GET A PERMANENT RESIDENCE PERMIT IN PORTUGAL

GET A PERMANENT RESIDENCE PERMIT IN PORTUGAL

How to move to Portugal for permanent residency

With a Portugal permanent residence card, you can live, work and do business in the country. It is not necessary to live in Portugal to maintain the status.

You can apply for permanent residence after five years of holding a residence permit, subject to several requirements. Learn how to get permanent residence in Portugal and what this status provides.

What is permanent residency?

The status of permanent residence differs from a temporary residence permit in that it is issued indefinitely. It does not need to be renewed every one or two years. However, you need to update the permanent residence card, e.g. in Portugal, it is renewed every five years.

Permanent residence in Portugal almost gives the same rights in the country as citizenship, with the exception of political ones. With a permanent residence card, you can not participate in elections or hold public office.

Permanent residents of Portugal can not enjoy all the opportunities for travel and relocation to other countries available to citizens of the country. For example, a Portuguese passport opens visa-free entry to 187 countries, and a permanent residence card to 26 countries of the Schengen zone.

Portuguese permanent residency requirements

To become the owner of a permanent residence card in Portugal, you first need to obtain a temporary residence permit. After five years of maintaining the status, you can apply for permanent residence.

Residence permits in Portugal are obtained by study, employment, or marriage with a citizen of Portugal, for family reunification. Moreover, this status can be obtained if there is passive income and housing in the country or under the state investment program.

Obtaining a residence permit in Portugal by investment takes 4 to 6 months. Conditions for investors are simpler than for applicants for a residence permit on other grounds.

Applicants invest €250,000 in the economy of Portugal to get a residence permit card of the country. The residence permit program in Portugal offers investors seven options.

Purchasing real estate in the country worth €280,000 or more is the most popular option among investors. Real estate prices in Portugal are growing on average by 3-5% per year. The object can be rented out and sold after five years and the investment returned with a profit.

Spacious apartments in the elite area of ​​Ponte de Barca for €280,000. The apartment has six bedrooms and two bathrooms. Real estate brings in 3 to 5% of income per year

The second most popular option among investors is purchasing units of investment funds in the amount of €500,000. Other options are investments in culture and art, scientific projects and business in the country, transfer of capital, or opening a business in Portugal.

To maintain a residence permit in Portugal, the investor needs to keep the investment and spend at least seven days in the country per year. The residence permit card is renewed every two years.

To maintain permanent residence in Portugal, it is enough to spend more than six months in the country within three years from the date of obtaining the status.

Opportunities provided with a residence permit and permanent residence in Portugal

Accommodation in Portugal. A residence permit in Portugal allows you to enter the country legally, even when the borders are closed. Investors can permanently reside in the country or spend holidays there.

Travel without visas. The Schengen countries allow Portuguese residents to enter without a visa. You can spend up to 90 days there in half a year.

Free education for children. A residence permit and permanent residence in Portugal allow you to enroll a child in a kindergarten or school for free.

Residents can enroll in Portuguese universities and their diplomas will be recognized in other EU countries. Residents can get a higher education free of charge on a competitive basis.

Quality medicine. Portugal has a high level of medicine. This confirms the life expectancy: the citizens of the country live an average of 82 years. This is longer than in Belgium, Denmark, the Czech Republic, or Croatia. The average life expectancy in Europe is 78 years.

To receive full health care in Portugal, you must register with the National Health Service (NHS). To do this, you need to get a user card — Cartão de Utente. The document must be presented each time at the hospital and pharmacy.

You can get an NHS user card at the polyclinic in Portugal where you live. You need to take a residence permit or permanent residence card with you.

Medicine is free for citizens of Portugal and foreign citizens with the status of a residence permit or permanent residence if they make contributions to the Social Security Fund. Additional diagnostic studies are paid for by everyone.

Tax incentives. Residents of Portugal can receive a special tax status of a Non-habitual Resident (NHR). It allows not to pay tax on income received outside of Portugal if it was paid in another country. Also, the status allows for a reduction of the tax rate on income from professional activities in Portugal to 20%. Without NHR status, the income tax rate reaches 48%.

To become a tax resident of Portugal and obtain a preferential NHR status, you need to stay in the country for more than 183 days a year.

A European bank account. A residence permit or permanent residence in Portugal allows you to open an account in a European bank and keep your savings in hard currency and not lose money on commissions for foreign transfers.

An opportunity to obtain EU citizenship. Holders of residence permits and permanent residence cards in Portugal can apply for citizenship in the country.

Portugal is a member of the European Union, so with its passport, you can live and work in any country of this association. In addition, Portuguese citizens travel visa-free to 187 countries, including the US, Canada, the UK, Japan, and Australia.

Permanent residence status is an optional step on the way to Portuguese citizenship. You can apply for citizenship after 5 years of being in the status of a residence permit. The status of permanent residence in Portugal is convenient for citizens of countries where it is forbidden to have a second citizenship.

The cost of issuing a permanent residence permit in Portugal depends on the scope of services that our migration lawyers in Portugal will provide.

• It usually includes a set of services
• translation of documents into Portugal and their certification by a notary
• consultations and legal services
• help in filling out the application and questionnaire
• counseling and recommendations on passing the interview
• interpreter services if necessary
• help with housing and transport