Portugal Golden Visa vs Bulgaria PR by Investment – Seeking Recent Experiences

[lifedreamer]

@Starts

I don’t believe this is the full picture - EU nationals exercising freedom of movement rights are required to pay tax only if they satisfy the requirements of tax residency in the country they reside. This will often be the case but certainly not automatitic. They would often need to spend at least 183 days there and or work there to become tax residents. This is true across the EU. For example, pensioners use the freedom of movement to live 4/5 months a year in Spain or Portugal but never become tax resident, paying tax in Germany / Sweden etc

Yes that is correct in principle, but since EU citizens cannot obtain long-term residence on the basis of investment alone this leaves options very limited. Also, the naturalization process requires showing income tax returns in Bulgaria, if that is your ultimate intention.

[lifedreamer]

@anonymous69

But what happens if your timeline is:

1. Apply for PT citizenship
2. Apply for Bulgarian PR (PT still pending)
3. PT citizenship granted - at this point does Bulgaria cancel your PR? Or you can keep it since already granted?

You can apply for Bulgarian and Portuguese residence permits simultaneously and in any order, and retain both residence cards, that is fine. If you are granted EU citizenship and are a holder of a permanent residence in Bulgaria, you will get to retain that status without any problem. If you were holder of any other temporary status you are required to apply for a long-term residence in Bulgaria within 3 months of becoming an EU citizen.

[AussieInExile (A)]

The practical option is to actually invest double the amount (about one million euros)in Bulgarian stock market.

Can you explain this, why is it better to invest double? What does it give you?

[lifedreamer]

In order to qualify for Bulgarian GV you have to invest 500k in an ETF or an AIF fund in Bulgaria which invests mostly Bulgarian company stocks or corporate bonds. The ETF is traded like a stock but an AIF is a mutual fund which has units that can be subscribed or redeemed off market.

There are very few ETFs that qualify for GV and their float is very low. An example is the Expat Bulgaria SOFIX ETF which is one of the largest out there. The whole outstanding shares are 9 million euros (they were 2 million six months ago), this means when you place an order you will probably own %5 of the fund in one go. The volume of shares traded is 1000 so your order will shoot up the volume significantly and undoubtedly raise the unit price reflecting the premium. The AIFs would lock your capital and they mostly don’t qualify.

I’m not saying you can’t invest in ETF or AIF but that there will be a premium paid and also high annual fees.

The other option is apply under a different category which is one million euros in Bulgarian stocks and corporate bonds, you simply open a brokerage account fund it and buy into a diverse portfolio in Bulgarian assets including ETFs if you so wish. You can also receive dividends this way.