A total of 9,444 investors obtained residency in Portugal between the dates October 2012 and January 2024. This is what the Portuguese Immigration and Borders Service (SEF) shows.
Similarly, a total of 8,011 investors obtained residency in Greece from 2013 until January 2024, according to Enterprise Greece.
What are these programs and what are the benefits of these investment programs? The following part of the article will answer these questions.
Contents
What do they offer?
A Golden Visa program is mainly a residency by investment program. This means that you invest in a certain area in the related country, and obtain residency in this country in return.
Besides residency, a Golden Visa provides many other benefits. The most significant benefits include EU citizenship, family inclusion, and tax benefits.
Source: Best Citizenships
Residency and EU citizenship
Each Golden Visa program has its own requirements regarding the duration to get citizenship and residency. To name a few, Portugal says you must stay for a minimum of seven days on average each year in Portugal. At the end of the five years of successful residency, you can apply for permanent residency and citizenship. Because Portugal is a member of the EU, you can automatically become an EU citizen when you obtain Portuguese citizenship.
Greece, on the other hand, does not require any stay requirement at all. So, it will be sufficient to make your investment and application only. Then you can live in either country of your choice. You should note, however, that there is no official record of an investor obtaining citizenship through Greece Golden Visa yet. We can say it does not offer EU citizenship for now. Still, it offers other benefits that are satisfying enough to choose this program. To learn more about them, you can look at GetGoldenVisa.com or the rest of this article below.
Tax benefits: taxation regulations of Portugal and Greece
Golden Visa countries have recently enforced some tax regulations to attract foreign investors. One of the most popular of them is the Non-Habitual Resident (NHR) scheme in Portugal. As you can guess from its name, it aims at the non-habitual residents of Portugal. The program allows you to be exempt from most of your foreign income. In addition, it offers reduced taxation on your Portuguese income as well. While regular residents can be taxed up to 48% on their Portuguese income, non-habitual are taxed at a flat rate of 20%.
Source: Ventured
To be able to benefit from NHR, you:
- Must not be tax resident in Portugal within the last five years, and
- Need to obtain a residency right in Portugal.
Under the NHR program, retirees can also benefit well enough. Their foreign pension will be subject to only 10% taxation for ten years.
Greece offers a similar taxation schedule regarding pensioners. This requires a foreign retiree to shift their tax residency to Greece. Accordingly, all their foreign income will be subject to a flat rate of 7% taxation for ten years.
Family inclusion
You don’t need to be alone in this process. Golden Visa programs cover your dependent family members as well. So, your dependent family members can also enjoy all the benefits of your Golden Visa.
Portugal Golden Visa covers:
- Your spouse
- Children under the age of 18
- Dependent children under the age of 26, provided they are full-time students and not married
- Parents -over the age of 65 years old- of the main applicant.
Source: Bit Rebels
Greece Golden Visa covers:
- Your spouse
- Children under the age of 21
- Your parents and parents-in-law
How the process works
The exact steps may differ depending on the country you apply for. However, the following steps may give you a general idea about the process.
- Selection of the investment option. The most common one is real estate purchase.
- Bringing all the necessary documents
- Appointment of an attorney to act on your behalf (can be optional)
- Completion of the investment
- Schedule of biometrics appointment in the related country
- When approved, issuance of your Golden Visa residence card.
Source: The Portugal News
What are the investment options?
In Portugal, the most common investment option is real estate purchase. According to SEF, 8,881 out of 9,444 investors bought property to have a residency right in Portugal. Regarding the real estate market, PwC also released a report regarding the market in Europe. According to the report of Emerging Trends in Europe 2019, Lisbon takes place on the top. The report indicates that the economy of Portugal keeps growing in a healthy way. Furthermore, the capital Lisbon has become an international hub for both companies and investors, as well as tourists.
So, this may explain the great interest in Portugal. Besides real estate purchases, investors can establish a business in Portugal, or make a capital transfer to certain institutions. R&D investment and capital transfer for venture capital funds are other options investors can consider while applying for Portugal Golden Visa.
Greece, on the other hand, provides the lowest investment threshold regarding EU residency. It is sufficient to buy a property at a minimum value of €250,000. Other investment options include investment in government bonds or bank deposits as well.
Source: myRepublica
How to decide which Golden Visa is the best for your needs
As you can see from the examples above, each country has its own unique benefit. You may need to first consider what kind of investment you want to make.
If you wish to conduct business in another country, Portugal can be a good option. The foreign direct investment (FDI) in Portugal is increasing day by day. The 2024 EY Attractiveness Survey indicated proof of this. According to the report, the FDI number in Portugal rose from 74 (in 2018) to 158 (in 2019) just within one year. It also shows that the technology and start-up sector keeps growing as well.
On the other hand, if you plan to relocate and consider your family members as well, you may need to check the quality of the basic services in the related country. Portugal is doing a great job in this sense as well. It ranks the 3rd safest country according to the 2024 Global Peace Index. Furthermore, it has a good healthcare system with high-end devices in hospitals. Also, it has many international schools offering very high-quality education.
If you look for a more affordable option, Greece can be a good choice through the real estate option. In this way, you can also consider staying in Greece, too. The data from the 2024 EY Attractiveness Survey of Greece supports this. It indicates that the quality of life keeps being the primary reason for its attractiveness. It also emphasizes the country’s sustainable development and the socio-political condition, which are quite attractive for companies.
Source: The Economic Times
Is it easy to apply for Golden Visa after the pandemic?
It has been and still is easy to apply for a Golden Visa because you can work on the process mostly remotely. Appointing an attorney of the related country will make things quite easier. They can open bank accounts on your behalf, for example.
Furthermore, Greece recently has made a step regarding the remote application. According to Enterprise Greece: if you are a non-EU citizen having made an eligible investment, you can use a proxy for your Golden Visa application. So, no obligation to visit Greece beforehand. You must sign the Power of Attorney in the presence of a Greek Consular authority. Only one exception is necessary: within the first 12-month period, you must visit Greece for biometric data submission. Overall, this is a big step taken after the pandemic.
Source: Passport Legacy
Benefits of Golden Visa after the pandemic
The CBI Index shows the importance of mobility for investors. While investors used to regard second citizenship only as a way for extended travel and globalization, their outlook has changed following Covid-19. Mobility rights have become more important than anything. So, investors reassessed what they call a real “home”, as the index emphasized.
This is why Golden Visa programs have gained more importance. They guarantee you the right to move between places when you want to. As is clear from these data above, Golden Visa countries offer a high-quality lifestyle in many senses. So, they are also like a destination you can easily take shelter when necessary.
