# Has anybody had a SUCCESSFUL experience with Holborn and the GV process? **URL:** \ **Category:** Portugal Golden Visa\ **Tags:** portugal, golden-visa\ **Created:** [February 18, 2025, 9:34pm UTC](https://community.nomadgate.com/t/has-anybody-had-a-successful-experience-with-holborn-and-the-gv-process/69366 "2025-02-18T21:34:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![delamatch](https://community.nomadgate.com/user_avatar/community.nomadgate.com/delamatch/32/7730_2.png) [@delamatch](https://community.nomadgate.com/u/delamatch)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2025, 9:34pm UTC](https://community.nomadgate.com/t/has-anybody-had-a-successful-experience-with-holborn-and-the-gv-process/69366/1 "2025-02-18T21:34:56Z")
I’ve seen a lot of topics here discussing Holborn and a lot of back and forth and hesitation - yet none of them ever have a conclusion or details. Does anybody have a successful experience with Holborn that they’d be willing to share? Maybe a simple “I used them for this and it worked out” would suffice. It would be much appreciated. ---
**Author:** ![Shah\_Saad](https://community.nomadgate.com/user_avatar/community.nomadgate.com/shah_saad/32/8596_2.png) [@Shah\_Saad](https://community.nomadgate.com/u/Shah_Saad)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2025, 9:16pm UTC](https://community.nomadgate.com/t/has-anybody-had-a-successful-experience-with-holborn-and-the-gv-process/69366/2 "2025-02-20T21:16:18Z")
I am looking for the same. Any one can provide feedback? ---
**Author:** ![rlwharton](https://community.nomadgate.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/r/9fc348/32.png) [@rlwharton](https://community.nomadgate.com/u/rlwharton)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2025, 10:20pm UTC](https://community.nomadgate.com/t/has-anybody-had-a-successful-experience-with-holborn-and-the-gv-process/69366/3 "2025-02-20T22:20:24Z")
New to the forum and looking to apply for the GV within the next 2-3 weeks. I have talked to/interviewed 6 law firms and 5 fund managers and I have asked each of them their perspective on whether involving a 3rd party such as Holborn adds any value in terms of application and follow-thru efficiency etc. Basically was told by most (though a few declined to provide their perspective) that these 3rd parties are not really that valuable unless you need guidance on some sort of really esoteric/complicated investment vehicle. The most important thing is hiring a good lawyer you have confidence in. BTW, was also told that the Holborn etc. types receive up to 10% of the value of you investment as commission/fees from the funds etc. they direct you towards, so…interesting fact. Just my $.02 (and I am not an expert on any of this, just trying to get up the learning curve myself) ---
**Author:** ![MightMoveToPortugal](https://community.nomadgate.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@MightMoveToPortugal](https://community.nomadgate.com/u/MightMoveToPortugal)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2025, 5:25pm UTC](https://community.nomadgate.com/t/has-anybody-had-a-successful-experience-with-holborn-and-the-gv-process/69366/4 "2025-05-07T17:25:34Z")
I am also thinking of going the lawyer route rather than the Holborn route for the Golden Visa. Do you mind sharing which lawyer(s) you thought were good? ---
**Author:** ![dalebasye](https://community.nomadgate.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@dalebasye](https://community.nomadgate.com/u/dalebasye)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2025, 9:15pm UTC](https://community.nomadgate.com/t/has-anybody-had-a-successful-experience-with-holborn-and-the-gv-process/69366/5 "2025-05-09T21:15:54Z")
I engaged with Holborn Assets in November regarding a Portuguese Golden Visa investment, but after signing and transferring a deposit, the process turned out to be far more complicated than expected—unclear communication and surprise tax concerns made it clear this wasn’t the right fit for me. I only wish I’d realized that before moving forward. Happy to share more details via DM. ---
