Iām exploring Citizenship in EU, and Portugal seems like a good option.
Weāre an extended family, including my Parents, spouse and children (under 5).
We looked at GV, wherein itās possible to get all my family along. Also D7, wherein it too looks like complete family is possible (after ensuring the minimum passive income).
We intend to stay in Portugal, so looks like the residency requirements (185 days +) is acceptable. In this case, should we explore D7 instead of GV?
My early thoughts:
Low Investment - D7 doesnāt mandate any investment, but passive income is necessary.
Investment for a property - Since we anyways plan to live in PT, investing in a property might be eventuality, so why not start off with GV?
Guarantee/certainty - Read that D7 can be rejected, but GV is almost an assured route.
Dependents - is it easier on GV?
Clarity around Passive income - Can regular salary income qualify as passive income? My income is much above the required threshold, and can be effectively be maintained remotely. I can also demonstrate money in the bank if relevant. Since I own a niche consulting business, I can change the nature of the income from salary to dividend. But this change would be going ahead - is the passive income needed to be demonstrated historically for last x months? Or if I plan it immediately 3-4 months of āpassive dividendā income suffice?
Also, if in case a D7 is rejected, can it have an impact on GV?
Thereās a lot of discussion on what counts for passive income for D7 if you dig around some, and the answer is more or less āit dependsā but can be some combo of āhaving enough of a balanceā or āneeding to show forward incomeā (past results are not an indication of future performance).
Aside from the income/financial issues, the accept/reject issues are going to be the same one way or the other D7/ARI - either youāre someone they want to let in, or not.
Youāre also missing the costs associated with ARI - D7 costs almost nothing, whereas ARI has huge fees for issuance and renewal plus depository account costs plus lawyers plus plus plusā¦ per personā¦
If you plan to go and stay, D7 is a slam-dunk. ARI is really only interesting if you canāt go and stay.
For that matter, there are other visas for active income/remote-workers. You could dig around at those too.
It might be worth your while to hire a lawyer to do your D7 just to make sure your iās and tās are good first since you are bringing so many people along, but I sure wouldnāt be bothering with ARI.
I agree. There is not even any basis of comparison. If I had the option of D7 visa, I would not in the slightest consider the ARI. And really if one is considering the D7 there are many countries in the world that have similar visas that might also be attractive for various reasons. In all honesty, if it had not been for the ARI I would not have come across Portugal but as I have learned more about the culture and people I am really happy that I ādiscoveredā Portugal.
Regarding your advise on consulting a lawyer - yes, I shall do that. Plus, youāre right about the costs, it quickly adds up for a large family as mine!
What other Portugal Visa options are there? (Pardon my ignorance)
True, the more I read about OY, the more enchanted I become! But in all honesty, itās the prospect of EU citizenship that mostly appealing.
What other EU country(ies) provide this option - alongside provision for parent dependentās? Again, pardon my lack of research!
Also, one more thing, since the GV is going to be stricter in 2022, I want to quickly attempt for D7 (or other options). If just in case any other attempt fails (hopefully not!) - does it have any potential impact on the GV option? Anyone has any experience?
And are there cases where GV is rejected? There are variations on definition of āpassive incomeā so lot of things are contingent upon the evaluator, but in my understanding if clear cut tGV requirements are met - then itās pretty certain. Is this a flawed understanding? As you can see, Iām trying to optimise on the certainties since the GV route is going to be hardened.
Those are the two main visa types to be concerned about. The rest I can speak little to, you will have to do your own research on the topic.
As to other countries, there are other āultimate guidesā here on nomadgate you can read for other countries, among other resources.
There are no certainties, thereās just probabilities. Of course there are rejections and you can be rejected for any reason at the whim of the evaluator, really. I would not fret so much about it in any case. Go seek counsel on your situation.
Are you saying the residency requirements for the D7 require you to be in Portugal 185+ days a year? If so, thatās incorrect.
During the valid period of the permit you can be absent from Portugal for 6 months in a row, or 8 months otherwise. So, for a permit with a 2 year valid period, you must stay in Portugal for 16 months (24-8=16) or 18 months (24-6). For a permit with a 3 year valid period, you must stay in Portugal for 28 months (36-8) or 30 months (30-6). The one year residence permit no longer exists.
The D7 visa is for āown incomeā, which includes passive income. It also includes income from remote working for a company outside of Portugal. Best source of D7information on this is the document ā2021 Visas and Permitsā found in the Files section of the Facebook group āAmericans & FriendsPTā. If youāre not a Facebook user, itās worth creating an account just for the files in this group.
