Portugal Golden Visa — Simpler Procedures and the Best Results on Record
The Portuguese government has significantly simplified procedures for granting and renewal of residence permit applications. A corresponding order was published on the Presidency of the Council of Ministers’ website on the 26th of May, 2020. The document allows to considerably reduce attendance time at the Immigration and Borders Service (SEF) offices for 250,000 foreign citizens, who can now file applications online instead of visiting the SEF offices and are not obliged to provide new evidence for visa exemption.
According to a SEF representative, the order provides “mitigating the consequences that resulted from the health emergency situation, adopting exceptional and temporary measures that allow for a recovery of pending issues and an efficiency gain in the document management of foreign citizens.”
Thus, for a decision on residence permit extension applicants do not have to attend SEF in person and can submit the application through the SEF online portal instead. SEF will subsequently carry out all the necessary checks to confirm the applicant’s trustworthiness and verify the fulfilment of his / her financial obligations. After paying taxes, the applicant will receive the residence permit at his / her fiscal address.
Portugal’s Golden visa has been one of the most popular residence by investment programmes in Europe since its inception in 2012. However, due to Covid-19 pandemic, Portugal showed a historic increase in applications for Golden visas in May 2020. Thus, visa approvals in May exceeded the figures of the previous four months combined, making the total EUR 146.2 million of invested funds. These impressive results are unprecedented, and it is thought that the Golden visa program will continue to grow in popularity among clients from China, South Africa, Russia, Brazil and others.
If you are interested in becoming a Portuguese resident and subsequently a citizen, now is the best time to file your application. Contact us at GLS Private Office, and we will help you obtain Portugal’s residence by investment the fastest way.
Would you like to learn more about the available residency by investment programs in Portugal? On the 9nd of July Victoria Vella, managing director of GLS Private Office, will host a webinar, during which you will receive the most up-to-date information concerning the country’s available immigration programs for HNWI. To register for this webinar, kindly email us at webinar@glspo.com.
