Outside of offering a streamlined process and fast-track approvals, participation in the HQA Visa Program delivers a strategic business asset: Over the course of the program, your business establishes a footprint and track record as an EU headquartered enterprise, with a financial and credit record with a recognised Portuguese financial institution, a demonstrable track record [...]
In accordance with Portuguese legislation, HQA Visa approvals must be either granted or denied within 30 days of an application being submitted. From the first meeting with the startup incubator until the issuance of your residency cards in Portugal, the process takes between 3 and 5 months in total: Application phase 1: The visa applicant [...]
The HQA incubation program employs the LEAN startup methodology in combination with a proprietary digital incubation platform. The latter allows the founder, startup mentors as well as advisors, service providers and collaborators to work on and review the project from anywhere, at any time, in an asynchronous fashion. The incubation platform also offers access to [...]
The company must submit regular filings, including tax, on an annual basis, however this is taken care of by the startup incubator. Outside of this, there is no progress reporting required, whatsoever.
As mentioned, no further investment is required after the 3 year incubation period in order to qualify the applicant for permanent residency or citizenship. The HQA Program’s structure allows the startup business to grow risk-free, taken care of by the incubator partner in accordance with the strategic direction provided by the program participant. Upon graduation, [...]
The HQA Visa Program offers applicants the ability to significantly optimize their global tax obligations. Program participants’ personal income derived from their Portuguese startup activities is taxed at a standard rate of 21%, however this could be lowered to 20%, depending on the nature of the startup. The HQA startup business can also be eligible [...]
No. Applicants are not required to have a fully developed startup or business idea to join the HQA Incubator Program, nor is a business plan required upfront. Admission to the program relies more on the quality of the applicant (skills, experience and qualifications) than on the quality of the business or startup idea. Applicants are [...]
No. Beyond the formation of a company, joining the incubator program and funding a suitable research project, there are no revenue performance, asset growth or job creation requirements under the HQA Visa Program. In fact, the startup business is not even required to take a product or service to market upon graduating from the incubation [...]
There are none; the inclusive cost of obtaining the HQA Visa (Visa Category D3: Highly Qualified Activity) is €175,000, all-in. This includes the cost of company formation and capitalization, the funding of an eligible research project, visa renewals after two years, as well as comprehensive back-office support, incubation fees and startup management services for the [...]
As with the Golden Visa, the HQA Visa can lead to either permanent residency or citizenship in Portugal after 5 years. The HQA Visa, however, offers the ability for applicants to create real world ties in Portugal during the 3-year incubation period, which can greatly improve their chances of meeting the Portuguese authorities’ “real world [...]
