Data from the Portuguese Foreigners and Border Services Agency showed that in the first half of this year, the number of new immigrants in Portugal exceeded the total in 2021, with a total of approximately 133,000 new residence permits issued. Compared with the 111,311 copies in the whole year of 2021, the number of newly issued residence visas in the first six months of this year has increased by 22,000. Of the 133,000 new residence permits, 48,000 are awarded to Brazilians (more than a third), who are the largest immigrant community in Portugal. The foreign population living in Portugal now exceeds 800,000.
Portuguese climate is warm, with delicious food and high-quality service. It is a popular place for foreigners to relocate. In fact, more than 662,000 of its population are foreign-born, accounting for about 6.5% of the total population. Most expats live in big cities such as Lisbon , Faro , Setubal and Porto . Brazil is a former Portuguese colony and has the largest foreign population. You will also find many Chinese and Europeans, especially those from the UK, Ukrainian and France.
According to its UN Immigration Governance Overview, Portugal has good residency, welfare and education services, although it lacks in certain areas such as political rights, such as foreign residents being unable to vote in local elections.
Portuguese immigration system is similar to that of many other EU member states. EU citizens have freedom of movement, and Portugal is part of Schengen area . However, non-EU nationals can move to Portugal to work, study, join a family or retire if they meet certain criteria.
In the immigration program in Portugal, the most common, the most widely handled should be the Golden Visa Program, which aims to attract wealthy foreigners to invest in the country.
This is a special Portuguese visa program. If foreign investors in non-EU countries purchase Portuguese real estate or invest to a certain value, if they meet the conditions, under the plan, non-EU citizens will obtain a Portuguese residence permit and can apply for full Portuguese citizenship later. Currently there are the following projects to choose from.
.5 million euro project: residential real estate in the inland areas and the autonomous regions of Azores and Madeira and commercial real estate in unlimited areas can be purchased; if the residential property is located in a designated "low density" area, a 20% discount is applicable, which is 400,000 euro project;
.35 million euro project: residential real estate in the inland areas and the autonomous regions of Azores and Madeira and commercial real estate in unlimited areas can be purchased; if the residential property is located in a designated "low density" area, a 20% discount is applicable, which is 280,000 euro project.
After living in Portugal for five consecutive years, you can apply for Portugal permanent residence , or you can apply for Portugal citizenship after five years. In some cases, you can apply for citizenship in advance, for example, if you are married to a Portuguese citizen.
Below are some of the conditions for the applicant for the Portuguese Golden Visa. The conditions are relatively simple:
main applicant:
• 18 years old
• non-EU country citizen
• purchased asset holder
• Purchase private health insurance (according to the place of submission)
• No criminal record
affiliated applicant:
• Main applicant legal spouse
• Children under 18 years old
• Children over 18 years old are unmarried, currently studying, and financially unindependent
• Parents of both the main applicant and their spouses
* The affiliated applicant may submit an application together with the main applicant or subsequently.
Portugal's Golden Visa project can be said to be the most popular immigration project in Europe. It is not only very popular in China, but also a relatively popular project in Europe and the United States. If you have any intention, it is better to get it sooner than later, and you can enjoy it early when you immigrate early. If you have any questions about immigration, you can discuss it with Sanxiang Immigration.
