What options do foreign investors have to set up their own companies in Portugal?

Answers

• 

  Nuno Albuquerque

  N-Advogados

  March 22, 2021

  There are some visa options for setting up a company in Portugal: the start-up visa; set up of a company and creation of 10 job positions; capital transfer of the amount of 350,000 euros, or higher, for constitution of a commercial company with head office in the national territory, combined with the creation of five permanent working jobs, or for the reinforcement of the share capital of a commercial society with head office in national territory, already existing, with the creation or keeping of working jobs, with a minimum of five permanent jobs, and for a minimum period of three years. To ensure your application is successful, you need to fulfill all the requirements established for each kind of investment option.

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  Vanessa Rodrigues Lima

  Prime Legal

  March 22, 2021

  The Golden visa through job creation is suitable for clients who wish to start a business in Portugal. If you intend to live in Portugal, the right application is the entrepreneur visa (D2). If not, Golden Visa is the right option, for sure.

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  Tiago Gali Macedo

  NEXT/Gali Macedo & Associados

  March 23, 2021

  The Portuguese Golden Visa program’s legal framework foresees that all foreign citizens who conduct an investment activity, as an individual businessperson or through a company in Portugal or in another EU member state, and who, in addition, are stably settled in Portugal, may apply for a residence permit for Investment, by creating, at least, 10 job positions. This requirement may be reduced by 20% (8 job positions) in case your investment is made in sparsely-populated territories (territories in which there are less than 100 inhabitants per square km or in which the annual GDP is less than 75% of the national GDP). Incorporating a company in Portugal is fairly simple: firstly, one must obtain a Portuguese tax ID (known as NIF); once this step is fulfilled, the incorporation process is performed online and it takes less than 48 hours for the Portuguese authorities to approve it; once approved (and after a bank account is opened under the company’s name and a certified accountant is nominated), the company can start hiring the workers for the intended 10 (or 8) job positions; once these positions are filled, one can apply for the Golden Visa program. This whole process can be performed by the investor themselves or by an attorney of their choice, provided the investor grants them such powers.