Investigating the ways of immigrating to Portugal
Immigrating to Portugal, obtaining Portugal visa through possible immigration methods, and acquiring Portugal residency are the topics that are completely covered in this article. Portugal is southeastern country of the Green Continent and is very well received by immigrants and investors because of the provided immigration environment by its government. The conditions of acquiring visa and residency influences of Portugal are very especial for those who intend to immigrate to this country through different methods. MIE Consulting Institute has tried to gather comprehensive and useful information for those who are interested in acquiring Schengen visa and immigrating to Portugal in this article. If you need any information regarding the choice of best method of immigrating to Portugal and checking your own circumstances, you can get free consult from our consultants and experts.
You can ask your questions in the comments section and get an answer in a short time.
Topic covered in this article:
General conditions of immigrating to Portugal
Portugal is very beautiful country with mild and Mediterranean weather. This country is very pleasant to the mind of Iranian people because it’s the host of very warm and hospitable people. The small but important point is that the food taste of Portuguese is very close to the taste and style of Iranian people. On the other hand, regarding the laws and rules of immigration for international people outside of European Union, the options of study, working, investment in civil parts such as buying property, and plans for investors and retired people are available. As a result, based on conditions of people the residency of this delightful country can be acquired. The crucial point is that this country has accepted conventions such as being a member of the European Union and being included in Schengen area, and this has double the interest of people who want to immigrate to Portugal. Although the official language of this country is Portuguese, most of the people, companies, and international businesses have mastery on English language. The government and executive companies have considered significant profits for investors.
Immigrating to Portugal through Study
Universities of Portugal have long been educating teaching students and expanding knowledge. Those who select immigration to Portugal through study should know that the options of studying in bachelor, master, and PhD are available to students inside and outside of European Union. The length of the courses is 3 to 4 years for bachelor degree, 2 years for master degree, and 3 to 4 years for PhD degree.
To be approved by universities of Portugal, providing previous educational certificate and score transcripts are necessary. Study in Portugal is usually in Portuguese language but there some course that are available in English language. Depending on the language of the course and university degree, presenting a Portuguese or English language proficiency certificate is mandatory. Note the study in Portugal for people of the European Union is free, but for people outside of European Union the cost depends on the degree under study. The cost of study is usually between 3,500 to 8,500 euro for bachelor degree, between 1,800 to 3,000 for master degree, and 5,000 to 15,000 for PhD degree. Studying in PhD degree in Portugal University is mostly devoted on research. Acquiring a supervisor is necessary for the approval of the university.
| Immigrating to Portugal through study | Explanations |
|
Degree |
+ bachelor
+ 3 to 4 years + tuition: between 3,500 to 8,500 euro |
| + master
+ 2 years + tuition: 1,800 to 3,000 euro |
|
| +PhD
+ 3 to 4 years + tuition: between 5,000 to 15,000 + the need of acquiring supervisor |
|
| Studyal degree | Providing previous academic degree + score transcripts |
| Language proficiency certificate | Proving Portuguese or English language certificate based on the course under study |
Students who are willing to immigrate to Portugal through study should know that more than 100 university, faculty, and college exist in Portugal. In recent years Portugal has been the leading country to try to improve students’ quality of study. The result of this effort is attracting international students and improving the universities to world-class levels. To following table lists 6 top-level Portuguese universities.
| Name | Rank in Portugal | Global rank | More information |
| University of Lisbon | 1 | 214 | + biggest university of Portugal
+ locate in Lisbon + host to 1,000 foreign students yearly |
| University of Coimbra | 2 | 412 | + oldest university of Portugal
+ host to 25,000 students + 10 percent foreign students |
| University of Aveiro | 3 | 511 | +located in Aveiro
+ host to 12,000 students + main focus on polytechnic |
| University of Porto | 4 | 536 | + located in Porto
+ holding 6,000 courses in bachelor and master degrees |
| Catholic university of Lisbon | 5 | 801 | + located in Lisbon
+ accepting 1,000 students yearly + 50 percent of students and professors are foreign citizens |
| Braganza Polytechnic university | 6 | 980 | +located in northeastern Lisbon
+ host to 7,000 students + 15 percent are foreign students |
Immigrating to Portugal through Working
To immigrate to Portugal trough working, acquiring the work visa of this country is needed. If you are an expert if your field and have international or academic degrees, it’s possible for you to acquire work visa of Portugal. Overall, the working conditions in Portugal are in the way that you need to have a job offer from Portuguese companies and employers. You should send your CV to a Portuguese employer and submit your request for receiving a job. If the employer sees your conditions fit for the job, they will take the initial actions for your work visa and residency by submitting job offers. Also regarding being successful in finding a job in Portugal, it’s worth noting that the rate of unemployment in Portugal is 6.3 percent in 2020 and it can be said that this number is not worrying for the workforce who intend to immigrate to Portugal and in case of constant communication with the employer, receiving a job offer is possible. The next section shows the rate of unemployment in Portugal in recent years.
