# Married couple GV via property purchase - sole or joint ownership? **URL:** \ **Category:** Portugal Golden Visa\ **Created:** [June 1, 2021, 8:27pm UTC](https://community.nomadgate.com/t/married-couple-gv-via-property-purchase-sole-or-joint-ownership/38836 "2021-06-01T20:27:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![tommigun](https://community.nomadgate.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/898d66/32.png) [@tommigun](https://community.nomadgate.com/u/tommigun)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2021, 8:27pm UTC](https://community.nomadgate.com/t/married-couple-gv-via-property-purchase-sole-or-joint-ownership/38836/1 "2021-06-01T20:27:37Z")
Good day everyone, If a married couple are looking to acquire GV via the property route, does it matter if they purchase the property in joint ownership, or just one of them purchases as a sole owner? As an example, if they purchase jointly at EUR500k, would each of them be considered as ‘investor’ eligible to apply for a GV in their own right? Or would they both fall short by EUR250k and NOT become eligible to apply for a GV? Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![nevadaandonward](https://community.nomadgate.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/n/c77e96/32.png) [@nevadaandonward](https://community.nomadgate.com/u/nevadaandonward)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2021, 9:30pm UTC](https://community.nomadgate.com/t/married-couple-gv-via-property-purchase-sole-or-joint-ownership/38836/2 "2021-06-01T21:30:14Z")
You only need 500K of property per eligible family. There are additional fees per person, but additional property investment is not required. Before purchasing, I recommend coordinating with a GV lawyer experienced with the property option, to ensure the correct ownership structure. The Portuguese authorities may be attentive to details like this. It caused ongoing consternation among many service providers that some of my documents included my middle name, some did not, and some included a middle initial. That seems to be alarming. ---
**Author:** ![tommigun](https://community.nomadgate.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/898d66/32.png) [@tommigun](https://community.nomadgate.com/u/tommigun)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2021, 9:42pm UTC](https://community.nomadgate.com/t/married-couple-gv-via-property-purchase-sole-or-joint-ownership/38836/3 "2021-06-01T21:42:11Z")
Thanks for your promptest reply! I have spoken with a GV lawyer who recommended the joint ownership for the reason of ‘protecting the other spouse’. This did not sound very convincing, so I wanted to check online as well. Besides I generally prefer to get information from multiple sources including the official requirements where available, rather than relying on the opinion of one particular lawyer. And thanks for pointing out the potential spelling/naming issues, I am aware of the importance so will take extra care. ---
**Author:** ![nevadaandonward](https://community.nomadgate.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/n/c77e96/32.png) [@nevadaandonward](https://community.nomadgate.com/u/nevadaandonward)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2021, 10:30pm UTC](https://community.nomadgate.com/t/married-couple-gv-via-property-purchase-sole-or-joint-ownership/38836/4 "2021-06-01T22:30:52Z")
Protecting the spouse sounds sensible to me. If someone dies, the resolution of assets may be complicated if the property is not jointly owned. ---
**Author:** ![tommigun](https://community.nomadgate.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/898d66/32.png) [@tommigun](https://community.nomadgate.com/u/tommigun)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2021, 10:53pm UTC](https://community.nomadgate.com/t/married-couple-gv-via-property-purchase-sole-or-joint-ownership/38836/5 "2021-06-01T22:53:54Z")
That of course makes sense, I meant to say that the rationale for ‘protecting the spouse’ has nothing to do with the GV process itself. My query was more to the point of how SEF/GV regards the joint ownership model as described in my question above. ---
**Author:** ![jb4422](https://community.nomadgate.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/j/ec9cab/32.png) [@jb4422](https://community.nomadgate.com/u/jb4422)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2021, 6:44pm UTC](https://community.nomadgate.com/t/married-couple-gv-via-property-purchase-sole-or-joint-ownership/38836/6 "2021-06-02T18:44:23Z")
Argh. @tkrunning I accidentally hit the “flag” button. I didn’t mean to. I’m sorry about that. At least for me, the application is in my name solely, and all the assets are in my name, and the spouse application is being done as a spouse/dependent, not as a primary applicant. So I don’t think it matters and for all I know might confuse things. But I’ve never asked either. ---
**Author:** ![kehoepat](https://community.nomadgate.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/k/a88e57/32.png) [@kehoepat](https://community.nomadgate.com/u/kehoepat)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2021, 5:49am UTC](https://community.nomadgate.com/t/married-couple-gv-via-property-purchase-sole-or-joint-ownership/38836/7 "2021-06-25T05:49:54Z")
Our lawyer has a totally different interpretation. We did the property purchase only in my name because if the application and property purchase were done in our joint names - then twice the normal GV property purchase would be required. In other words the spouse should come along as an appendage (for GV purposes) and then added to the property after the GV is approved. The same goes to the Portugal bank account the $ were paid from. Portugal law automatically makes the spouse the beneficiary of the property if the primary owner/applicant passes away so there is still very strong marital protections. Be very careful here and suggest you enlist the support of a knowledgeable Portugal lawyer. ---
**Author:** ![tommigun](https://community.nomadgate.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/898d66/32.png) [@tommigun](https://community.nomadgate.com/u/tommigun)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2021, 9:04am UTC](https://community.nomadgate.com/t/married-couple-gv-via-property-purchase-sole-or-joint-ownership/38836/8 "2021-06-25T09:04:39Z")
Thanks for your reply. I have indeed instructed a GV lawyer who recommend the joint ownership. However the advice on this forum varies from one post to another. I wonder if anyone can share their actual experience of successfully obtaining a GV via the joint ownership path? This is now becoming an urgent query for me as I am close to signing a 500k property deal. ---
**Author:** ![tommigun](https://community.nomadgate.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/898d66/32.png) [@tommigun](https://community.nomadgate.com/u/tommigun)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2021, 6:12pm UTC](https://community.nomadgate.com/t/married-couple-gv-via-property-purchase-sole-or-joint-ownership/38836/9 "2021-07-08T18:12:43Z")
interim update in another thread: > [@Portugal GV - Source of funds vs property title](https://community.nomadgate.com/t/portugal-gv-source-of-funds-vs-property-title/30573/8): > > After extensive discussions and back-and-forths with my lawyers and the estate agency, we so far have settled on the following: SEF appears to require the main GV applicant to invest EUR500k or above. At the same time, the main GV applicant cannot ‘hide’ his/her marital status from the Notario who will ask for it before the Escritura is signed. To satisfy both, the main GV applicant should be listed as the ‘Buyer’ and his/her sole signature should appear on the Escritura. Their marital status,… ---
**Author:** ![tommigun](https://community.nomadgate.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/898d66/32.png) [@tommigun](https://community.nomadgate.com/u/tommigun)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2021, 6:16pm UTC](https://community.nomadgate.com/t/married-couple-gv-via-property-purchase-sole-or-joint-ownership/38836/10 "2021-07-08T18:16:04Z")
In my own opinion, point 4 is the most important here for GV eligibility…