**Author:** ![wen104](https://community.nomadgate.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/w/e9bcb4/32.png) [@wen104](https://community.nomadgate.com/u/wen104)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2025, 3:14pm UTC](https://community.nomadgate.com/t/has-anybody-had-a-successful-experience-with-holborn-and-the-gv-process/69366/6 "2025-05-10T15:14:02Z")
@dalebasye Can you provide more details? I don’t see how to DM. ---
**Author:** ![dalebasye](https://community.nomadgate.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@dalebasye](https://community.nomadgate.com/u/dalebasye)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2025, 6:15pm UTC](https://community.nomadgate.com/t/has-anybody-had-a-successful-experience-with-holborn-and-the-gv-process/69366/7 "2025-05-10T18:15:35Z")
Odd. Well, the gist was that I was hoping to minimize taxes by using IRA funds, which required setting up a U.S. SDIRA and a Portuguese LLC. After signing with Holborn and meeting Paxlegal, it became clear the process was more complex and costly than expected, with ongoing fees and unclear tax implications—especially around the portion Holborn contributed. Holborn was upfront about most of these costs, but the tax ambiguity as well as some confusion about the terms of the investment itself caused me to back out. They won’t email me back about my deposit. ---
**Author:** ![mustmove](https://community.nomadgate.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@mustmove](https://community.nomadgate.com/u/mustmove)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2025, 2:26pm UTC](https://community.nomadgate.com/t/has-anybody-had-a-successful-experience-with-holborn-and-the-gv-process/69366/8 "2025-05-11T14:26:15Z")
wen104, I DM’d you to help you identify that tool and I replied that you really need an expert, independent PT immigration lawyer, and not a third party commissioned sales agency, to best get you through GV. I got notified that you deleted my DM, so apparently you now know how that tool works. ---
**Author:** ![wen104](https://community.nomadgate.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/w/e9bcb4/32.png) [@wen104](https://community.nomadgate.com/u/wen104)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2025, 1:46am UTC](https://community.nomadgate.com/t/has-anybody-had-a-successful-experience-with-holborn-and-the-gv-process/69366/9 "2025-05-12T01:46:35Z")
Thank you! I didn’t even realize I deleted that so thank you for the message. I’m getting the hang of the tool now. I appreciate your feedback. Looking at the threads on the post that allows negatives has left me pretty demoralized about this process. Would love to hear about any successes and if this is still worth pursuing! Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![tkrunning](https://community.nomadgate.com/user_avatar/community.nomadgate.com/tkrunning/32/9053_2.png) [@tkrunning](https://community.nomadgate.com/u/tkrunning)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2025, 1:32pm UTC](https://community.nomadgate.com/t/has-anybody-had-a-successful-experience-with-holborn-and-the-gv-process/69366/10 "2025-05-12T13:32:06Z")
> [@rlwharton](#): > > The most important thing is hiring a good lawyer you have confidence in. I’d second this. There’s really no need for additional middlemen. ---
**Author:** ![mustmove](https://community.nomadgate.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@mustmove](https://community.nomadgate.com/u/mustmove)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2025, 2:17pm UTC](https://community.nomadgate.com/t/has-anybody-had-a-successful-experience-with-holborn-and-the-gv-process/69366/11 "2025-05-12T14:17:49Z")
wen104 – Ok, yeah, this is still the thread and you replied within it. You’re not using the DM reply function correctly yet. I’ll hit you again with a DM. Meanwhile, for the umpteenth time here, get an expert PT lawyer and drop the third party package/sales agencies. ---
**Author:** ![dalebasye](https://community.nomadgate.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@dalebasye](https://community.nomadgate.com/u/dalebasye)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2025, 9:45pm UTC](https://community.nomadgate.com/t/has-anybody-had-a-successful-experience-with-holborn-and-the-gv-process/69366/12 "2025-08-01T21:45:55Z")
Update: my client advisor was able to get me half of my deposit back, so that is definitely a positive, capping off a long, murky experience.