GDP per capita is less than 75% of the national average.

To fulfil the minimum transaction amount condition, the investor can buy one or more real estate objects. But you can’t combine options. For example, all properties must be under renovation.

Additional expenses. When buying property in Portugal, the investor also pays the property transfer tax and stamp duty.

The tax rate depends on the transaction amount and where the object is located. In mainland Portugal, properties worth up to €92,407 are not taxed; in the Azores and Madeira — up to €115,509.

1. Getting NIF. First of all, the investor gets registered as a Portuguese taxpayer. To do this, he needs to contact any branch of the tax service in Portugal and get a unique nine-digit number.

NIF presence does not oblige the investor to pay taxes in Portugal. But without NIF, for example, you cannot open an account in a Portuguese bank. You will also need a tax number for any major transactions, including when paying for the real estate purchase.

2. An account in a Portuguese bank is needed for non-cash payments to purchase real estate. In the future, the account can be used for settlements under the residence permit program, paying for utilities and receiving payments from tenants.

3. The reservation agreement guarantees that the object is withdrawn from sale and assigned to the investor. In this case, the buyer pays 10% of the transaction amount.

4. The property transfer tax must be paid after the conclusion of the preliminary contract for the sale of real estate but not less than three days before the final transaction.

5. The contract for the sale of real estate is concluded in the presence of a notary. He certifies signatures and copies of the agreement, which he then sends to the tax office and the Land Registry to register the new owner. The investor receives a registration certificate and a house book.

Residence permit of a country — a member of the European Union. Buyers of Portuguese real estate can obtain a Portugal golden visa if they fulfil the conditions of the investment program.

Portugal residents have the right to live, study, work and do business in the country without restrictions. It is not necessary to live permanently in Portugal: spending at least seven days a year in the country is enough. After five years of maintaining resident status, investors can apply for Portugal citizenship.

Visa-free travel within the Schengen Area. The Portuguese residence permit card replaces the Schengen visa: you can freely travel around the region. It allows staying in any country of the Schengen agreement for up to 90 days in 6 months.

Tax optimisation. If an investor spends 183 days in Portugal in a year and becomes a tax resident of the country, he will be able to apply for a preferential status — Non‑Habitual Resident. The status exempts from paying taxes on world income and establishes a flat rate of taxes on income from work and retiree payments.

How to get Non-Habitual Resident status

High-quality European education for children. Four Portuguese universities are ranked among the top 500 universities globally for quality of education and the top 300 for employment. QS World University Rankings give this assessment. For citizens and residents of the country, higher education is free.

Liquid asset and passive income. 87% of investors chose to purchase real estate to participate in the residence permit program in 2021. The liquidity of Portuguese objects explains the demand for the option.

Real estate prices in Portugal are growing annually by an average of 7%. The most expensive real estate is in Lisbon, where a square metre costs €4,898 when buying a house. At the same time, real estate prices in the interior regions grow by no more than 5% per year, and in some regions, they do not grow at all.

Long-term residency. Investors must renew their residence permit cards every two years to maintain Portugal’s golden visa status. You need to collect the same documents as when applying for a golden visa the first time and submit biometrics.

Investors can get Portugal golden visa by other investment options. Four of them were also changed since 2022.

The two less popular of the seven investment options stay the same — supporting culture and art cost €250,000 and creating 10 new jobs in a Portuguese company.