Dedicated to promoting Portuguese immigration solutions globally, we discussed the future of the Portuguese golden visa, the entrepreneur visa and Sara’s recent launch of an industry association for fellow Immigration, Investment and Relocation Professionals in Portugal.
CIVITAS POST undertakes interviews with Leading Women in the Investment Migration industry which are published and distributed to industry players from Bogota to Bangkok.
On Leading Women in Investment Migration today we are featuring Sara Sousa Rebolo, a Portuguese lawyer, who leads the Immigration Department at Caiado Guerreiro (CGA) in Lisbon. CGA also has representative offices globally in Africa and China through which they provide advice to foreign investors on all matters pertaining to residency permits, golden visas, entrepreneur visas and blue cards amongst other.
THE PORTUGAL GOLDEN VISA
I really like what I do and I have a constant desire to challenge myself and the status quo, trying to learn more in order to be able to make a positive contribution to the market and provide the best advice to clients.
Ms. Rebolo is a renown immigration lawyer, moderator, panelist and speaker at leading investment and global mobility conferences across the world and promotes the various immigration and investment options that Portugal provides foreign investors.
CP: Welcome, Sara. We are pleased to have you on our Special Feature for Leading Women in Investment Migration. As the Partner responsible for Immigration matters at Caiado Guerreiro, could you provide us with a brief introduction to your law firm?
SSR: Sure. First of all, thank you for the opportunity and invitation to be in your Special Feature for Leading Women in Investment Migration.
As you know, in Portugal this is not yet a consolidated or recognized area of expertise, so it makes it even harder. Caiado Guerreiro is an International law firm established in 1979, ranked by leading law directories such as Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners as one of the most important law firms in Portugal.
I’ve been at the firm since 2009 and I’m proud to say that we are one of the leading offices in the area of immigration law. We work with clients from all sectors and nationalities, including commercial and industrial companies, public entities, HNWIs and entrepreneurs.
In Portugal we have 3 offices (Lisbon, Porto and Faro) and abroad we have local representations in Angola, Brazil, Mozambique and China (Beijing). During the last 40 years, the firm established a team of experts providing tailored assistance to our clients, focusing on corporate and M&A, tax, labour, immigration, real estate, litigation, renewable energies, pharmaceutical, and new technologies.
At Caiado Guerreiro we believe that a human approach and adaptive power, together with our trustworthiness and mutual respect are the values that set us apart.We aim to deliver a 360ₒ commitment service.
CP: Could you summarise the impending changes that may be implemented for the Portugal Golden Visa programme in the coming year?
SSR: Well, with the approval of the State Budget for 2020, the current Government was given a special authorization to legislate on the Golden Visa regime. This authorization is valid until December 31 of 2020, which means that if it is not used until them, it will expire without producing any effects.
In summary, this authorization was issued for the purpose of reducing the real estate pressure in major cities by encouraging the promotion of investment in the interior of Portugal, as well as investment in urban re-qualification, cultural heritage, activities of high environmental or social value, productive investment and job creation.
However, we must highlight that this is something that the current regime already foresaw. Most of the Golden Visa options can avail a 20% reduction in the investment amount if located in certain areas of the interior of Portugal where investors can find good opportunities. Yet these are often overlooked due to a lack of incentive or disclosure.
In any case, due to COVID—19 such changes to the program are not a priority for the current Government. In fact we believe that the Golden Visa program will be a very important tool for Portugal’s economic recovery.
Read More : Should HNWIs Invest in Real Estate Post-Pandemic?
CP: Recently, there has been an upsurge in the number of Portuguese golden visa applicants as per the SEF’s latest reports. In your opinion, has this increase been instigated by the panic and volatility stemming from the Covid-19 pandemic or have other socio-political factors led to this surge in demand?
SSR: Although the statistical data released recently refers to approved processes (which means that they were received by the Immigration Office a few months ago) it is true that there was in fact an increase in interest in the Portuguese Golden Visa program.
