Portugal golden visa by investment: when safety and education come first

Alejandro and Isabella are affluent Peruvians who own an apartment in Lima’s centre and a private house in the suburban closed cottage village. Alejandro felt increasingly worried about his family’s safety in the last few years. That fear forced him to move his family to the country house, but he and his wife did not feel comfortable even then as the house had been robbed twice.

The couple adores their children and always tries to plan everything in their best interests. Alejandro and Isabella had been thinking about moving abroad, but they were unsure which country to choose. The solution popped up unexpectedly. An old university friend invited them to his place in Cascais, Portugal, and the couple fell in love with the city.

Alejandro,

Director of a financial fund

As I am interested in sports, I was struck by a number of different sports sections and clubs for children, as well as their affordability and quality of education. There was a huge range of sports facilities nearby: sailing, tennis, horse riding, golf, football.

Portugal, and Cascais in particular, seemed a pretty secure place. Alejandro’s friend said he let his children go to school and back home alone and even go out and return home late at night. Nobody has tried to break into his house for seven years of life in Cascais. Global rankings and statistical data support these statements. In 2020, Portugal recorded the lowest number of offences in the last 30 years. In 2021, Portugal was ranked among the top 5 safest and most peaceful countries in the Global Peace Index.

Cascais offers plenty of opportunities for training and education. There are branches of international schools with the highest ratings here. Alejandro became interested in the possibility of enrolling children in one of the leading American schools as he always wanted to see Luna and Rosalinda as university students in the US. Isabella was surprised by the kind attention toward children on the part of the Portuguese.

Isabella,

Alejandro’s wife, a bank employee

We liked the mild climate and high quality of life we did not expect to find in Portugal. Cascais turned out to be a modern European city with a developed infrastructure and facilities to conduct profitable business. And most importantly, it is a perfectly safe place. Back in Peru, we began to discuss the possibility of moving to Portugal seriously.

Since the couple’s friends relocated to Portugal with the help of Immigrant Invest in 2013, Alejandro followed their advice and contacted our company. He stated that his goal was to move his family to Cascais as soon as possible and asked about ways to achieve it.

To move to Cascais, Alejandro needed to get Portuguese residence permits for himself, his wife and two children. Without these documents, Peruvians can stay in Portugal for only 90 consecutive days.

There are several ways to obtain residency in Portugal: by marriage, by family reunion, by studying, by employment, by proving you are a financially independent person, and by investment. The last two ways suited Alejandro, so he needed to decide between them.

A Portugal residence permit for financially independent persons can be obtained by wealthy people with an income of €8,460 per year or more. The minimum income is increased by 50% for the spouse and 30% for each child under 18. Thus, to get this type of residence permit, Alejandro needed to prove he earned more than €17,500 per year.

Purchase or rent of a property is another requirement. Property or rental cost does not matter.

The minimum amount to invest in residential property is €350,000. With this amount of money, you are eligible to buy a property older than 30 years and are obliged to conduct a renovation. This option did not suit Alejandro: he did not want to spend time on renovation. The investor wanted to buy a new apartment for his family to move in immediately. In this case, he needed to invest from €500,000, in accordance with the terms of the Portugal golden visa program.

Alejandro,

Director of a financial fund

I am not sure I will be able to spend 183 days a year in Portugal. I cannot quit my job right now. I think Isabella, Luna and Rosalinda will move immediately, while I will visit them as often as I can. Isabella will also explore opportunities for starting a business in Portugal. As soon as we find a way to get a good income in the new country, I will reunite with my family.

So the investor chose participation in the Portugal golden visa program over applying for residency for financially independent persons, though it demanded more expenses.

Alejandro had a very clear request: he needed a high-end apartment in Cascais for a family of four. Immigrant Invest’s real estate operations officers directly cooperate with the leading estate agencies in Portugal, so they found several options according to the family’s requirements. They also went to the site to take photographs and videos of the property, which the couple got interested in.

The investor and his wife made a trip to Portugal to see two options they found most attractive and decided on an apartment in the centre of Cascais.

Alejandro bought similar apartments

When the investor made his choice, we negotiated the terms of the purchase-sale of the property with the seller on his behalf. Our lawyers entirely controlled the legal side of the purchase, so Alejandro and Isabella were protected against any problems.

Elena Kozyreva,

Managing Director for Real Estate projects

Alejandro got a Portuguese residence permit in 2021. Since 2022, the terms of the Portugal golden visa program have changed. Now investors cannot buy a residential property in Cascais as an investment under the program.

The new rules say that only housing on the islands or in the country’s inner regions can be eligible investments. We made a guide on where to buy property in Portugal to get a residence permit.

If Alejandro turned to Immigrant Invest in 2022 with the same goal — to move to Cascais, we could find a different solution. He could choose another investment option and rent an apartment until obtaining Portuguese citizenship, then return his money and buy an apartment. Or he could split his investment in real estate in two: buy a share in an eligible commercial property in the minimum possible amount of €280,000 and an apartment for his family for the rest of his budget.

Examples of properties in Portugal

Portugal, Albufeira

€1,400,000 — €4,500,000

Apartments and villas in a luxury resort managed by Marriott International

194 m² — 386 m²

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Portugal, Lisbon

€860,000 — €2,500,000

Apartments in a hotel managed by Hyatt

88 m² — 251 m²

3

3

Portugal, Lisbon

€1,900,000 — €3,400,000

Apartments in a luxury residential complex

137 m² — 245 m²

3—4

3—4

Alejandro is happy that his family is now in complete safety, and children are provided with ample opportunities for quality education. Isabella is studying Portuguese and has acquired new friends. Luna is enrolled in a private kindergarten, and Rosalinda entered an international school.

The best Portuguese pre-school kindergartens are organised at international schools. International schools use curricula from the US, UK, France and Germany. In addition, many educational programs follow the International Baccalaureate (IB), which focuses on teaching critical and independent thinking and logic and attention from a very young age. International school graduates can enter not only Portuguese universities but also the best European, British and American ones.

In five years of holding Portuguese residency, Alejandro and his family will get the right to apply for Portugal passports.

Immigrant Invest is a licensed agent for government programs in the European Union and the Caribbean.