According to the new regime, eligible Investments in real estate for housing purposes are now limited to interior regions, Azores and Madeira, which benefit from a 20% further discount if it is located in low density NUTS III territories. The minimum thresholds for acceding the program remain identical. What changes is the eligibility of the investment based on the purpose of the property, being certain that the property destined to, for instance, services or commerce, will be eligible for the golden visa, even if located in large metropolitan areas, under the same minimum investment amounts required prior to the entry into force of the new regime. For other eligible investments, such as the transfer of funds to a locally domiciled open bank account, the minimum investment requirement has been increased to 1,500,000 euros. The subscription of participation units in investment funds has been raised to 500,000 euros as well as research activities developed by public or private scientific research institutions, integrated in the national scientific and technological system. The creation of a company with headquarter in Portugal, combined with the creation of five permanent jobs or increase of a share capital of a company already existing, with headquarters in Portugal, with the creation or maintenance of at least five permanent jobs, for a minimum period of three years, requires a minimum investment of 500,000 euros.
