Portugal: attractiveness for investors without a golden visa

If Portugal manages to be able to divert half of the foreign investment allocated to real estate over the past few years to commercial ventures through OIC, Portugal News reports that approximately 5 billion euros will be invested in the Portuguese economy over the next decade. This would significantly contribute to the country's development, given the recent changes made by the authorities, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.

The program of obtaining residence permits in Portugal through investment allows foreigners to acquire the right to reside in this country, make a financial investment and fulfill some other conditions. However, the country recently faced a crisis in the housing market and made changes to the program. Among them, the possibility of investing in real estate through this program, which allowed foreigners to make investments of 280,000 euros or more, was abolished. The decision follows the approval of the "More Housing" law by Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.

The Portuguese government last month announced the end of the "Non-Tax Resident" tax regime, which allows foreigners to enjoy favorable tax rates on income for ten years. The decision, announced by Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa, is part of an effort to manage the crisis in the real estate market.

The acquisition of shares in collective investment organizations other than real estate, through OIC, for a period of 5 years, is still valid and at least 60% of the value of the investment must be contributed to commercial companies registered in Portugal. Such investments are different from real estate investments as they are directly invested in the country's economy. Furthermore, under the current legal regime, in addition to the possibility of obtaining a residence permit through the Golden Visa program, investing in OIC is one of the most active options in terms of tax and financial returns.

Portugal is one of the most popular European destinations when it comes to the Golden Visa program. In August alone, this program attracted a total of 32.2 million euros to Portugal.