How to obtain EU citizenship through the Portuguese Golden Visa

Igor S. is 44 years old, from Chelyabinsk, owns a timber sales company. He has a wife and two children, schoolchildren. Contacted in May 2019 with the following request.

Igor has started to develop a new business - trade in fuel briquettes. Seeks to expand it to European countries, found the first customers in Spain and Portugal. To facilitate business development, wishes to obtain citizenship in an EU country.

Additional incentives for the client:

• The spouses want to give their children a European education, so that in the future they will build a professional career not in Russia;
• the family would like to prepare a “reserve airfield” in an economically developed country in case of various unforeseen circumstances in their home country.

Igor was ready to invest about €700,000.

We offered him the Golden Visa Portugal program. The main argument: it is the “fastest” of all European programs. In the sense that in 5 years after receiving a residence permit, the investor has the right to apply for citizenship. (For comparison - in Spain this period is 10 years).

Stages of work on the case

May-June. Formation of the necessary package of documents. Their processing and initial verification.

In parallel, lawyers in remote mode:

1. opened a deposit for Igor in a bank in Portugal (Millennium);
2. issued him a NIF;
3. made a virtual lease for one year to obtain a D7 visa;
4. sent copies of documents to SEF Portugal.

In July, the D7 was received. Igor traveled to Portugal to be personally involved in the real estate selection. He was met by our lawyer, who supported him in everything.

 As the couple did not plan to stay in Portugal for a long time, they were looking for a rental property. Igor chose a 103 m² apartment in the suburbs of Lisbon.

At the end of July, with the assistance of a lawyer, the sale transaction took place. By this time, Igor received a positive response from the Portuguese immigration authorities and handed the original documents to the SEF.

A week later the client's wife flew to Lisbon, the couple passed biometrics and returned home.

In September, the residence cards for the whole family were ready. The lawyer received them and sent them by courier mail to the clients' places of residence.

The result of the work, which lasted about 5 months. Igor's whole family received Portuguese Golden Visas.