How to Get Residency in Portugal: an Ultimate Guide (2024)

Residence permit bywork

One needs tobe employed byaPortuguese company toobtain aresidence permit bywork. Your employer must apply forawork permit fromthePortuguese Labor Authorities. Thetype ofpermit you should get depends onthekind ofwork you will perform.

Aresidence permit forteaching activities is issued forpersons who seek toteach inPortugal. It is issued fortwo years atonce and can be renewed forthree more years. Toprove aright toobtain aresidence permit, one needs toprovide acontract ofemployment or invitation letter issued byan educational or vocational training establishment or research centre.

Aresidence permit forhighly qualified specialists is given toengineers, doctors, and scientists, also issued fortwo years and can be renewed forthree more. Theapplicant who is asubordinate worker must provide an employment contract ofone year or more. Remuneration must be atleast 1.5 times thenational average gross annual salary or three times theindex value ofsocial support.

Residence permit bystudying

Aperson accepted toaPortuguese university has aright toobtain aresidence permit forthewhole period ofstudy. Firstly, theresidence permit is issued forone year, which can be renewed forequal periods.

Toapply foraresidence permit bystudying, one must provide proof ofthefollowing:

• registration inthehigher education institution;
• tuition payment required bythehigher education institution, if applicable;
• evidence ofhaving means ofsubsistence inPortugal.

Residency byfamily reunification

Relatives ofPortuguese residents and citizens can apply foraresidence permit byfamily reunification. It is issued foraperiod oftime identical totheduration oftheresidence permit ofan applicant’s family member. If you are arelative ofaPortuguese citizen or aresident withapermanent residence, you will get arenewable residence permit fortwo years.

Among family members who can apply forresidency are:

• aspouse or non-marital legally recognised partner;
• underage or incapable children dependent onthecouple or thespouse;
• minors adopted bytheapplicant or their spouse;
• adult children who are dependent ontheapplicant or their spouse and live withtheapplicant as well as study ataPortuguese university;
• parents oftheapplicant or their spouse that are dependent onthem;
• underage siblings that are intheapplicant’s custody.

An applicant must prove family bonds byproviding documents: marriage certificate, birth certificate, certificate ofincapacity ofchildren ofa*ge, etc.

Residency forretired people

Toobtain aPortugal residence permit, retired people need tofulfil three conditions:

1. Buy real estate foraprice that is higher than theaverage one. It varies from€80,000 to€120,000, depending ontheregion.
2. Prove they have income outside Portugal that is atleast €500 per month forthemain applicant and an additional €250 per month fortheir spouse. Income can come fromdifferent sources: entrepreneurship, pension payments, income that come fromtheleasing oftheir apartments, etc. Theonly condition is tobe able toprove income officially.
3. Live inPortugal foratleast 183 days.

Residence forfinancially independent individuals

TheD7 visa requires thefulfilment ofseveral conditions:

1. An applicant must rent or buy real estate. There are norequirements forproperty or rental costs. However, it must be big enough toaccommodate theapplicant and their family members.
2. Theapplicant must have amonthly income ofnoless than €760. It can come fromaregular job or leasing ofproperty outside Portugal, royalties, dividends, interests, or pensions.
3. Theapplicant must reside inPortugal foratleast 183 days ayear.

If an investor applies forresidency throughtheD7 visa, their family members can obtain aresidence permit byfamily reunification. Among theeligible relatives are spouses, underage children and siblings, and parents financially dependent ontheinvestor.

Other ways toobtain aresidency card inPortugal

Training. This residence permit is given forsix months or theduration ofthetraining period and can’t be renewed. Theapplicant must provide acontract withaprofessional training company or body.

Volunteering. This residence permit is granted tothose who volunteer inPortugal. It is issued forayear or theduration ofthevocational training and can’t be renewed.

Avolunteer needs toprovide thefollowing documents:

• acontract withthehosting entity responsible forthevolunteer programme that includes information ontheduration and schedule ofthevolunteer programme;
• aguarantee ofcovering food and accommodation expenses;
• evidence that thehosting entity has subscribed toinsurance oncivil liability.

