According to official announcement, President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa has enacted a new decree to simplify the visa application process changing “the regulation of the legal regime of entry, permanent , exit and expulsion of foreign citizens in Portugal”.
This will allow foreigners, who enter Portugal to work, to get legal residence and work permits, with the purpose of facilitating more integration in the country.
In 2017, Portugal issued 223,343 schengen uniform visas (including MEV) from consulates.
Last year the Portuguese government approved simplification rules for visa applications for permanence or residence authorisation in the country, scrapping the need for interviews at consulates whenever possible and making higher education institutions responsible for students.
Golden visa applicants purchasing property in Portugal will also benefit from this new simplification rule when applying for D visa from the embassy in their country. The Golden visa investment is reduced to 350,00 (real estate) and business option requires 250,000 capital investment or create 10 jobs without any investment.
The Golden visa scheme have raised close to 4 billion euros since its inception in 2012 with large number of chinese, south africans and brazilians buying property in Portugal averaging €585,000
Portugal also reduced path to citizenship to five years, instead of six years this year for nationals of certain countries.
According to Global property guide, Golden Visa scheme is boosting residential markets across Portugal including the Algarve and Lisbon
- Portugal’s foreign born resident population has doubled from 207,000 to 416,000 since 2000, according to figures from the Portuguese Government.
- Portugal witnessed almost a 12% increase in foreign tourist arrivals in 2017 with 12.7 million tourists in total
- Portuguese Government has not tightened rules on foreign ownership or increased property taxes
- Portuguese Non-Habitual Residence (NHR) tax rule, introduced in 2009, allows for a flat rate of 20% personal income tax from activities performed in Portugal and a tax exemption, including pensions, on all foreign income while the golden visa offers residency to investors
