Experience & Timeline: Redeeming Optimize/IMGA and Closing Bison Bank

Residencies & citizenships Portugal Golden Visa
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I recently withdrew my PGV application and wanted to share my timeline for liquidating my investments and closing my accounts.

After waiting a few months for my investments to pass the one-year mark, I contacted my lawyer to get points of contact for Optimize and Bison. I never heard back, typical I guess! I ended up searching through my old emails and found my original contact, Nuno. He was very responsive and connected me directly with an account manager.

The process was very smooth. Here is how the timelines broke down:

IMGA Redemption: The entire process took about 1 week after finalizing the form.
Optimize Redemption: You can start this process online. The funds were transferred to my Bison Bank account after 5 business days.
Transferring Funds (Bison to Wise): Took only 1 business day after confirmation through customer support.
Closing Bison Account: A straightforward and easy process via Bison secure chat.

Final Thoughts: Goodbye PGV! While the exit logistics were surprisingly painless, the program itself was deeply disappointing. Between the constant delays and the broken promises regarding timelines, it just wasn’t worth the headache anymore. Happy to close this chapter and walk away.

I hope the rest of you have better luck with the program. Wishing you all the best!

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This was unsatisfyingly anticlimactic and suspiciously free of obligatory Portuguese style bureaucratic problems (lawyer ghost, while standard, isn’t enough on its own to count). I’m kidding of course. Glad to hear it went pretty smooth and wish you all the best wherever your journey takes you!

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Congratulations, I know a handful of people who have done the same and are better for it. I have someone in my network who got so pissed off that he sold all of his additional investments in Portugal as well.

We are considering doing the same at this point, not even because of the PGV delays and issues, but the atmosphere in the country is slightly different than it once was. Maybe it’s just been with time or things are changing, but there’s an unease in the air, its subtle and I don’t know if other people are noticing it but either way once you notice it there’s no un-noticing it.

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What about all the B.S. we heard about Portuguese culture and natural rights and great heritage?? Where are all those scoundrels who used this to hoodwink unsuspecting victims into their fraud?

They certainly aren’t piping up now!!