Requirements & recommended real estate types
You have to buy real estate in Portugal that has more than 30 years and that needs to be renovated. The renovation costs will be considered when applying for the Golden Visa program. So the € 350.ooo,- will be the sum of the real estate costs and the renovation costs. Instead of the 30 years can can buy a property that is located in a regeneration area. Due to the more complicated definition the house age is a far more recommendable option. The renovation has to be at least 20% of the cost of the property. So if the house costs € 300.000,- the renovations have to be at least € 60.000,-.
There are two recommended types of properties for this option. Either you buy one bigger apartment to renovate and rent it to tourists or you buy a house or more than one apartment to renovate to renovate it and turn it into multiple accommodations and rent them to tourists. You can also do long term renting with them in the local market.
Evaluation
The returns of renting will be good but not as high as in the € 500.000,- option with several properties because you have to invest more in one or max 2 properties to renovate. The option is still reasonable because you can buy a good real estate in the best areas in Portugal (Silvercoast & Algarve) and usually the real estate should gain significantly value through the renovations. Such projects need to be approved by SEF as qualifying for the reduced investment amount and it is critical to ensure the right project and legal advice is obtained before embarking on such investment
What are the total costs for the real estate application?
Most applicants for the Golden Visa would like to have an overview of the total costs involved. Therefore we simulated the costs for the most popular options for a family of four for the real estate Golden Visa application. The cost overview covers the acquisition costs and the applications cost.
Simulation of general Golden Visa Real Estate costs for a family of 4, with investment costs 350k
| Real Estate purchase costs (€ 350.000) | |
| Real Estate purchase price | €350.000,00 |
| Notary | €800,00 |
| Land registry | €250,00 |
| Property transfer tax | €16.964,65 |
| Stamp duty (8%) | €2.800,00 |
| Real Estate closing costs | €370.814,65 |
| Golden Visa application costs (1 investor and 3 family members) | |
| Process analysis- Biometrics (€ 532,70 for each investor + € 83,10 per family member) | €782,00 |
| Residence Permit processing fees (€ 5.324,40 per person) | €21.297,60 |
| Optional health insurance (per year) | €700,00 |
| Fiscal number and Fiscal representatieve (per year) | €300,00 |
| Total Golden Visa | €23.079,60 |
| Golden Visa renovation costs 1st year (1 investor and 3 family members) | |
| Process analysis- Biometrics (€ 532,70 for each investor + € 83,10 per family member) | €782,00 |
| Residence Permit processing fees (€ 2.666,30 per person) | €10.665,20 |
| Optional health insurance (per year) | €700,00 |
| Fiscal number and Fiscal representatieve (per year) | €300,00 |
| Total | €12.447,20 |
| Golden Visa renovation costs 3rd year (1 investor and 3 family members) | |
| Process analysis- Biometrics (€ 532,70 for each investor + € 83,10 per family member) | €782,00 |
| Residence Permit processing fees (€ 2.666,30 per person) | €10.665,20 |
| Optional health insurance (per year) | €700,00 |
| Fiscal number and Fiscal representatieve (per year) | €300,00 |
| Total | €12.447,20 |
| Source: Martínez-Echevarría & Rivera Abogados | |
