The Withdrawal Agreement celebrated between the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom (UK) entered into force on the 1st of January 2021.
Henceforth, the British citizens are obliged to deal with immigration restrictions, in accordance with the established rules in force for the non-EU citizens. In this regard, stays longer than 90 (ninety) days in Portugal will require the obtention of a visa, given the fact that the right to freedom movement between EU countries and the UK – guaranteed by article 21 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU – ceases with the so called “Brexit”. This is applicable either in a situation of living in Portugal, as well as working and studying in this country.
Notwithstanding the above, Portugal will remain a “friendly destination” to UK citizens, where it is guaranteed the facilitation of the process of entry and stay in this country, which has been considered year after year one of the best places to live and invest in the EU.
A new residence permit has been created for UK citizens who were already living in Portugal on 31 of December 2020, which has the aim to replace the Certificate of Registration of European Union Citizen (CRUE), previously issued by the City Hall, and to confirm their status as beneficiaries of the abovementioned Withdrawal Agreement. This referred Certificate should be exchanged for the new Residence Permit, which is issued by the Immigration and Border Service (SEF), until the end of June 2021.
As far as UK citizens who come to Portugal as from January 1st 2021 is concerned, it will be mandatory to proceed with the requisition of a residence visa, following the relevant application process, in which is included, amongst others, the residence permit for investment activity, or, as commonly referred to, the “Golden Visa”.
The Portuguese Golden Visa Programme grants UK citizens freedom of movement within the Schengen Area, while continuing to live in the UK. Under the rules of this residence permit, it will be necessary to invest in Portugal – through one of the preestablished routes – and comply to a minimum stay requirement of 14 days, consecutive or non-consecutive, during each residence card period of validity.
Moreover, it is also possible to benefit from family reunification. And once completed five years of the temporary residence permit, all applicants will be eligible for requesting the Portuguese nationality.
It is worth mentioning the fact that, as from January 1st 2022, the Golden Visa regime will suffer changes, such as the acquisition of residential real estate properties being restricted to the designated interior territories of Portugal or the Autonomous Regions (Azores and Madeira) and the increasement of minimum investment for other routes.
For this reason, it is recommendable that the UK citizens who may be interested in applying for the Golden Visa proceed whilst more favourable rules are still in force.
Finally, UK citizens intending to relocate to Portugal may apply for the registration under the Non-Habitual Residents tax regime (NHR), which is a special regime for low taxation or tax exemption of foreign incomes, in specific conditions.
