Can you get a Portuguese Golden Visa retroactively? The answer is yes, potentially – provided that the following criteria are met:

  1. The property has to have been purchased after December 2012, when the Golden Visa Program was launched.

  2. The property must fall into one of the following pricing categories:

    • The property was worth €500,000 or more when purchased, and is situated anywhere in Portugal.

    • The property was worth €400,000 or more when purchased, and is situated in a low-density area as defined by the Portuguese authorities.

    • The property was worth €350,000 or more when purchased, was 30 years or older, and required renovation.

    • The property was worth €280,000 or more when purchased, is more than 30 years old, and is situated in a low-density area where the average GDP is 75% lower than the average GDP in Portugal.

    • The property is in the name of either a single person or one of the spouses.

If the property is jointly owned (50%:50%), neither of the spouses will be eligible for the Golden Visa as the per-person ownership value does not meet the minimum thresholds.

If the property is fully owned by one of the spouses, they are eligible to apply for the Golden Visa, whereas their spouse is not. However, the spouse is eligible to apply as a dependent to the primary applicant, as are their minor children.

If you already own a property in Portugal that was purchased after December 2012, yet the value is – for example – €250,000, and said property is not older than 30 years and didn’t require any renovations, you can invest in a “top-up” property worth another €250,000, anywhere in Portugal (and in any condition), in order to reach the €500,000 minimum investment threshold.

Once this investment requirement has been met, you can then apply for a Golden Visa.

If you own a property of €100,000, and are not able to invest an additional €400,000, you also have the option to apply for the D7 Visa, provided that you can prove sufficient recurring income, savings, and/or savings.

In order to maintain your D7 residency, however, you should plan to spend at least 6 months per year living in Portugal.

The rules for both the Spanish and Greek Golden Visa Programs are broadly the same, yet in Greece, you can apply for a Golden Visa even if your property, worth a minimum of €250,000 at the time of purchase, was bought prior to the launch of the Greece Golden Visa Program in 2013.

Contact us now for more information and to determine whether your existing property is eligible for a Golden Visa or not in 2021.