Sandeep
Family Background
Sandeep, originally from India, moved to Singapore 8 years ago. He recently separated from his wife, who he has two children with aged 13 and 16 and are now living in the Netherlands. Sandeep was employed by Barclay’s Bank and in December 2022 elected to take early retirement.
Decision factors
With time on his hands and no necessity to be living in Singapore, his motivation was to be able to spend his time spread between India and in Europe to be closer with his family and children in Europe.
Having watched an online webinar about the Portugal Golden Visa, it became apparent this was a programme which suits his needs. With a Portugal Golden Visa, Sandeep would be a Portuguese resident, benefiting from visa-free travel in the EU, with a maximum stay of 180 days. This will allow him to spend a greater amount of time with his children, but also embark on the pathway to EU citizenship. The biggest benefit of all, is that he could he achieve all of this, without having to live in Portugal permanently. For a Golden Visa to be valid, investors are only required to spend one week every year, for the next five years, meaning Sandeep can live a flexible life and not be constricted to one country.
With a net worth in excess of USD 3 million and a strong motivation to proceed with the Portugal Golden Visa, Sandeep decided to proceed with a Golden Visa eligible hotel unit in the Algarve, Portugal worth €450,000. His investment pays a 4% per year yield and has a guaranteed developer buy back agreement once citizenship has been received in six.
Professional Advice
Sandeep’s Portugal Golden Visa process begun with him enlisting the services of a Portugal Golden Visa advisor, who provided him with a range of Golden Visa eligible investments, before deciding to proceed with one development. To secure the unit, he had to pay a 3% deposit, after which a Portuguese law firm was used to finalise the purchase. Golden Visa property investments must be funded in whole by cash. Once the purchase had been completed, he received a title deed, showcasing he has ownership of the unit.
The law firm were now able to submit his Golden Visa application with all necessary supporting documents to SEF (Serviço de Estrangeiros e Fronteiras), who is the immigration department for foreign nationals in Portugal.
Once the application was submitted and reviewed, it took 10 months for SEF to provide an approval for his Golden Visa application. The final step was to schedule an appointment in Portugal to undertake his biometrics for his Golden Visa.