From the opinions that I was able to gather among colleagues, clients and potential clients, the fact that Portugal has dealt with COVID-19 so effectively, coupled with the flexibility of the program that offers options of investment which do not require the investor to travel to Portugal, and the fact that Portugal is ranked the world’s third safest country according to the 2020 World Peace Index, were all important considerations for foreign investors seeking stable countries for their families and businesses.
CP: For those residency permit (golden visa) holders that do opt to relocate to Portugal full-time, how could they avail the benefits of the Non-Habitual Resident (NHR) scheme?
SSR: The NHR program with the Golden Visa is very advantageous as it maximizes the immigration benefits (namely the right to travel in the Schengen Area and the pathway to a Portuguese passport) combining it with lower personal income tax rates for a period of 10 years. In some cases, under the NHR, the applicant’s tax rate may even be 0%, depending on the type of income in question, its country of origin and existing double taxation agreements.
CP: The United Kingdom voted Brexit in 2016. Since then there has been a rocky path to this present moment where they are transitioning out of the EU formally. Have you had any indication that demand for Portuguese immigration solutions will be sourced from the UK next year due to Brexit?
SSR: We are already receiving a lot of inquiries from British citizens. Unfortunately, at this stage they are still in a grey zone with regards to the applicable framework after the transitional period. Since Brexit, a transitional period was agreed as part of the Withdrawal Agreement and it will last until at least 31 December 2020.
Until then, UK citizens and corporate will be able to relocate to Portugal without being subject to an immigration procedure. It will be business as usual for citizens, consumers, businesses, investors, students and researchers in both the EU and the United Kingdom. This means that, a UK citizen or a UK company can still relocate to Portugal without any specific immigration procedure.
From an individual perspective, UK citizens could benefit from the possibility of requesting a Certificate of Residency in Portugal as they are still EU citizens now. Post-Brexit this would allow the to work, live, study, etc. in Portugal.
After the transitional period, the UK’s eligibility for the Golden Visa will depend on the agreement that is reached between the UK and EU and on whether the UK will be qualified as a third country citizen or not.
CP: A global recession looms on the horizon due to this pandemic. What markets do you predict will have the greatest demand for the Portugal golden visa in a post-pandemic world?
SSR: So far China represents 53% of the Golden Visa applications in Portugal, followed by Brazil, Turkey, South Africa, and Russia. Vietnam, India, and USA also represent relevant numbers in the total recent applications made. I believe that such trends will not change.
Regardless of which markets will suffer more in financial terms, the Golden Visa is designed for HNWIs. Therefore I feel that the main reasons to choose the Portuguese program will continue to be:
- the flexibility of the program (e.g. 8 options of investment available from €200.000, family reunification of all direct family members, only 7 days of physical presence in Portugal per year, etc);
- the unique combination of benefits that Portugal has to offer regarding quality of life, low cost of living, tax advantages, political stability, quality healthcare; and
- the international business environment in Portugal, which is of great importance for those applicants looking to relocate their business to Portugal.
However, there are other Portuguese immigration programs like the tech visa, the start-up visa and the D7 visa (passive income holders) that will certainly have an increase in demand, due to the changes in the immigration policies of other countries, like the USA for instance, that is cancelling the visas for the entrepreneurs and high qualified workers.
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Other reasons for a heightened demand are the social instability caused by the coronavirus, for instance, in South American countries as well as in India, as well as wealth taxes that some countries are imposing to face the crisis.
GLOBAL INVESTMENT MIGRATION
CP: Battling Covid-19 has meant governments across the globe are now digging deep into their pockets to sustain and keep afloat their local economies. Recently the Portuguese parliament approved the first reading of a supplementary budget of EUR 4.3 Billion for a new furlough scheme, tax incentives and other stimulus initiatives.
As public debt continues to soar, do you expect that more countries will roll out residency by investment programmes in Europe and beyond?
Definitely. Whilst the EU was discouraging investment migration programs, several countries recently rose to defend their importance in overcoming the impending economic crisis.
I believe it will be a tool that countries cannot be ignored.
