The New Portugal Government is considering a special tax regime to attract investment in the country, aspiring to become global investment destination. More tax incentives aimed at attracting more golden visa investors are on the table.
According to the proposals, new Portuguese residents including those who receive golden visas may also be eligible for a 20% flat tax on local income and a ten year exemption on foreign income.
Portugal NHR 2.0 tax regime introduced incentives similar to those previously granted by the NHR, including a 20-percent flat-tax rate on employment or self-employment activities within such sectors, along with tax exemptions on certain categories of foreign income.
Portugal has become more attractive after Spain has scrapped its golden visas and unexpected EU court judgement has called for Malta to abolish its citizenship program.
Portugal government has made it clear golden visa program will not be scrapped unlike Spain and Netherlands.
“There’s no plan to end it. It’s not on the table,”
-Minister Antonio Leitao Amaro
According to latest news reports, Golden visa approvals also rose 72% last year to a record 4,987 from the previous year, according to the country’s immigration agency AIMA. Since the program launched in 2012, Americans have been among the top three recipients of golden visas along with Chinese and Brazilian nationals.
Portugal is expected to fully clear the backlog of approximately 44,000 pending residence requests by end of 2025, according to the Minister. A task force already been setup from the funding received, and working in full capacity.
