Have your own business and are looking into getting into the EU? Maybe you’re just looking to start a new chapter in your life? Either way, Portugal offers the simplest path in all of Europe. If you invest and purchase part of a company already set up in the country, you can qualify for the D2 Entrepreneur Visa in as little as 3 months and immediately begin enjoying some cash flow and EU residency.
5 Reasons Why a Business Investment is a Smart Choice to Get EU Residency
1. Residency Fast-Track & 5-Year Passport Window
Buying an established Portuguese company, either fully or partially, meets D2 Visa rules on day one, so you can submit your residency file within weeks of signing a purchase contract. After just 5 years of legal residency, with minimal physical stay requirements, you’re eligible to apply for Portuguese citizenship.
2. Hands-Off Management, Local Expertise
When you invest to either partially or fully own a Portuguese business, it’s bound to already have an existing team and infrastructure ready to continue operations as normal. This way, you don’t have to get involved personally, and it satisfies the D2 “entrepreneur” criterion without the stress of payroll, licences or supplier contracts.
3. NHR 2.0 Eligibility
Depending on how the investment is set-up, you may end up eligible to apply for the NHR 2.0 regime, locking in a 20% flat rate on Portuguese income for 10 years, while most foreign income earnings remain shielded. With other limited taxes on wealth and inheritance, plus an 80-plus treaty network that prevents double taxation, Portugal is a safe bet for business investments.
Read more:
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4. Long-Term Profitability
Because you are investing into an existing and operating company, rather than funding a start-up from the get-go, you may start to collect dividends as soon as the investment goes through, depending on your arrangement. Those distributions can offset your visa costs while the business keeps building the 5-year track record you will later be fundamental for your citizenship application.
5. Built-In Collateral
When you invest into an operating Portuguese company, you inherit its tangible balance-sheet strength. Think of all the work that has already been put to make the business work, including, but not limited to machinery, vehicles, inventory, real estate, among many others.
These assets underpin the share valuation, protecting you if market conditions worse, and they may prove decisive the moment you close. Ultimately, this means that the business you’ve invested to can expand without calling upon you to inject more capital.
How a Business Investment Qualifies for the D2 Visa
Unlike a start-up plan that must predict future revenue and rely on uncertainties from outside factors, investing in an existing, proven business model is the easiest way to obtain a D2 Visa. Doing so exempts you from having to produce documents like VAT filings, staff contracts and supplier lists, as well as any other documents that tick AIMA’s economic value box.
Read more:
Gain Residency through the D2 Visa by Opening a Business in Portugal
Benefits of Starting a Business in Portugal via a D2 Investment
- Capital Threshold: There’s no fixed minimum, but regulators expect the purchase price to be “proportionate.” For instance, a €280,000 investment in Mátria Co-Work, a development in Central Lisbon fully owned by Portugal Homes, qualifies for the D2 visa.
- Timeline: With the way we structure the Mátria investment, you can get your visa in 3 months, and the residency permit in 8.
- Spouse Inclusion: You may bring your spouse with you with further family options should you wish to include them.
- Stay Requirement: Depends on multiple factors but tends to be flexible.
- EU Citizenship Eligibility: After five consecutive years you can apply for naturalisation, keeping your original passport and enjoying full EU freedom of movement.
Starting Your Own Business vs Investing in an Existing Venture: There’s a Clear Winner
Launching a brand-new venture in Portugal is always an uncertainty. There’s a wide array of expenses to consider, including licensing, zoning, market studies, staffing, among other, hidden costs. By contrast, investing in an established company lets you step straight onto a working, functioning operation.
To put things into perspective, your very first quarter can deliver a dividend instead of a cash-flow deficit. Residency-wise, AIMA, the Portuguese immigration agency, will have access to audited accounts, payroll records and tax receipts rather than optimistic forecasts, speeding up the visa and residency approval process.
Our D2 Visa Investment Recommendation: Mátria Co-Work
Instead of building a company from scratch, we invite you to look at Mátria. It is a seven-storey co-work development only a few streets away from Lisbon’s Avenida da Liberdade. With a €280,000 investment, you net:
- Fixed Annual Returns: 4% in the 1st year, 5% in the 2nd, and 6% in the 3rd.
- Guaranteed Exit: Harland & Poston Group, owner of Portugal Homes, repurchases at the original price after 60 months.
- Zero Operational Burden: Our in-house team handles all documentation and bureaucracy.
- Result: a hands-off asset that starts your residency timeline the day you sign.
Because the development is already undergoing, it is fully licenced, and with your investment, we can begin your D2 file as soon as possible. You’ll have your visa in about 90 days, and a residency permit in roughly 8 months.
Why Partner with Portugal Homes & the Harland & Poston Group?
The Harland & Poston Group manages €180 million in owned assets, including 3 hotels (two in development), a 1 200-unit Glasgow urban regeneration project, student accommodation in Paisley, and 11 projects across Portugal.
Our in-house ecosystem covers:
- Real-Estate Brokerage & Development: We have an assortment of properties, ranging from commercial to residential. We also develop and construct our own projects.
- Immigration Advisory: 25+ years combined residency visa expertise and a 100% application success rate.
- Post-Citizenship Services: Banking set-up, further property deals, global tax planning, plus a plethora of services, like Tax Representation & Property Management.
Invest In Mátria, Invest in Your Future
