GOLDEN VISA Portuguese Residency for Investors

Transcription

1 GOLDEN VISA Portuguese Residency for Investors

2 CONTACTS PORTO Av. da Boavista, Porto, Portugal Tel.: Fax: LISBON Rua de São Caetano, 6, Bloco C Lisboa, Portugal Tel.: Fax: info@bancocarregosa.com This document is of confidential nature and is intended only for information purposes of certain persons. It is forbidden any dissemination, duplication, publication, or any other use of the contents of this message. The information is not intended to be available to any person in the United States or any "U.S. person" (as such terms are defined in the US Securities Act 1933). Any person using this information should comply with the applicable local legislation. The information on this document is exclusively of informative nature and is not intended to constitute a recommendation or a solicitation of any offer to purchase any securities and does not constitutes an offer of securities to the public according to the Prospectus Directive (2003/71/EC) and its implementing laws or rules and may not be used for offer of securities or any solicitation purposes, in the United States or any other country or jurisdiction in which such an offer or solicitation is unlawful, or in respect of any person in relation to whom the making of such an offer or solicitation is unlawful. Any securities referred to in this information it is not and will not be registered under the US Securities Act of 1933, unless specifically mentioned. Page 2/10

3 INDEX 1. QUICK DATA Portugal Background Favorable Investment Environment Portugal Additional Advantages GOLDEN VISA Requirements Evidence of Requirements Validity BANCO CARREGOSA INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES Real Estate Taxes Financial Investments Retail Properties Fund... 8 Page 3/10

4 1. QUICK DATA 1.1 Portugal Background Portugal is a full member of European Union for more than 25 years and is a founding member of the Euro Zone, benefiting from the common currency. Portugal belongs to Schengen: there are no internal border controls for travelling within the European Countries part of the Shengen Agreement (please refer to the attached document for a full list of the Shengen Agreement Countries). 1.2 Favorable Investment Environment With the restructuring of Portuguese economy, there is an intense political effort to attract foreign investment. The credit crunch and the austerity measures imposed by the bailout from the IMF, EU and ECB caused a fall in prices, which is giving rise to a wide range of opportunities. Portugal has a transparent and mature Real Estate market with diversified products and a very strong tourism sector. 1.3 Portugal Additional Advantages No inheritance tax for direct family (descendants and ascendants). Very favorable income tax treatment under a system specifically enacted for high net worth individuals wishing to become non-habitual tax residents in Portugal, benefiting of a tax exemption on foreign sourced income and of a low flat rate for Portuguese employment and self-employment related income. Page 4/10

5 2. GOLDEN VISA In order to attract new foreign investment from nationals outside the Economic European Space, Portugal recently created the so-called Golden Visa, a mechanism allowing nationals of non-eu Member Countries to obtain a residence visa in Portugal for investment purposes. Law 29/2012, published in the Official Gazette on 9 August 2012, amends the Portuguese immigration legislation and creates a special residence card for investors the Golden Visa. On 28 January 2013, the authorities introduced additional changes, making the regime even more flexible. 2.1 Requirements For purposes of obtaining the Golden Visa, the applicant should meet at least one of the following conditions: i) A transfer of capital to Portugal of at least 1,000,000 EUR; ii) Creation of at least 10 new jobs in Portugal; iii) Acquisition of Real Estate in Portugal with the value of, at least, 500,000 EUR. The investment may be carried out by the individual applicant or through a company with its registered head office in Portugal (or through a Portuguese permanent establishment of a company registered in another Member State), provided that it meets one of the above requirements. If done through a company, the amount of the investment will be adjusted according to the percentage of the share capital held by the individual applicant. The requirements should be maintained during a minimum period of 5 years counting from the date the residence permit is issued for the first time. 2.2 Evidence of Requirements Evidence that the requirements are met may be provided as follows: i) Transfer of capital to Portugal a. A statement issued by a financial institution registered in Portugal; b. Updated statement from the Commercial Registry/Portuguese Stock Market Regulator supporting the share capital held by the applicant; c. Statement from Board of Directors and certified financial statements. Page 5/10

6 ii) Creation of 10 new jobs a. Statement issued by the Portuguese Social Security confirming the registration of the employees. iii) Acquisition of Real Estate a. Real Estate registration certificate; b. Promissory contract before the initial application for the Golden Visa, provided that a deposit of a minimum of 500,000 EUR is paid. 2.3 Validity The Golden Visa is valid for one year from the date it is issued and should be applied for at the Portuguese Foreign Services during the 90 days of presence in Portugal. This residence card is renewable for successive periods of 2 years if the investor demonstrates to have stayed in the country for at least: 7 days in the first year, and 14 days in each of the subsequent two years periods. Page 6/10

7 3. BANCO CARREGOSA Banco Carregosa is a private bank headquartered in Porto, where our respected founding family has origins dating back to 1833, even before the Portuguese Central Bank was established. Our client wealth management philosophy is rooted in XIX century traditional values maintained and practiced for almost 200 years in varied environments of international peace or conflict, calm or chaos, social change and status quo. The bank s client roster people from around the globe who have sometimes been with us for generations, appreciate the personal attention and direct access to top management that are a hallmark of an association with Banco Carregosa. Consider a few of the many reasons to establish a link with us: a. We offer much better pricing on world-class financial services than other international private banks; b. Banco Carregosa abides by a clear, court-enforced legal framework; c. As an EU nation, Portugal provides all conveniences in terms of consumer protection, bank corporate governance and client security; d. Government insurance provides up to coverage to each holder of a bank account; e. We provide full banking services, including asset management and investment advisory; f. Our colleagues are fluent in English, French and Portuguese. Banco Caregosa may also provide assistance to Clients applying for the Golden Visa in Portugal, including support to real estate acquisitions and financial investments. Our approach is further developed below. Page 7/10

