I’m currently navigating the Portugal Golden Visa process and hold my investment with Bison Bank. They recently shared a pending update to their Price List and General Conditions that I wanted to flag to the community and also see how people are approaching.
The Issues:
High Exit/Transfer Fees: Their updated pricing schedule adds a 0.50% fee for redemption of Third Party Investment Funds. On a €500k GV investment, that’s €2,500 just to move your own money out when the time comes. This was previously exempt/no fee at time of account opening agreement.
Account Blocking Language: Their updated General Conditions now include very broad language allowing the bank to execute a “blocking procedure” during account closure for reasons like “operational impediments,” “client inertia,” or loosely defined “other circumstances.”
Given the uncertainty around the current Portugal GV rules and citizenship laws - this change is a red flag to me - in both the additional cost & making it harder to exit + a sign they may be concerned too about the GV rules and people ending the process. This feels a bit unsavory to me + who knows what they will change in future.
My Questions for the Community:
Has anyone else noticed these specific updates and pushed back on them?
Has anyone successfully negotiated a written addendum from Bison Bank that explicitly waives these exit/transfer-out fees?
How are others viewing and approaching these risks?
I’m invested in IMGA Acoes Portugal through Bison Bank. This is the first I’m hearing of this and I will be reaching out to them immediately. My investment has appreciated to €765k (not complaining), so that .50% redemption fee is closer to €4k in my situation.
May I ask where you saw this language? Have you reached out to them? Any word?
Where was this information shared and in what format? Could you elaborate or provide a copy of the pricing schedule?
If this is accurate, all clients of Bison should contact Bison and demand that they exempt those persons who by the terms of their residency or shareholder agreement are unable to liquidate their investment prior to the effective date of the change.
I reached out today and Nuno wrote back with this:
To clarify, the 0.5% redemption fee applies only if a client withdraws from the Golden Visa process and closes their account early—it does not affect passive investments under the original agreement. If you have further questions, please feel free to contact us.
So it does appear to apply to GV holders (if they withdraw early.) That said, I have no idea how they’d determine who has/hasn’t withdrawn early.
This is nonsense. In what way is a asset getting tied to GV process. They make arbitrary rules any way they like it. So now they will say it can be redeemed only after 10 years. Then what ? fight in the court to get my money.
I agree. This seems like an incredibly messy policy they’re trying to implement and I’m a little skeptical as to whether it’s even legal for them to tie their fees to a government program that neither we nor them have any control over.
When I asked Nuno for clarification, this was his repsonse:
Thank you for your follow-up and for raising this important question. To clarify, Bison Bank considers an early withdrawal from the Golden Visa process to occur when a client chooses to exit their investment before the designated term or required period for the Golden Visa has been completed. In other words, if the client decides to redeem their investment and close their account prior to fulfilling the entire duration stipulated for the Golden Visa, this is classified as an early withdrawal.
Again, I have no idea how they can/will enforce this given how much the Golden Visa changes on a regular basis.
This answer is still ambiguous. The entire duration stipulated for the Golden Visa? Does this mean the duration stipulated in the original application, or the duration stipulated in the nationality law? If the law changes to 10 years, then you have to hold for 10 years to avoid a early exit penalty?
If that’s what they mean, then I’m fine with it since I’m already 2.5 years into the process and literally going in for biometrics… checks notes… tomorrow.
I have been corresponding with them and they are saying
yes it does apply to GV holders
that it “only applies to clients who withdraw, sell their investment, and close their account before completing the golden visa process”. However, I’ve noted to them that this exception is NOT stated anywhere in their legal documents/price list/general conditions - id be going off their word in 5+ yrs time. And there’s no guarantee they dont change it further later. I think its unreasonable to add this timeline constraint regardless.
they have also been trying to tell me a couple times that there was always a redemption fee. which is not true - its not in the agreement/price list at the time of account opening (nor is it in the current price list on their website - which shows “exempt”.)
Its a good point you all have made on how this will even be enforced given the uncertainty on timelines. would appreciate seeing if you all hear differently/anything else from them.
To add to this, doesn’t “completing the golden visa process” really just mean… going through with biometrics and paying the fees because this is after all, just a residency visa? While one could argue getting your card would be the official visa, there really isn’t anything for an individual to do past biometrics in order to finish their part of the visa process. You can get a GV for any length of time. Just because it is mainly a pathway to citizenship, which was advertised by funds as being in 5 years, doesn’t mean that you haven’t satisfied the “complete the process” if you just get one card and never renew. Or what if someone is rejected for their visa? Still a complete circle to me.
I find this especially insulting being as they are seemingly trying to hold their clients to a GV process timeline that is as vague as AIMA’s and even their own government not only isn’t honoring but is arguing never existed because GV is just residency. Aargh. Rant over.
There has been a redemption fee of (original) CAPITAL in millenniumBCP’s price list since at least I opened the account with them in 2021. I noted the same in BiG as well.
