Real Estate acquisition eligibility for the Portuguese Golden Visa in Lisbon. Porto and the Algarve is expected to be banned from January 01, 2022. What’s next?

The Portuguese Golden Visa laws are set to change on January 1, 2022. The main law that is expected to change is the eligibility of the purchase of real estate in greater Lisbon, Porto and the Algarve for the Golden Visa as this will not be allowed any longer. A secondary aspect is that an increase is also expected in the minimum eligible investment required in each category.

Having said that, currently there is no clarity as to which laws will change because we understand that Servico de Estrangeiros e Fronteiras (“SEF”) is in discussion with various stakeholders to try and reduce the adverse impact and fallout of the eligibility ban. The views that are emerging from people that have attended these meetings are:

1. the minimum investment in funds, equities and/or bank accounts will increase but the investment in properties may remain the same; and

Real estate purchases in Lisbon, Porto and Algarve will continue to be eligible for the Golden Visa. The simple logic is that no further investment (or very little investment) will be forthcoming by the retail investor if they are forced to buy apartments/villas in the islands or the hinterland.

Furthermore, hitherto, the investment funds received by Portugal from the advent of the Golden Visa in October 2012 up to and including August 2021 is €5.3 Bn and this figure excludes real estate funds that acquired and developed both commercial and residential properties during the last the 9 years. Since a reliance has been formed on these funds coming in to the Country, it is therefore, imperative that the Portuguese Government maintain status quo in the Golden Visa program. This will also encourage more investors to come to Portugal and channel them away from other EU countries such as Spain, Greece and Malta and non-EU countries like Montenegro and Turkey all of which have aggressive strategies.  

So, needless to say, the real estate sector is also in the throes of confusion. However, with this confusion comes an opportunity. The hidden real estate gem lies in the hypothesis that investors may give up or change their minds about investing or living in Portugal, but seen from another angle, this can be interpreted as an opportunity to expand their horizons whilst seeking  real estate in other cities of Portugal. Which, by the way, are beautiful, well-structured cities with access to stunning natural beauty.

One such town is Almada in the Setubal district. This is a large commuter suburb of Lisbon (pop. 177,000) across the River Targus (Tejo in Portuguese) with the lovely beaches of the Atlantic Ocean close by such as Costa da Caprica and Fonte da Telha. Lisbons is easily accessible as it is connected by ferry (a 15-minute journey), Metro and the 25^th of April Bridge. There ae several monuments in the area such as the Church of Santiago and the National Shrine of Christ which was built in 1959 on the highest point and can be seen from anywhere in Lisbon.

Since Almada is commuter city, it has not been discovered by the major developers as yet and real estate is cheap and readily available for purchase. The average value of properties per square meter in Almada is €2,100, which if compared to the values in August 2020 appreciated around 6.50%. Comparatively, property in the best areas of Lisbon cost approximately €9,500 per square meter.

We would recommend that a viable option for the Golden Visa whether now or after January 2022, would be to buy apartments or villas in Almada. To recap, Almada is close and well connected to Lisbon and is a ready market with tenants. Furthremore, there is freehold land available which can be also be used to build one’s own villa.

Lovely Panoramic team provides all the necessary support for investors to know every detail of the ARI – Portugal Golden Visa application process, as well as direct and personal assistance in several other important details for the process of establishing their family and business life project in Portugal.

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