Portugal HQA Visa

Portugal HQA Visa

The Portugal HQA Visa provides an alternative pathway to Portuguese citizenship for high-net-worth individuals and entrepreneurs.

What is the Portugal HQA Visa?

HQA stands for ‘High Quality Activity’. The HQA program is in two parts...
  1. setting up a business in Portugal
  2. making an investment in high-value research and development activities at a Portuguese university

What are the benefits of the Portugal HQA Visa?

  1. Faster application – by law, applications take a maximum of 30 days to process. This leads to a faster journey to citizenship
  2. Lower cost

Lower overall cost
The Portugal HQA Visa costs only €175,000. Alternative Golden Visa routes, such as investing in funds or property, will cost a minimum of €280,000 – this for the low-density rehabilitation real estate investment route.

Low minimum stay
Taking the HQA route means you can enjoy low minimum stay requirements (average of 7 days per year) compared to other Golden Visa options.

Flexibility
There’s no requirement to succeed with your start-up. You can regard your HQA Visa as a largely passive residency-by-investment route.

Establish an EU business presence
The HQA Visa incubation program enables you to establish a track record of doing business in the EU.
Any intellectual property generated can be patented and will become an asset.

No-risk refund policy
In the unlikely event of your HQA application being refused, your entire investment will be refunded.

How does the Portugal HQA Visa compare to alternatives?

Compared to a D7 Visa
The D7 Visa is ideal for those who want to move full-time to Portugal. For retirees, it’s the simplest option, with its low passive income requirements. However, with the D7 scheme, there are clear requirements to become a Portugal tax resident and to stay at least 183 days in the country. Not so with the HQA option, where all that’s demanded is that you spend seven days a year in the country.

Compared to the Golden Visa
The Golden Visa provides flexibility in terms of residency but does require a significant investment in the country, either via investment in funds or through buying a property – each of which might demand a greater investment than you can afford.

However, the HQA route involves a one-off, refundable fee of €175,000 along with the potential to make significant returns on your investment through making a success of your start-up.

Will the Portugal HQA Visa suit my circumstances?

If you’re a high net-worth individual with an entrepreneurial mindset, then the answer is a definite ‘yes’ - if you...

  • have a successful business and want to expand into Europe or
  • you want to launch a research-focused start-up in a country with a strong talent-pool or
  • you have an academic background and want to commercialise your academic research


You have the benefit of a guaranteed refund of your whole investment if your HQA Visa application is unsuccessful. But keep in mind – to achieve a return on your investment will require you to put your own time and effort into the enterprise.

An attractive route towards Portuguese citizenship

The Portugal HQA Visa is an appealing way to start your path towards Portuguese citizenship. It’s just as flexible as a Golden Visa but requires a much lower investment threshold.


For more support and information on whether to opt for an HQA Visa as your preferred pathway towards acquiring a Golden Visa – get in touch. We are here to help!


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