If you intend to immigrate to Portugal through work, it’s good to know the most profitable jobs in this country are mostly in the area of engineering and computer activities and software. This country is a tourist country and occupations in the field of tourism can also make opportunities.
| Needed occupations in Portugal | Average monthly salary in euro |
| IT engineering | 3,500 |
| Tourism management | 1,480 |
| Mechanical engineering | 2,000 |
| Hotel management | 3,150 |
| Software engineering | 3,850 |
Immigrating to Portugal through investment
One of the best ways of immigrating to Portugal is through investment in this country. There are some conditions in subcategories of investment that make acquiring residency possible without investment and just showing that you are an investor. Although the methods of investment in Portugal are various, but you should take the options the result in residency.
| Methods of investment in Portugal | Possibility of acquiring residency |
| Buying property | + acquiring residency is possible
+ guaranteed profit + residential benefits for you and your family + results in acquiring passport and permanent residency |
| Establishing a firm/ company | + the possibly of acquiring residency is very low
+ it’s high-risk and not economically reasonable |
| Buying government stocks | + acquiring residency through this method isn’t possible for Iranians |
| Buying an active business or a business plan | + it’s very hard to open a bank account
+ it’s less likely to have residency benefits |
| Self-sponsored visa | + possibility of immigration without investment
+ resulting in permanent residency and passport + without age limitation and available to retired people |
Therefore, the best ways of immigrating to Portugal through investment are buying property and self-sponsor methods, which are discussed at length in the following sections.
Investment in Portugal through buying property
Buying property in Portugal is one of the especial options. This visa is so popular that it’s known as the “golden visa”. In this type of investment, the properties worth of €280000, €350000, and €500000 can be bought. In buying properties worth €280000 and €350000 we should a property must be bought that is at least 3 decades old and needs repairing, but in buying €500000 properties, the applicant is free to choose based on their own interest. One of the benefits of buying property in Portugal is the 3-percent profit that is awarded to the invested money. Through buying property, residency is given to the spouse and the children until the age of 21. The interesting point is that investment by buying property in Portugal is very low-risk and the investors are allowed to find jobs, too. to get more information about investment through buying property, we suggest you read the article on buying property and Portugal.
One of the noticeable factors in investment is taking the property confiscation rate of the desired country into account. Is the country to which the investor is bringing money safe? According to the above table, Portugal has had the lowest investment risk and property confiscation rate. 1 is the lowest and 7 is highest rate of risk for the investor.
Immigration to Portugal through self-sponsored method
This method is among the lowest risk investment immigrations. In this type of visa, it’s possible to immigrate to Portugal accompanied by the family. In self-sponsored method there is no need to transfer money to a specific person or company. In every stage of the process, the money remains in the client’s bank account. Overall, in this type of investment the client must show that he is in a good financial position. He also has to have specific amount of money per each person in his family.
| Required money for self-sponsored residency in Portugal | Per each person in euro |
| The client | 9,500 |
| The spouse of the client | 4,500 |
| Each one of children | 3,000 to 4,000 |
In addition to bank account money, the person has to prove that he has two property title deeds of his own. According to these circumstances, people who are interested in immigration to Portugal can acquire self-sponsored residency. There is no age limit for this method and the retired people can also take action and participate in this plan.
Immigration to Portugal through marriage
Immigrating to Portugal through marrying a Portuguese citizen can result in acquiring residency and citizenship. It should be kept in mind that for acquiring residency and citizenship through marriage, the person has to marry a Portuguese citizen (a person who has permanent residency doesn’t qualify). A noticeable point is that if you have registered your marriage outside of Portugal, you need to register in in Portugal after you enter this country as well. In the laws of Portugal, the marriage of homosexuals is legal and approved. Another important point in this regard is the strength and stability of relationship of the couple for at least 3 years. if there is a divorce before 3 years or the relationship is terminated, the foreign person’s residency which has been acquired through marriage will be terminated. For more information you can refer to the article on marriage in Portugal.
Child birth and acquiring Portugal citizenship
Child birth is one of the methods of immigrating to Portugal that has citizenship influences instead of residency. Usually, the system of citizenship transfer goes through the rule of blood or the rule of soil. Each of these systems have specific rules that are given in the following table:
| Citizenship transfer system | Explanations |
| Rule of blood | + citizenship of child is based on parents’ citizenship
+ the child inherits his parents’ citizenship after being born + applicable in many countries such as Belgium, Austria, Switzerland, etc. |
| Rule of soil | + the system considers citizenship transfer based on the country in which the child is born
+ the child inherits the citizenship of the country he is born into. + examples: Canada, the United States |
Regarding citizenship transfer system, Portugal observes the rule of blood. It means that the born child will acquire Portuguese citizenship if he has a Portuguese father or mother. The interesting point is that if a non-Portuguese parent has immigrated to Portugal through different methods and has acquired Portugal citizenship, their child can also acquire Portugal citizenship.
