I’ve benefited greatly from all the commentary on this forum, so I thought I’d share my experience just in case it proves useful to anyone.
In setting up my Golden Visa application, my goals were to a) get a responsive, experienced law firm and b) make a conservative investment that will return my $500,000 to me (ideally adjusted for inflation, after costs).
I interviewed quite a few law firms. Honestly, I don’t believe there’s a significant difference. It’s pretty easy to file the paperwork. I went with a law firm that was not at the top-rung price-wise and seemed to have a large, engaged professional staff (so that I don’t have to talk to the attorney for routine matters). I don’t want to name the firm here but it’s one of the bigger names. Prices to do the administrative work on the initial filing ranged from $4,000 to $7,000.
The investment is a more complicated decision. As I said, I’m not trying for high returns, just to get my investment back at the end of the process - in an ideal world, inflation-adjusted, after expenses.
I was skeptical of the promised returns of some funds, especially those run by foreign (non-Portuguese) firms. I was amazed how many Americans, Canadians, South Africans, British, etc have gotten involved in the process. I feared it would be too easy for them to walk away and leave investors in a lurch.
The real estate funds were interesting, but I didn’t have time to investigate which projects I believed in enough to put my money into them. I would have felt more comfortable if I knew the areas where the project was going. It seems the real estate projects are more or less a loan to the company to complete the project and do not promise high returns.
I settled on Optimize for several reasons. It is a Portuguese firm with roots in the country. The vast majority of Optimize investors are locals, so Golden Visas are not the main business. The Golden Opportunities fund simply invests about 70% into the largest Portuguese traded companies and 30% in Portuguese bonds. Portuguese firms are generally more on the value than growth side of the spectrum, many companies in the fund in food distribution/energy/telecom/agriculture. They pay decent dividends but are not fast growers. This fit my conservative approach and counterbalances the more growth-oriented stocks that dominate my holdings (like GOOG) in the S&P500.
Optimize has enacted several cost-saving measures. The firm does not require that you open an account at the local investment bank. Optimize does the US dollar-to-Euro exchange for you at the interbank rate (.1%), saving perhaps 1-2%.
Optimize is open-ended, so you can keep your investment there as long as you want. If I suddenly pass away, my heirs can immediately divest the funds. If a better fund comes along, I can make a switch at any time. After the 5 year period, I can divest at my own pace in order to lessen the tax bite (from the IRS in the US). I really didn’t like the funds with a required subscription period of time. Several funds seem to use lofty goals, such sustainable agriculture or environment, more as a marketing ploy than due to any conviction. I did regret the lack of a definitive list of all GV investment options, including fees.
There are also several downsides to investing with Optimize. There’s a 5,000 euro subscription fee and 1.8 % annual expense ratio. If you invested in Portugal through other means, you could save the subscription fee and at least 1%/year. Low-cost investing that is not common like it is in the Anglo-American word.
I estimate for one person the government/legal fees will run about 25,000 euros, and the investment fees(that is, beyond what I would pay if I invested similarly in the US) about 35,000 euros. So for me that’s the cost of getting EU citizenship. Sounds like a lot but every other investment had its own costs (and risks). If in 5-7 years when I can divest, my investment in the fund is 550,000-700,000 euros, I’ll be satisfied. If it’s significantly lower than 500,000 euros, then I probably would have also lost money in any non-Golden Visa investment as well.
If the Portuguese government drags its feet and doesn’t issue the Golden Visa for 2 years, I’ll consider that a win, since I’ll only have to renew the visa once before applying for citizenship. This is based on the newish rule that we can all apply for citizenship at the 5-year mark, regardless when the Golden Visa was issued.
Finally, I was struck by all the shady characters who lurk on these forums (also FB, Reddit) and want to make money off Golden Visa investors. On a chat, someone might act like a fellow Golden Visa applicant, then reveal that he wants to refer me to a lawyer or help me secure a fund (for a commission, presumably). Some relationships among immigration lawyers, investment advisors and GV fund managers seemed chummy to an unhealthy degree. It’s really a buyer-beware environment, and sites like this one are extremely useful.