8 4. INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES 4.1. Real Estate We have established partnerships with real estate companies that cover a portfolio of hundreds of residential and offices properties located mainly on the Lisbon and the Algarve areas. Preference was given to properties priced at EUR or higher so as to meet the Golden Visa requirements. Some of the properties may generate a regular income from rents. Subject to specific approval, the bank is willing to finance the purchase of properties costing higher than 500,000 EUR, based on the following indicative conditions: loan to value of 40%, provided there is a minimum investment of 500,000 EUR; loan term up to 5 years Taxes The acquisition of the right of ownership over a property used for commercial or services activity is subject to:. Municipal Property Transfer Tax (IMT): 6.5% of the value of the property. Stamp Duty (IS): 0.8% of the purchase price. Municipal Property Tax (IMI): 0.3% - 0.5% over the taxable value of property Taxes may be different depending of the kind of investor (individual or corporate) and value of transaction. 4.2 Financial Investments We may deliver tailored solutions that both match your needs precisely and fulfill the requirements of the Golden Visa. The options are immense. In this document we opt to single out just one idea that really captures the current opportunities in the Portuguese market: a real estate fund that generates high returns Retail Properties Fund The Fund's objective is to enable its investors to participate in real estate investments with portfolio diversification. The investments of the Fund is done by holding rental properties in one of the most Page 8/10

9 resilient commercial real estate market segments and within the geographical areas of greater prominence in the country. The Fund promotes property investments through the acquisition and construction of buildings intended for rental. The current environment of the local real estate market (with illiquidity and depressed prices), the significant contraction in the construction sector (relevant excess capacity) in conjunction with restrictions to lending for real estate developments and general lack of financing to food retail operators (amongst other activities), allows access to a relevant set of investment opportunities, with controlled construction costs, returning attractive rental yields (targeted to be above 8.5%) over long periods of time (10 years). The Fund promotes the concentration of investments in rental properties for food retail operators. It is intended to focus on operators with high brand awareness, strong presence in the domestic market, belonging to companies with significant size and sound finances. The property portfolio of the Fund will be concentrated geographically in Portugal, in Lisbon Metropolitan Area and Porto Metropolitan Area. These are the areas where property development returns are higher. The Fund operates with reduced leverage and has a policy of partial income distribution to participants. Being a closed-ended fund, it may be managed with reduced levels of liquidity, benefiting its performance, targeted to be over 6% (net) per year. The Fund also benefits from favorable taxation. Being a closed-end fund raised through public subscription, the Fund has a total exemption of IMT in property transactions - it only pays 0.8% on purchases and IMI on properties held in the Fund. The distribution of income by the Fund, if the holders of units are individual persons, is no subject to taxation. Page 9/10

10 APPENDIX 1 Shengen Agreement Countries Flag State Area (km²) Population [8] Signed or opted in Date of first implementation Austria 83,871 8,414, April December 1997 Belgium 30,528 11,007, June March 1995 Czech Republic 78,866 10,535,811 1 May December 2007 b Denmark (excluding Greenland d and the Faroe Islands d ) 43,094 5,564, December March 2001 Estonia 45,226 1,340,194 1 May December 2007 b Finland 338,145 5,391, December March 2001 France (excluding overseas departments and territories) 674,843 65,821, June March 1995 Germany 357,050 81,799, June March 1995 c Greece 131,990 10,787,690 6 November March 2000 Hungary 93,030 9,979,000 1 May December 2007 b Iceland a 103, , December March 2001 Italy 301,318 60,681, November October 1997 Latvia 64,589 2,245,357 1 May December 2007 b Liechtenstein a , February December 2011 Lithuania 65,303 3,207,060 1 May December 2007 b Luxembourg 2, , June March 1995 Malta ,608 1 May December 2007 b Netherlands (excluding Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten and the Caribbean Netherlands) Norway a (excluding Svalbard e ) 41,526 16,703, June March ,155 4,993, December March 2001 Poland 312,683 38,186,860 1 May December 2007 b Portugal 92,391 10,647, June March 1995 Slovakia 49,037 5,440,078 1 May December 2007 b Slovenia 20,273 2,048,951 1 May December 2007 b Spain (with special provisions for Ceuta and Melilla f ) 506,030 46,030, June March 1995 Sweden 449,964 9,415, December March 2001 Switzerland a 41,285 7,866, October December 2008 a. ^ EFTA states outside the EU that are associated with the Schengen activities of the EU, [4] and where the Schengen rules apply. b. ^ For overland borders and seaports; since 30 March 2008 also for airports. [9] c. ^ East Germany became part of the Federal Republic of Germany, joining Schengen, on 3 October Before this it remained outside the agreement. Despite some media reports, Heligoland is not outside Schengen; it is only outside the European Union Value Added Tax Area. d. ^ Greenland and the Faroe Islands are not included in the Schengen area, although there might be relaxed checks in the Faroe Islands for flights from Scandinavia, thanks to the Nordic Passport Union; thus a passport is still recommended. [10] A Schengen visa issued by a Schengen state will not allow the holder access to either territory, only a Danish visa stamped with either "Valid for the Faroe Islands" or "Valid for Greenland", or both. [11] e. ^ However, Jan Mayen is part of the Schengen Area. [12] f. ^ The full Schengen acquis applies to all Spanish territories, but there are border checks on departure from Ceuta and Melilla to Spain or other Schengen countries, because of specific arrangements for visa exemptions for Moroccan nationals resident in the provinces of Tetuan and Nador. [13] Source: Wikipedia ( Page 10/10