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 of tax filings and EU generated intellectual property, which can be patented, if required. 

In the case of applicants being established foreign business owners, arms-length business transactions can also be conducted between the new Portuguese startup business and said offshore businesses. 

In addition, the activities and relationships resulting from the 3-year incubation program can serve as compelling evidence of real world ties to Portugal when it comes to applying for either permanent residency status or citizenship. 

In contrast, these real world ties would not be generated as the result of either a Golden Visa property or fund investment, making the HQA a compelling option for residency applicants who are serious about naturalizing in Portugal.

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 accepts an invitation to join the HQA incubator program. Within 2 to to 6 weeks, a strategic plan is finalised, and an R&D project is identified and negotiated with a Portuguese public research institution (typically a rural Portuguese university)

Application phase 2: The applicant attends a visa appointment at their local Portuguese consulate or embassy. Within 30 days, a decision is issued by the Portuguese immigration authorities.

Application phase 3: Once the applicant’s visa application has been approved, you’ll receive an entry stamp type visa with which you can travel to Portugal for their SEF appointment. (The applicant has a 4 month window in which to visit Portugal for their residency appointment.) Residency cards are delivered by mail within 60 days of this appointment date.

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 introductory LEAN startup learning materials, collaboration spaces and validation tools.

While some founders opt to become very hands-on in the daily operations the projects from inception onwards, others prefer to to take a more hands-off approach. Such founders allow the business to grow organically under the guidance of the startup incubation team, and receive quarterly updates on the project’s progress.

For the first 12 to 18 months, the incubation process focuses mainly on nurturing the research or development project, along with validating the business model through iterative testing.

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, applicants have the option of growing the business further, or selling it, along with the IP generated during the incubation period. Alternatively, they can apply for permanent residency or citizenship without investing more time or effort into the startup business.

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 for a number of government grants, tax incentives and subsidies, either on the basis of its startup status and research and development (R&D) focus, or as a rurally-headquartered company and/or small business.

In addition, all intellectual property (IP) developed within the startup enterprise can be patented in Portugal, which in turn would qualify it for patent box tax legislation. Consequently, any revenue derived from said IP can be subject to highly favorable tax rates.

In addition, as new Portuguese residents, participants are eligible to apply for the Portuguese Non-Habitual Tax Residency Program (NHR). Under this program, program participants can benefit from a 0% tax rate on foreign sourced income for a period of 10 years.

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 evaluated on the depth and breadth of their industry experience, and on their ability to provide relevant, effective strategic direction to the startup project beyond the initial research phase. 

Projects typically have a technology or innovation focused slant, with the potential for significant growth (and ideally hypergrowth). Whether the business idea was conceived by the applicant, or co-developed in partnership with the HQA startup incubator, it will be developed during the course of the incubation period. 

The idea and resulting research project will be subjected to iterative testing and refinement, resulting in a validated business model by the end of the incubation program.

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 program.

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 3-year incubation period. 

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 ties” requirement.

Moreover, the endorsement obtained from the Portuguese university conducting the project research serves as a powerful vote of confidence in this regard. HQA applicants wishing to apply for permanent residency or citizenship will nonetheless be able to either pass a basic Portuguese language exam, or provide proof that they completed a basic Portuguese language course with a recognised learning institution. 

The level of Portuguese proficiency required to apply for citizenship is A2 Level (Basic Proficiency), and is also referred to as CIPLE level Portuguese.

While some of our applicants only boast skills and experience garnered while working in a specific field, many of them hold tertiary degrees related to the research project they wish to pursue under the HQA Visa Program. 

While holding a relevant degree is certainly advantageous, demonstrable industry experience can suffice as well. In both instances, the startup incubator will assist in identifying a suitable research area and project which will form the basis for the visa application.

While HQA Visa applicants hail from a very diverse range of sectors and industries, applicants frequently either work for or own business in areas such as fintech, martech, regtech, healthcare and medical technology, science, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology or nanotechnology, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), industrial processing, IT, agritech, seateach, blockchain, DeFi, crypto, SAAS, as well as ecommerce and mcommerce.

As of September 2021, the following universities accept research projects under the HQA Visa Program:

1. UAlg (Universidade do Algarve)

2. Universidade de Evora

3. Politecnica de Leiria

4. Instituto Politecnico de Bragança

Article 61 of REPSAE, Portugal’s Immigration Act, serves as the legal basis upon which the Portuguese HQA Visa is issued. In order to meet the visa’s requirements, applicants need to establish a Portuguese corporation and make an eligible investment in R&D or a technology focused research project sponsored by a Portuguese university or public research facility.