In 2012, as the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis spread to Europe, Europe was deeply involved in the European debt crisis , and all asset prices fell. Among them, the southern European countries with tourism as their main industry are in the most serious situation. Real estate prices have fallen and no one has taken over the property. The country is on the verge of bankruptcy. At that time, the Portuguese government took the lead in introducing the Golden Visa Policy, which allowed foreign investors to obtain Portuguese residence status as long as they purchased real estate with a total value of more than 500,000 euros. The market is also known as “house purchase immigration”.
However, at first the immigration prison sentence was set at 30 days per year, and the market did not respond well. In early 2013, the Portuguese government lowered the immigration prison period for golden residence visas to seven days, which immediately detonated the immigration market.
From 2013 to 2023, a full decade, this article briefly talks about changes in the market, changes in policies, and changes in our practitioners. And imagine the future development direction.
§ Immigration Bureau
In the early years, Immigration Bureau had a special window service for investment immigration. It was available at any time, and you could take fingerprints and photos first, and then go through the house purchase and other procedures, which was very convenient.
Nowadays, you can only apply for a tax ID number, bank account number, buy a house, collect all materials, and finally submit the pre-approval reply to the Immigration Bureau, and then notify you to take fingerprints and photos.
For investors, it was definitely convenient before but not now.
For the Immigration Bureau, the current order is more reasonable and efficient.
For the country, now that it has passed the economic crisis , investment immigration is no longer so important, so it no longer requires additional care.
§ Portuguese real estate market
Portugal’s housing prices have experienced a 10-year bull market since the bottom around 2012.
Let’s put it this way, around 2013, I bought a small apartment in Lisbon city. If I hold it until now, it should have at least doubled in value. (If not, it means you bought the wrong one.)
Note: I am talking about small old houses in downtown Lisbon.
If you buy a new house, a large apartment, or in other cities, the effect will be worse.
But no matter what, around 2013 is the best time to buy a house in Portugal!
§ About choosing an immigration agency
The threshold of this industry is very low, and the quality of the work depends purely on personal conduct and intention.
In early 2013, I remember that , WeChat, and were not yet popular, and most people got information through websites and QQ.
Nowadays, there are major platforms and self-media that provide more information choices.
This is a good thing for companies that are serious about doing things, but a bad thing for companies that relied on information asymmetry to make profits in the early days.
For example, those who have added me as a friend on WeChat should know that my WeChat personal information is a lady, but in fact I am a man. Why?
First, in the early days, I did have a female assistant to help me communicate. Another reason is that it is easier for girls to exchange information.
Here we focus on the latter factor.
From 2013 to 2015, investors from mainland China came to Portugal in an endless stream. The men who came to invest would subconsciously use the "WeChat Nearby People" function to add nearby female users.
(I don’t know the original purpose of adding friends, but understanding the real market is also a major purpose.)
Most of them come to inspect with domestic companies. They have seafood feasts every day, private hotels, and escorts by dedicated cars (some even have their passports taken away). They are very well protected. In fact, they are afraid to learn about the real market in private.
But others are selling one set for 500,000 yuan. I can offer the option of buying 2 or 3 sets for 500,000 yuan, and few are not interested. Therefore, “people near WeChat” alone contribute millions of revenue to us every year.
By the way, there are also some local agents who guard foreign investors at the entrance of the Immigration Bureau, at the airport, and in hotels, which is also a good way.
But for the above, domestic companies will definitely be gnashing their teeth.
§ Personal Growth
html In the past 110 years, I have grown from a small agency assistant to the director of three real estate stores.
owns:
Portuguese registered real estate agency license (property sales and leasing throughout Portugal);
Portuguese construction license (responsible for construction, renovation and renewal);
real estate management company (mainly responsible for post-real estate management, including international student apartments and homestay management);
immigration consulting team.
§ 2023 New Year’s Plan
Due to the uncertainty of mainland China’s foreign policy, we have focused on investment immigration in the United States, the Middle East and the Hong Kong market in recent years, and mainland China will no longer continue to exert its efforts.
In addition, due to the stagnation in the reform of the Portuguese Immigration Bureau, there is no focus on investment immigration. There are also some problems that cannot be solved by our own efforts. For example:
､ Late card renewal appointment;
､ Three years after the epidemic, no appointments can be made with the Immigration Bureau due to missed appointments;
3､ Some investors’ approval or card approval is delayed.
I plan to use the resources I have to convene some investors to initiate litigation with the Portuguese Immigration Bureau, not to get any results, but to promote internal changes.
If you are interested, you can contact me privately. I will be personally responsible for the litigation costs and attorney fees.
§ About Portugal’s immigration policy
Some immigrant friends come to me for consultation and ask me about various immigration policies. I am definitely impatient with this kind of consultation. It is recommended that you do your homework and choose the immigration method that suits you.
There is a wide variety of information on the Internet and there is no need to waste time. I will give you two websites where all the official information is.
- Portuguese Immigration Service
www.sef.pt
- Portuguese Visa Center
https://visa.vfsglobal.com/chn/zh/prt/
In fact, each immigration route targets different groups of people, and generally they are not inconsistent with each other. Therefore, each immigrant group does not have to look down upon the other group, but the chain of contempt for immigrants objectively exists in every country.
Generally speaking:
, investment immigration
is suitable for people who have money, no time, and have not considered coming here to live permanently.
､ Work-related residence (88-2/89-2)
is suitable for people who have time but no money, who are considering coming to live permanently, and who can tolerate being a gangster for at least two or three years without returning to the country.
3､ D7
is suitable for people who have passive income and have come to live abroad, especially those who are retired.
4､ Digital nomads
is suitable for high-income people who can work online for many years.
5､ Refugee/Asylum
is suitable for people who have no money, time, and shamelessness and want to leave their home country.
So you see, the various types are designed to target different groups of people and do not conflict with each other. Everyone just chooses the most beneficial and cheapest way for them. It’s just that for some people, money is the cheapest, and for some people, time is the cheapest.
Finally, I wish you all a new year of 2023, health, happiness and peace!
wishes the move a smooth one!
