SEF (Now AIMA): The Portuguese bureaucratic establishment for the masochist in you.
Literally every Golden Visa prospect I speak to is set on the idea of gaining eventual citizenship (obviously).
Which is to say, they’re all primarily interested in Portugal, for its (on paper, at least!), fast, low-effort route to citizenship — after 5 just years of holding legal residency there.
…From where I stand — having experienced the omnishambles at SEF first-hand — I believe that current Golden Visa applicants could well become eligible to apply for citizenship before they can get a biometrics appointment in order to gain the actual residency.
Let that sink in…
And then, we’re also just going to assume that cultivating close to zero real-world ties in Portugal, and only spending an average of 7 days per year there, is going to convince the authorities, in 5+ years time, that you’re ticking all the naturalization boxes.
… They say a week is a long time in politics, and nowhere, as it turns out, is that more true than in Portugal.
The year 2023 saw us come precariously close to losing the Portuguese Golden Visa altogether, despite legal experts agreeing that the way in which the authorities were trying to terminate it would have been unlawful.
But the program survived, and then the socialist government collapsed, and SEF downed tools for months while they became AIMA…
So there’s all of that.
But let’s say you’re one of the people who don’t mind an extremely rocky road to potential Portuguese citizenship — you still have the issue of not gaining your residency there.
Which is to say, you’re still a tourist. You cannot stay.
(Or you could… But then like with the Hotel California, you can leave again only once AIMA gives you a biometrics slot and a residency card — which could be never.)
Which is to say, even though recent legislative changes start the clock on your countdown towards citizenship eligibility on the day you APPLY for your Portuguese Golden Visa — i.e. not when you receive your residency — you still won’t have the benefits of residency until you actually gain residency.
Friends of mine are in that exact position, despite having invested, and they’re not having a fun time.
So what do you do?
This is exactly the question I was asked during a discovery call with two American siblings yesterday afternoon:
You want to tick the box on getting an EU Golden Visa residency today — which presently is NOT happening in Portugal — but you also want to pursue Portuguese citizenship (providing that it is even possible further down the line).
But the world is increasingly a turbulent place, and since you started thinking about getting a Golden Visa, at least 3 GV programs have shut down — virtually overnight.
And where they don’t get terminated at short notice, they get radically more expensive.
So the cost of inaction is massive, too.
Now in Greece, you could drop €250,000 on a property to get the Golden Visa… But your heart is ultimately set on Portugal, so you’re not keen on the Greek property option.
(And by now, you’ve also figured out that you’re not exactly spoiled for choice any longer.)
Here’s one of the things you could do as an interim solution…
One way to lock in your Plan B residency option, whilst remaining both more flexible and liquid than you’d be with a property investment, is to look at the €400,000 Greek Fixed Bank Deposit option.
Bonus points, of course, for no property transfer duties and heavy costs up-front.
(Spain offers this option too, but then the minimum deposit requirement is €1 million.)
This way, IF and when Portugal gets its house in order, you can cancel your 1-year recurring deposit order in Greece, take your money (and your interest earnings), and go get on the road to becoming a Portuguese citizen.
The bottomline?
The days of “easy” European citizenship via Golden Visa programs are largely behind us (at least for now).
And this late in the game, you are going to have to make some compromises (or, you can stay at home, of course — with no Plan B whatsoever).
The American siblings liked the sound of this option, and I believe it may appeal to a lot of other folks too.
To find out more about your various options, click here.
Until next time — because you deserve to have options.
Andre
DISCLAIMER
The above post does not constitute tax, legal, investment or immigration advice, and should be treated as general information on the topic only. I will not be held responsible for any losses suffered, directly or indirectly, as a result of reliance on this information.
Always do your own due diligence and seek tailored professional advice before making any investment or immigration decisions.