By analyzing the effects of investment migration programmes on countries that have already implement them, one can see how critical they are for the nations’s GDP. They speed up the recovery of certain sectors, create direct and indirect jobs and raise tax revenues for the state and government entities.
CP: In the rush to secure FDI, do you anticipate investment migration programmes will be offered at lower price points
SSR: Reducing prices will certainly be a temptation, but I believe that countries should balance the schemes and consider including alternative investment options such as ; health-related projects as well as green and blue projects that contribute to reducing our environmental footprint.
Portugal, in particular, located by the Atlantic Ocean, being the nearest European country to the Americas, is in the same time zone as London – and enjoys ample natural resources (300 sunny days per year). It is in a privileged position to develop these green and blue investment options.
The immigration industry should innovate and take advantage of this peculiar framing to offer creative solutions to the new needs generated by Covid-19 without failing to mitigate other risks such as money laundering and terrorism financing.
CP: No one could foresee the impact that this pandemic would have on economies everywhere. With GDP forecast to contract in almost every country, do you believe will there be a contraction in the pool of affluent clients who will be investing in golden visas?
Will investment migration programmes in Europe that have a higher price-point such as; Cyprus, Malta, the UK or Bulgaria be exposed to a fall in demand in light of the world’s bleak economic outlook?
SSR: I do not believe so. On the contrary, I am of the opinion that the economic crisis will trigger other types of problems in certain countries, namely social, educational and health problems. In this sense, I believe that it may increase the demand for plan Bs, second citizenship or residency rights.
Immigration programs have reached a stage of propagation that can no longer be easily retracted. Residence and citizenship, through investment has become an ideal of life, a solution for many families and businesses, and in many cases, a simple vehicle of global mobility.
CP: Economic turmoil creates havoc – and in times of crisis innovation is born. Do you feel that a wave of entrepreneurship, post-pandemic will raise interest in entrepreneur visas in general? Could you provide us with a bird’s eye view of the Portuguese Immigrant Entrepreneur Visa?
SSR: Yes, I do believe that in each crisis, amazing opportunities also arise.
As Winston Churchill said once “Never let a good crisis go to waste”.
The Portuguese are known for being a fearless and resourceful people and for finding solutions to overcome immediate problems.
In this regard, I shall highlight that according to weekly reports from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Observatory of Public Sector Innovation, Portugal is credited with 37 of the 415 innovative responses to the Coronavirus that the organization has tracked. That’s more than any other country in the study.
Besides attracting HNWIs, Portugal is developing programs and incentives to attract entrepreneurs, “digital nomads” and major companies – Google, Microsoft, Uber, Mercedes-Benz, Siemens, Zalando are some of recent multinationals that relocated to Portugal.
The Entrepreneurs Visa is for people that want to develop their business in Portugal, regardless of investment amounts or business sector. The Start- Up Visa is for entrepreneurs or groups of entrepreneurs that intend to develop an innovative project in Portugal with the help of an incubator and the Tech Visa is designed for highly qualified staff outside the European Union to access jobs created by Portuguese companies.
There are also tax programs like the NHR and programs like Portugal 2030 or the Digital Mission Plan which incentivise foreign investors. Entrepreneurs in Portugal can also access both the European market and benefit from the unique bridge that Portugal offers to all the Portuguese speaking countries, including the Brazilian and African markets, as well as Macau.
LEADING WOMEN IN INVESTMENT MIGRATION
CP: As a recognized voice in the investment migration world, what do you feel has contributed most to your professional success so far?
SSR: This is an interesting question. I believe, as a starting point, that it was due to the vision of our managing partner João Caiado Guerreiro regarding this sector of activity and also having the professional and personal skills necessary to have to work in investment migration.
Working with different nationalities and cultures, as well as providing a timely response in different time zones can be a challenge!
Organization, availability, and trust are essential, and are qualities that I try to keep at the core of my work.
