Choosing fund. Participants can invest in funds that meet the following requirements of the Portugal Golden Visa Program:
registration with the Portuguese Securities Market Commission;
at least 60% of the fund’s capital is invested in Portuguese companies and real estate;
the maturity of shares is at least 5 years.
Jaela and Orva chose the Blue Crow investment fund. The fund invested in commercial real estate. The return on investment was 5% per annum; payments were made annually. Additionally, the fund would pay 10% of profits after closing in 2028.
Obtaining a tax number in Portugal. Número de Identificação Fiscal (NIF) is an individual tax number. It is mandatory for anyone who wants to open a Portuguese bank account and make payments in the country.
The investor can get a number in person or through a tax representative: they get a power of attorney and visit the Portuguese tax office for the investor.
Jaela took advantage of this opportunity while the couple was in Germany: an Immigrant Invest attorney acted on the investor’s behalf and registered a NIF for her.
Opening a bank account in Portugal. Under the terms of the Portugal Golden Visa Program, all payments must be made from an account in a Portuguese bank.
Immigrant Invest lawyers helped Jaela open an account remotely by proxy through a Portuguese attorney. When the bank approved the account opening, Jaela transferred money to participate in the program.
Purchase of fund units. Before concluding an agreement with an investor, the fund conducted its own Due Diligence check. The fund representatives needed to be sure that the investor’s money was received legally.
The main documents that the investor provided to the fund were the following:
a tax declaration;
a bank statement from the investor’s account for the last three months;
a certified passport copy;
a NIF;
account details from a Portuguese bank.
Five days later, Jaela received a written confirmation that the fund had approved the investment. Jaela transferred the main amount of €350,000 and a commission of €5,250 to the fund’s account using the bank details.
2025-12-04T19:32:44.589Z
Individual cost calculation for residence by investment in Portugal
Collecting documents and applying for residence permits. Immigrant Invest lawyers started preparing documents for Orva and Jaela at the same time as the fund was selected.
When the women registered their marriage in Germany, they sent a certificate to the lawyers. Based on it and an affidavit, Immigrant Invest lawyers applied for residence permits: Jaela and Orva were to receive them as spouses. The affidavit contained an explanation of why Angolan citizens married in Germany.
The main documents that the couple provided when applying for Portugal residence permits were the following:
copies of passports;
certificates of no criminal records;
a marriage certificate;
health insurance for the whole family;
a signature declaration from the investment fund;
a rental agreement and a certificate of registration in Portugal;
government questionnaires and forms.
To get a registration address in Portugal, Orva and Jaela rented an apartment in Lisbon: they liked the big capital city with a large queer community.
Top most friendly cities for gay couples in Portugal
Lisbon, especially neighbourhoods of Bairro Alto, Principe Real and Arroios
Porto
Lagos
Albufeira
Tavira
Portimão
The Portuguese Migration Service (SEF) processed Jaela’s application for the Golden Visa Program in two months. In the end, SEF emailed the approval to Immigrant Invest.
Submission of biometric data in Portugal. Immediately after the approval, Jaela and Orva went to Portugal to submit their fingerprints and photos for residence permit cards. Immigrant Invest lawyers accompanied the spouses from the airport to the SEF office.
Obtaining residence permit cards. Due to reorganisation and queues, application processing in SEF took 10.5 months. As soon as the approval came, Jaela paid the fee for residence permit cards — €5,340 per person.
15 months and €366,863 were spent by Orva and Jaela to obtain Portugal Golden Visas
1
May 27th, 2021Orva and Jaela contacted Immigrant Invest
2
+ 1 dayPreliminary Due Diligence
3
+ 3 weeksChoosing an investment fund and preparing documents
4
+ 2.5 weeksOpening a bank account and getting a NIF in Portugal
5
+ 2 weeksSigning an agreement with the fund and investing
€350,000 — an investment€5,250 — a fund commission
€533 — an application fee
7
+ 2 monthsApplying for residence permits and fingerprinting
8
+ 10.5 monthsApplication processing
9
August 19th, 2022Obtaining Portugal residence permit cards
€10,680 — a fee for two residence permit cards
