Portugal

The Golden Residence Permit Program

To be admissible for this program, the applicant must either

• Purchase a real estate property worth a minimum of 500,000 Euros or transfer capital worth 1 million Euros or establish a business that can create 10 new jobs for the Portuguese economy.
• Investment must be maintained for a minimum of 5 years from the date the residency permit is granted.

The applicant and his family members are not required to live in Portugal to obtain the residency.

The entire process takes about a month. Spouse and children below 18 years old can be included in the application.

There are many advantages in becoming a resident in Portugal. The applicant would have the ability to travel visa-free around the Schengen area. In addition, this opens the doors for the applicant to obtain E.U. citizenship. Following a 5-year period as a Golden residency visa holder, an application for permanent residence can be made and on the 6th year of residency, an application for citizenship can be made. Its not yet very clear as to how the process and what are requirements of naturalization since this is a new program.