Unlocking Portugal’s golden visa through smart investment opportunities

The quality of life that Portugal provides – its climate, landscapes, lifestyle, culture, services, gastronomy and, until recently, ease of residency and a fixed tax rate of just 20 per cent on real estate purchases – made it the No 1 destination in Europe for high-net-worth (HNW) investors in Hong Kong and throughout Asia.

In early 2022, however, the Portuguese government made changes to the golden visa programme, increasing the minimum investment thresholds and restricting direct or indirect property acquisition for residency applications. However, the regulated investment vehicle route, which had been very popular among financial-savvy Hongkongers, is still available. If there is a lesson to be learned for investors, it is that if you are interested in a European Union passport by investment without the need to relocate, seize the chance because you never know when the door may close.

Yet even in a fast-evolving situation, international demand for luxury homes in Portugal, especially serviced apartments, remains high and opportunities still exist. Ando Living, the leading operator of lifestyle-serviced apartments and clubhouses in Lisbon and Porto, the country’s first and second largest cities, offers a range of attractive options for HNW individuals who want to visit, live part-time, or just invest in Portugal.

Ando Living, Europe’s first serviced apartment brand in the lifestyle sector, was founded in 2019 by William Tonnard, Charles Wanecq and Hakan Kodal. “It was at the beginning of the Airbnb boom in 2008, 2009,” says Tonnard, who then worked at BNP Paribas in Hong Kong and moved to Portugal in 2015 to pursue a career in the real estate sector. “Charles and I were working on a few serviced apartment projects in Lisbon when we met our future partner Hakan, whose extensive expertise in branded residences proved invaluable. We discovered that serviced apartments were the fastest-growing segment in hospitality and decided to scale this business, with a special focus on lifestyle.

“We realised that there were a lot of opportunities in Portugal,” Tonnard explains. “The price of real estate was very low, and tourism had started to pick up. At the same time, you had several attractive government policies in place – from the non-habitual residence fiscal tax to the thawing of frozen rents. What’s more, the liberalisation of the country’s housing market meant that short-term rental activity was regulated and foreign investors were enticed to buy properties in exchange for golden visas that granted residence permits and a fixed tax rate. We were certain that Portugal would grow and develop.”

As did the Ando Living Group, which quickly grew into a real estate development and investment management enterprise offering a 360-degree service for residents and investors alike. Today, the company manages 1,500 units in centrally located buildings with easy access to clubhouses offering state-of-the-art hotel-like amenities, including pools, gym and wellness facilities, and bars and restaurants. In total, the company represents real estate holdings valued at approximately €700 million (US$754.9 million).

“Portugal’s golden visa scheme, which started purely with real estate investing, attracted over 15,000 investors since its launch almost 10 years ago,” says Kodal. “With the introduction of the funds route in 2018, we launched the first golden visa-eligible investment vehicle. Today, we are the golden visa market leader, managing equity in excess of €200 million on behalf of 600 investors from 40 countries.”