Immigrating to Portugal through asylum
The most dangerous method of immigrating to Portugal is through asylum. Keep in mind that MIE Consulting Institute offers absolutely no consult and is completely inactive in the matter of immigration through asylum. For this type of immigration, there should usually be some firm reasons to prove that the person is in mortal danger. Reasons like unemployment or low income are not convincing for the officer and inspector of your document. Also, the people who immigrate to Portugal through asylum don’t have good life conditions. These people are usually kept in camp with no facilities. So it is advised to seek council from a lawyer to find the best legal way of immigration that is suitable for you.
It should be noted that that MIE Consulting Institute offers absolutely no consult and is completely inactive in the matter of immigration through asylum and this section only serves to inform you about the harms and dangers of immigrating through asylum.
Life expenses in Portugal
Immigrating to Portugal can be carried through suitable and reasonable life expenses. Although this country is located in the area of European Union, but comparing to Iran, life expenses in Portugal are not high. On average, life expenses in Portugal for things such as clothing, food, restaurants, amusement, and communication are about 25 to 30 percent more expensive. Also, the cost of renting is about 25 to 30 percent more expensive than Iran. The following table presents a list of expenses on average:
| Service | Cost | Service | Cost |
| Apartment (1 bedroom) in City Center | 627 | 1 meal in restaurant | 7.5 |
| Apartment (3 bedrooms) in City Center | 1,010 | 3 meals for two people in restaurant | 30 |
| Apartment (1 bedroom) outside of City Center | 462 | Mobile phone call (1 minute) | 0.17 |
| Apartment (3 bedrooms) outside of city Center | 774 | High-speed internet (monthly) | 33 |
| Rice (1 kg) | 0.9 | Gym membership (monthly) | 32 |
| Orange (1 kg) | 1.17 | Cinema ticket | 7 |
| Apple (1 kg) | 1.1 | A pair of jeans | 80 |
| Onion (1 kg) | 1.3 | Summer T-shirt | 29 |
| Potato (1 kg) | 1.2 | A pair of sneakers | 71 |
| Eggs (12) | 1.7 | A pair of formal shoes | 81 |
| Mineral water (1.5 lt.) | 0.5 | Gasoline (1 lt.) | 1.54 |
| One-way subway ticket | 1.6 | Monthly subway ticket | 38 |
| *The prices are in euro | |||
Pros and cons of immigrating to Portugal
You may take different conditions into account regarding your goals for immigrating to Portugal. In this part the pros and cons of immigrating to Portugal are described.
| Immigration to Portugal | Explanations |
| Pros | + possibility of acquiring visa for Iranians
+ reasonable life expenses +good weather and warm people + possibility of immigration of retired people without investing + reasonable rate of unemployment + possibility of benefiting from investment in buying property + 3 to 10 percent profit to your invested money + possibility of f bringing family even children up to 21 years old + possibility of acquiring passport and permanent residency through some ways of immigration + member of European Union and Schengen + safe country with low property confiscation rate |
| Cons | + national language of this country is Portuguese.
+ impossibility of opening bank account in some methods such as firm/ company establishment |
With one look, it can be understood that immigration to Portugal is a very good option for acquiring residency. It is also important to note that these contents are written by MIE Consulting Institute and any usage without documentation and citation is illegal.
Acquiring Portugal citizenship
One of the best features of immigrating to Portugal through various methods is access to permanent residency and citizenship. In methods such as buying property, self-sponsored, and extended work visa the extension of residency to up to 5 years can result in permanent residency and at the end of the sixth year it’s possible to acquire Portugal citizenship. In immigration through study method, if the person succeeds to make a contract with a company or an employer after graduation, he can acquire permanent residency by paying tax from his salary for 5 years and extending his residency, and also become eligible for citizenship in the sixth year. In the method of child birth from Portuguese parents, citizenship is directly inherited by the child. In the method of immigrating through marriage with a Portuguese citizen, the foreign person can become eligible for citizenship in case of a lasting marriage for at least 3 years. For acquiring citizenship of Portugal, the person has to have learned the language of this country, and have become accustomed to culture and traditions of it. And the last condition is that he must have no criminal record.
Answers to frequently asked question regarding immigration to Portugal
✅Is it possible to acquire a job seeking visa in Portugal?
No, such a visa is not considered by the government.
✅Is firm/ company establishment possible in Portugal?
Yes, it’s possible but not financially reasonable.
✅Is it possible to acquire residency by buying property with less than 280000 euro?
No, the client has to spend at least 280000 euro to acquire residency and its effects.
✅In self-sponsored method, is the person permitted to work?
In this plan there is no limit for working and job seeking for the client.
✅Is it possible to travel to Portugal without visa?
For immigrating to Portugal through any of the methods, having a visa is necessary.
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