On October 8, 2012, the Portuguese immigration law was officially enacted, allowing non-EU members to obtain residency rights for the entire family by investing €500,000 in real estate, thus opening the door to investment immigration in Europe.
Experts from WorldWay Immigration believe that each country's immigration program has its suitable potential demographic. The Portugal investment immigration program provides an excellent immigration channel for businesspeople engaged in trade within Schengen countries. Once residency rights in Portugal are obtained, free movement across the 26 Schengen countries is granted without the need for a visa.
Experts also point out that real estate immigration is closely related to macroeconomic policies. Established immigration countries such as the United States, Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom typically do not have real estate immigration policies. Countries and regions that implement "real estate immigration or residency" policies often aim to revitalize the local real estate market by attracting investment. Once property prices are inflated or the economy improves, such policies may be suspended. For example, after April 2007, Macau, China, after October 2010, Hong Kong, China, and after January 2011, Singapore, all successively halted their real estate immigration policies, illustrating a pattern of initial implementation followed by suspension.
As a member of the European Union economy, Portugal has also been affected by the global financial crisis and the European debt crisis. However, Portugal's main economy is tourism and light industry, particularly the tourism sector, which is very developed. Therefore, it is relatively less affected by the financial crisis compared to other industrial countries. Purchasing real estate in developed economic and tourist cities will not be significantly impacted, as the population is relatively dense, and the demand market foundation is quite high, with real estate continuously warming at a trend of about 3% per year.
Investing €500,000 in real estate in Portugal not only leads to property appreciation but also grants the entire family EU citizenship, allowing free movement within the EU and Schengen countries, with children benefiting from international education. The European debt crisis can be seen as an excellent opportunity for investors with dreams of immigrating to Europe.
