Portugal attracts people from other countries by its warm weather, proximity to the ocean, and a comparatively low cost of living. The prices in the supermarkets and restaurants are lower than they are in Germany or France, for example, but the quality of the food is as good. Portugal is also appreciated by foreigners for its national cuisine and good wine that is quite inexpensive.
Relocating to Portugal is possible if you live outside the EU but you have to legalize your stay there. There are several methods of doing that and we discuss two ways of acquiring a legal residence permit in Portugal in the text below. These may be of interest to those with an entrepreneurial spirit because we speak about legalizing your stay in Portugal as a sole proprietor or as a startup business owner.
Legal residence in Portugal for sole proprietors
A non-EU citizen can legally work in Portugal as a sole proprietor and this will make him or her qualified for a residence permit. There are two ways of registering a sole proprietorship in Portugal:
- Register a sole proprietorship in Portugal remotely, from your home country, obtain a D-2 (long-stay) visa, and apply for a residence permit after arriving in Portugal.
- Enter Portugal on a Schengen visa, register a sole proprietorship, and apply for a residence permit to the Serviço de Estrangeiros e Fronteiras (SEF). Please note that you have to stay in Portugal while your application is processed. If you leave the country, your application for a residence permit will be annulled.
Practice shows that foreign sole proprietors applying for legal residence permits in Portugal have to wait for at least two years before they can obtain permits. Therefore, you do need a D-2 visa or a five-year Schengen visa. There are two possible explanations for the long waiting period. Some immigrants say that the Portuguese authorities want to make certain that the applicant is serious about doing business in the country and paying taxes to the local budgets. Other immigrants suggest that the number of applicants is huge and they simply have to stand in line.
Relocating to Portugal with a D-2 visa
The most important things you have to know when using this route to Portuguese residence are the following ones:
- You have to register a sole proprietorship before you apply for a visa. Moreover, you have to have a few contracts signed with Portuguese firms.
- A sole proprietorship can be registered remotely at the official website of the Portuguese Government. The process is fast. You can bill your customers beginning the day when your sole proprietorship is registered. It may happen, however, that you cannot register a sole proprietorship in Portugal on your own and then you will need some expert assistance.
- You have to confirm having registered a sole proprietorship when applying for a visa. To do that, you have to quote your NIF (taxpayer’s number) and supply a few contracts that you have made as a sole proprietor. You do not have to hire Portuguese citizens to qualify for a sole proprietor’s visa or residence permit.
A sole proprietor’s residence permit in Portugal is an extendable document. However, you will have to convince the Portuguese immigration authorities that there is a reason to extend your permit. You can supply valid contracts, demonstrate some ongoing activities, work in progress, and so on.
A startup visa to Portugal
A startup visa to Portugal is a visa for foreign entrepreneurs. Its goal is to attract investments, talents, and innovations from other countries. You can acquire a startup visa in the Portuguese embassy or consulate in your home country or you can acquire it in Portugal when visiting the country on a Schengen visa. Please be prepared to wait while your application is processed. It takes 6 months or sometimes even more to obtain a startup visa to Portugal.
Who can qualify for a startup visa to Portugal?
The applicant has to meet certain requirements to be able to obtain a startup visa. The key requirements are as follows:
- The applicant shall be above 18 years of age.
- The applicant shall have no residence permit in the Schengen Zone.
- The applicant shall have no criminal past nor outstanding fiscal or social duties.
- The applicant shall have enough money for a startup. Officially, the required amount has to equal 12 Social Support Indexes. The Index was set at 480.43 euros on January 1, 2023. Therefore, you have to have at least 5,765.16 euros. In practice, however, you have to have twice as much to stand any chance of acquiring a startup visa. The good news is that the money can be deposited in any bank in the world, not necessarily a Portuguese bank.
- The applicant shall propose an innovative business project. That means that a beauty salon or a restaurant would be no good as business proposals.
- The applicant shall propose a project that is based on knowledge and technology and that can potentially turn out innovative products.
- A business incubator in Portugal shall express interest in the proposed project.
- There shall be potential to create skilled jobs.
- The proposed business project shall be potentially capable of reaching a turnover or asset value of 325,000 euros in five years.
The process of acquiring a startup visa to Portugal
Before you can apply for a startup visa, you have to register your business proposal at the IAMPEI website. IAMPEI is the Portuguese competitiveness and innovation agency and it has to assess your application. The process of acquiring a startup visa to Portugal involves the following main steps:
- Present the startup idea. Your proposal is going to be assessed for its economic and innovative potential, business scalability, management team qualifications, and potential to create skilled jobs in Portugal.
- Acquire support from one or more business incubators that are subordinate to the Portuguese Ministry of Economy. It is recommended that you get in touch with several business incubators, present your business idea to them, and see if any of them are interested in supporting your proposal. This should improve your chances for success.
- When an incubator confirms its interest in your business project, you should apply for startup formation at the IAMPEI website. Make sure that you inform the incubator administration that you have applied.
- Acquire IAMPEI approval. Please be ready to wait for that for a few months.
- Sign a contract with the business incubator. This can be done remotely as you can exchange scan copies of the agreement with the incubator’s administration.
- Collect the application documents and apply for a startup visa.
When you have obtained a startup visa, you can visit a SEF office and apply for a legal residence permit. Normally, the permit is valid for two years and it is extendable. You have to start a company in Portugal within 1 year.
We do not mean to insist that these two methods of acquiring legal residence in Portugal are the easiest ones. They are simply two viable options that might be of interest for business-minded people wishing to relocate to a warm, sunny, and friendly country in the South of Europe.
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