Why should you invest in Portugal?

Portugal is more than an excellent climate with a very high percentage of sunny days per year. It is a country that has a geographical and strategic location, a complete and efficient transport and infrastructure network, tax advantages for those who want to invest, security and a booming real estate market with high profitability.

There is political stability and the country has no terrorism. It appeals to all types of clients and there is an increasing demand for properties and rentals, both holiday, long term and “winter lets”.

Being 2 or 3 hours away from the center of Western Europe – with low cost Airlines – and offering excellent public and private health care, accessible to national and foreign citizens, is not of the least importance. Portugal has a free and pioneering national public health service, with top internationally recognized doctors and, concerning private health care, effective and affordable private health insurance.

Investors are naturally atracted to 2 types of residency schemes:

– The Golden Visa scheme – available only to non-EU nationals – offers EU visas and eventual passports for all the family in return for a minimum €500,000 property investment. Experts and clients alike share a common belief that Portugal’s Golden Visa Scheme is outstanding in terms of the conditions required, the qualifying period in the new country and the quality of life provided. Since the scheme began in 2012, the Portuguese government has issued a total of 5,717 investors and 9,559 family members approved up to the end of January 2018, the recently released statistics show that the total investment brought by the programme continues to grow every month and by the end of January had passed €3.5 Billion Euro.

– The other benefit for foreign buyers is the Non Habitual Residents (NHR) scheme – a lifestyle option with tax perks. Spend at least half the year in Portugal, become a tax resident there and the fiscal benefits include no tax on your pension or investment income for 10 years.

There is one more excellent tax advantage: in addition to the unusual tax regime, there is no inheritance tax or donations and no tax on wealth in Portugal.

Based on the prices in the UK, Ireland, Paris, Spain, France, it’s nice to know that the prices of property in Portugal are still very affordable.

There are also great properties with low prices for high quality and high rental returns. According to statistic expected gross rental yields in Portugal are among the highest in Europe, from 4% to 8% is achievable from the right property.

Apart from the cultural and gastronomic richness and the low prices paid for some services (running cost, public transport and gastronomic sector ) since the country’s wages are below the centre of Europe, this relatively small country still has two other unforgettable advantages: some pre-globalization authenticity due to the peripheral position of the territory and geographical diversity in little space – in any point of the country you will never be far from the coast and its wonderful beaches.

There is no doubt that either in less quantifiable factors or in the more objective ones, Portugal has everything to become a fascinating journey of investment and life experiences.