Added to this I must also mention the fact that I really like what I do and I have a constant desire to challenge myself and the status quo, trying to learn more in order to be able to make a positive contribution to the market and provide the best advice to clients.
In fact, during the pandemic I decided to formalize my contribution to the immigration industry by incorporating the Portuguese Association of Immigration, Investment and Relocation (PAIIR), aimed at developing the Portuguese network of immigration professionals, promoting the Portuguese immigration programs as well as professional training in this area which is still very limited.
CP: How did you manage to adapt to new modes of virtual working during these lockdown and quarantine periods in Portugal? How have you maintained your relationships with existing clients and associates during recent times in the absence of international travel and physical meetings?
SSR: In Caiado Guerreiro we used to travel a lot to visit clients, to participate in conferences, expos and seminars. With the pandemic we had to reinvent our working model (after canceling multiple trips) and focus on digital marketing and digital relationships.
Fortunately, the Firm is very dynamic and innovative. Long before Covid-19 we already held webinars online, we developed an app for clients to access services and processes, so the team already had the know-how and tools to make this adaptation.
Personally, I did not feel much difficulty, except for the separation of personal and professional time (I am a self-confessed workaholic). It was also an opportunity to explore new networks and communication platforms. Our relationship with clients was always a priority and we remained 100% available by digital means WhatsApp, Zoom, Skype, Microsoft Teams, Botim, We Chat you name it! Our mobiles have a long number of communication apps to keep the client comfortable.
Notwithstanding we also kept the office open with on-site teams that ensured the maintenance of the Firm and the availability to continue receiving, with all the pertinent health measures, clients that preferred to meet us in person.
CP: As a leading immigration lawyer in the investment migration sphere you work with clients and associates globally, have you found any obstacles or challenges when working cross-culturally?
SSR: Certainly. From how to greet or hand over a simple document, which are simple obstacles to overcome, to more delicate situations when working in cultures less open to female leadership and to women as senior professionals. Without any doubt, this is one of the most complicated aspects to manage when you are the Head of a Department and there is no man above to satisfy the prejudice of certain clients.
CP: When your clients visit Portugal to explore investment options to obtain their immigration permits, what draws them most to the Iberian Peninsula?
Why do they invest in Portugal?
SSR: I usually say to potential clients who are still undecided, not to visit or walk through Portuguese cities … otherwise they will fall in love with the country and any doubts they may have will disappear. I’ve seen it happen several times!
At the first meeting, prospective clients can still be undecided between Portugal and other options, but by the second meeting, after 2 or 3 days of tourism, they already say that they feel at home, safe and that the weather and food are just amazing!
Portugal has a lot to offer. Besides being one of the safest countries in the world, with an excellent and strategic business location with direct links to the Brazilian and African markets, Portugal also distinguishes itself by its freedom of expression, religious, sexual and racial tolerance and appreciation of female leadership.
We are also the most welcoming European country in the world for foreigners according to InterNations. Portugal is in the Top 10 best European cities to invest in real estate, according to PwC and the Urban Land Institute (Lisbon being one of the four cities where prices are expected to remain stable after COVID-19).
Although it is a very small country we have 7 world class Portuguese Universities and, even with the pandemic, GDP forecasts for Portugal expect a 9.5% contraction in 2020, followed by a 5.2% recovery in 2021 and 3.8% in 2022. While in the Euro Zone, the expected contraction is 12.6%, and the subsequent recovery is forecast to be only 3.3% in 2021 and 3.8% in 2022.
As such, if I were a foreign investor, I would definitely consider Portugal as a safe bet for a second residency / passport and an ideal jurisdiction to relocate by business.
CP: Thank you, Sara for an informative interview on all aspects related to Portugal and the numerous immigration and tax benefits it provides. foreign investors.
For questions about the various global mobility solutions available in Portugal, please contact Sara Sousa Rebolo on srebolo@caiadoguerreiro.com, or call her on +351937855962 or connect on linkedin.com. For more information, please see Caiado Guerreiro.
“A woman with a voice is, by definition, a strong woman.” Melinda Gates