Cultural activity. This residence permit is given tothose who participate inacultural activity onthecountry’s territory approved bythegovernment. It requires one toprovide awork or service contract compatible withacultural activity or declaration oftheentity that carries out thecultural activity. This residence permit is issued fortwo years and can be renewed forthree more.

Benefits ofhaving residency inPortugal

An opportunity tolive, work or study inPortugal. Portuguese residents can live inthecountry fortheduration ofapermit. They also can enter thecountry anytime, even if theborders are closed toforeigners. Therefore, they have asafe haven if something happens intheir country oforigin.

Preferential tax regime. Obtaining theNon-Habitual Resident status allows one topay taxes ontheincome earned inPortugal ataflat rate. While theincome tax rate inPortugal depends onhow much money one earns, thehighest rate can be 48%. WiththeNon-Habitual Resident status, thetax rate is always 20%.

Thestatus is given for10 years and can’t be renewed. Only new tax residents can apply forit. Todo so, they need tofulfil one ofthefollowing requirements:

• have lived inPortugal formore than 183 days inthelast year;
• purchase aresidential property inPortugal and use it as apermanent residence;
• serve onaship or aircraft ofacompany registered inPortugal onDecember 31st ofthereported year;
• have been inpublic service intheforeign mission ofthePortugal government inthelast 12 months.

All applicants also must notbe Portuguese tax residents and notpay taxes inthecountry for5 years beforeapplying foraNon-Habitual Resident status.

Travel visa-free within theSchengen Area. APortuguese residence permit gives its holders aright toenter theSchengen countries without visas and stay there for90 days outofa180-day period.

Citizenship in5 years. Afterfive years ofholding aresidence permit, aperson can apply forPortugal permanent residency or even citizenship. Tobe able toapply forit, one needs tolive inthecountry for183 per year and prove knowledge ofPortuguese ontheA2 level.

Relatively low cost ofliving. Portugal is one oftheleast expensive countries inEurope. Forexample, afamily offour would need around €2,000 per month without rent. Atthesame time, afamily offour would need almost €3,000 without rent forthesame period tolive inGermany.

ThePortuguese climate is pleasing. Winters are mild, summers are warm and sunny. Thewarmest month is August withan average temperature +27.8°C

Portugal is one ofthebest countries forthose who enjoy slow living. Portuguese citizens are never inrush, and cities and towns are notas busy as inother countries

Madeira is one ofthemost beautiful regions ofPortugal. It is known forlandscapes, beaches and warm sea washing its borders

Lisbon is thecapital ofPortugal and theoldest city inWestern Europe known forits rich architecture. Praçado Comércio withits statue ofKing José I, and theTriumphal Arc is one ofLisbon’s main sights

Portugal residency byinvestment: Golden Visa

ThePortugal Golden Visa is one oftheeasiest ways toobtain residency inPortugal. Investors are also notrequired tolive inthecountry foralong time; they need tospend nomore than 7 days there.

There are 7 investment options that one can choose fromwhen applying forPortuguese residency:

1. Real estate purchase— €280,000+. Therequired price forpurchasing real estate depends ontheage ofaproperty and thearea where it is located. An investor needs topay €350,000+ forreal estate built more than 30 years ago. Theprice decreases to€280,000+ if this real estate is located inasparsely populated area.

Thecost ofacommercial or residential property must be atleast €500,000 if it is new and €400,000 if it was built less than 30 years agoand is located inasparsely populated area.

Starting in2022, thePortuguese government imposed restrictions onpurchasing residential real estate. Investors can buy properties inthecountry’s inner regions, ontheAzore islands and Madeira. Investing inresidential properties inbig or resort cities such as Lisbon, Porto or Cascais is nolonger allowed.

There are nolimitations onbuying commercial properties.

