Profitable Portugal

Registering about one and half percent year-on-year increase in volume last year, the Portuguese economy is projected to continue gradual growth recuperation in the next fiscal. The Portuguese tourism trade balance was 7.7 billion euros in 2015 and the tourism revenue in the country has seen sustainable growth.
With these positive economic indicators, the country at present offers vast investment opportunities for investors. These are facilitated by a special visa regime called Golden Visa and Non-Habitual Tax Residence Scheme.
With an investment of 500,000 euros, one can have a Golden visa for self and the family, allowing Portuguese residency and access to Schengen countries as well.
“The Golden Visa is a programme the Portuguese government launched in 2012 to attract investment in the country. The idea was to grant people permanent visa which allows the person who makes investment to live in the country either with the family or to spend some time in Portugal,” Luiz Augusto Teixeira de Freitas, a representative of TFRA Law Firm from Portugal tells Community.
He was speaking at the two-day seminar entitled ‘Portugal Real Estate Investment Opportunities’ inaugurated by Portuguese ambassador Antonio Tanger at Four Seasons hotel. The seminar aimed at attracting investment from Qatar is organised by Porta da Frente, JLL Cobertura, the Embassy of Portugal in Qatar and Memo International Trading and Contracting Doha Qatar.
Speaking at the inauguration that continues today, the ambassador introduced his country to the audience, saying
Portugal was committed to work together with Qatar to expand mutual relations.
“Qatar a relatively young country with vast natural resources. It is one of the most dynamic countries in the Gulf region. There is solid spirit of mutual trust and understanding in several fields of cooperation,” says the ambassador.
Since September 2015, the ambassador says, bilateral relations, especially in the economic field have witnessed a tremendous spurt.   
Explaining the Golden visa and tax regimes, Freitas says it will allow an opportunity to live legally in Portugal and free access to Schengen countries.
“One of the possibilities for the visa is the acquisition of real estate property with a minimum value of 500,000 euros. It can either be residential or commercial,” says the lawyer.
“With only one investment of this value, you can obtain visa for yourself and your family, including children who are of age, but economically dependent on the visa-holder,” he adds.
According to the official figures published by the immigration office of Portugal, so far into July this year, 2,700 visas have been issued since 2012. In the beginning, mostly Chinese were applying for the visa, but now there is diversification with applicants from other countries becoming visa holders as well. These include people from Brazil, Russia, Egypt, Lebanon and others, who are now coming in good numbers.
The visa is initially granted for one year followed by two renewals. One renewal is after first year and the second after two years, giving you five years in all. After five years, you no longer have the obligation to keep your investment and you are granted permanent residence to stay in the country.
“We do not, of course, count people from Europe who come to live there because they do not need a visa. Many people from Europe are coming to live in Portugal because of the very attractive tax programme that we have,” says Freitas.
It is a separate programme similar to the tax regime existing in England for foreigners. The focus of the programme is to attract high net worth individuals and people with very high professional skills, he explains.
It is not necessary for these people to work. “There are many rich retired people who benefit from this programme. Once you apply for the tax programme, you obtain exemption on individual tax for 10 years on all your foreign income,” says the lawyer.
This is a huge advantage in Portugal, he claims, compared to other European countries. In other countries, you would not have any guarantees that this regime will not change every year. In Portugal, you have these guarantees.   
Rafael Ascenso, General Manager of Porta Da Frente Christie’s, says the first day of the seminar was a success as they received a number of interested people wanting to know more about their country, the real estate scene and the Golden Visa programme.
“It is an interesting programme for people wanting to go to Europe and make a living. Once you get into Portugal, you get into the Schengen zone and you get to travel to and see Europe as well,” says the real estate businessman.
Through the seminar, he says, they are focusing on people who would want to go to Portugal and buy residences there. The market is dynamic these days, he says, and Portugal is attracting a lot of foreigners wanting to settle in the country.
“People have bought apartments there and spend some months there. We have so many Swedes and Brazilians as well who are buying and investing there because the price per square metre in Lisbon is very cheap compared to other main cities of Europe,” says Ascenso.
Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, is a very attractive city. There are two main areas of the city. The centre is where you would find a lot of multicultural environment and on the streets you would hear lots of different languages. It offers a lot of good restaurants, shopping malls and other attractions.
“And then, at about 25-minute distance you have the coastal area called Cascais. It has a completely different lifestyle — much more calm. You have seven golf courses at say, a range of 15 minutes by car, and you have great beaches to surf and swim,” says Ascenso.
“I have two offices in Lisbon and Cascais and I normally spend my day at the latter and evening in the former and it just takes me 25 minutes to commute,” he explains. His company, he says, manages all kinds of properties for people interested in investing in Portugal.
There are options to own residences and put them up as rentals or obtain commercial spaces and put them up for businesses. In either, case Porta Da Frente, he says, manages it completely for its clients.
The seminar will continue today where Ascenso and Freitas along with Patricia Barao from JLL Cobertura will give presentations on real estate investment opportunities in Portugal besides visa and tax regimes.