Apartments inahotel complex are located onthecoast ofMadeira Island. They are ready forrent out, and their cost is €175,000

Atwo-bedroom apartment inanew residential project is located inGrandola. Theprice fortheproperty varies from€280,000 to€300,000

Commercial premises inaresidential complex withinfrastructure are located inthecapital ofPortugal. Thesize oftheproperty starts from72 m² and its price varies from€896,051 to€1,772,133

2. Purchase ofinvestment fund units— €500,000+. An investor needs tohold fund units foratleast 5 years. Then theprofit minus commission will be paid back tothem.

3. Capital transfer— €1,500,000+. Forms ofinvestment bycapital transfer are:

• capital transfer tothebank deposit;
• purchase ofsecurities and stocks incommercial companies;
• purchase ofstate debt instruments.

Investments must stay inthebank account untilan investor obtains permanent residence.

4. Business investments of€500,000+ and creating atleast 5jobs.

5. Opening acompany and therefore creating 10 jobs. If thearea where thecompany is opened is sparsely populated, thenumber ofworkplaces can be declined to8. Employees are notrequired tohold Portugal citizenship or aresidence permit beforeapplying forajob.

6. Supporting arts and restoring cultural heritage— €250,000+.

7. Investments inresearch activities— €500,000+.

TheGolden Visa is issued fortwo years and can be renewed fortwo subsequent periods oftwo years.

Requirements totheinvestor forgetting aPortugal residence permit

There are specific requirements that are imposed ontheapplicant. Toapply foraresidence permit inPortugal, one must:

• have noconviction foracrime which inPortugal is punished byacustodial sentence ofmore than ayear;
• notbe within aperiod ofprohibition ofentry inPortugal following an expulsion measure fromthecountry;
• have noindication intheSchengen Information System;
• have noindication inSEF’s Integrated Information System fornon-admission purposes underarticle 33 oftheAliens Act;
• have health insurance covered bytheNational Health Service.

Required documents forobtaining aresidence permit inPortugal

Theapplication foraresidence permit can be filed online. Ingeneral, thelist ofdocuments required fortheapplication is thefollowing:

• apassport or other valid travel document;
• evidence ofsufficient means ofsubsistence;
• evidence that theapplicant has adequate accommodation;
• permission forSEF tocheck Portuguese criminal records (except forthose under16 years old);
• supporting evidence ofregistration within theTax Authority.

Theapplicant must also provide additional documents applicable inevery specific case and two coloured photos taken recently.

Process ofobtaining residency inPortugal: theGolden Visa as an example

1. Preliminary Due Diligence. It is required if aperson applies forresidency byinvestment. Duringpreliminary Due Diligence, alicensed agent checks an investor and their family members against different databases and ontheInternet. It reduces therisk ofrefusal to1%.
2. Fulfilment ofconditions required foraresidence permit. Inthecase oftheGolden Visa, you need tochoose asuitable option and make an investment. That might be purchasing real estate, capital transfer, business investment, etc.
3. Preparation ofthedocuments. When theinvestment is made, thelicenced agent starts toprepare documents fortheapplication. They also translate and notarise them as well as fill out government forms. Then thedocuments are filed electronically totheSEF, thePortuguese Immigration Office.
4. Biometrics. Toreceive aresidence card, an investor and their family must come toPortugal tosubmit their fingerprints.
5. Collection ofthepermits. Theprocess ofconsidering an application takes around 6 months. Aftertheapproval, an investor can collect residence permits personally or throughalawyer.
6. Renewal ofthepermits. Thepermits must be renewed two years after. Theprocess ofrenewing is thesame as theinitial one.

Permanent residence inPortugal

Permanent residence is notobligatory if you want toobtain citizenship. However, it is agood choice forthose whose country oforigin doesn’t allow dual citizenship.

Thepermanent residence gives thesame rights as thetemporary residence does. That includes theopportunity tolive inPortugal, visa-free travel totheSchengen states, and access tohigh-quality medicine.

Permanent residence holders cannot participate inelections or hold public office.

Frequently Asked Questions