We are a Portuguese Law Firm focused on foreign clients and investment attraction to Portugal. Our immigration department is led by a Lawyer enrolled in the Portuguese Bar Association for over 20 years and our team is composed by lawyers, solicitors and paralegals, responsible for several hundreds of Portuguese Visa and citizenship applications.

And, because we are lawyers, we are forbidden, by the Portuguese Bar Association Statutory regulations, to partner and/or to receive any kind of payment/compensation/commission from any funds. This way, you can be sure that we will always and solely defend your own interests, instead of leading you into a specific product, fund or company investment.

Many companies advertise Golden Visa advisory, making you believe that their business is the Golden Visa application assistance. Unfortunately, that is not true. Their main goal is to lead you to invest in a specific investment product/fund, that will be paying a commission/referral.

Some investment funds – mostly linked to the Real Estate business – will offer you, free of charge, the legal assistance on the Golden Visa application. However, you will be assisted by professionals paid the own investment fund. And, let’s say, their exemption and independence is, at least, at risk. The professional paid by the fund will be the professional assisting you in, for instance, due diligence and/or compliance acts. So, the said professional/expert in Golden Visa applications will be performing acts of due diligence, in your name, about a fund that is paying for their services. At least, there is a conflict of interests.

That is why we strongly recommend that you hire a Portuguese Lawyer or Solicitor. These are the only professionals that are legally bound to defend the interests of the person that hires them (and is paying for their work).

That is why you should always suspect of someone that is offering a “visa-in-hand” solution, because, in our opinion, there is a incompatibility between defending your interests and offering a solution that has a product/property involved.

Portuguese Lawyers or Solicitors are legally forbidden to advise/recommend any kind of product/investment.

Did you know that there are renowned Real Estate Agencies that advertise the same property – at different prices – in their US and Portuguese listings? The price at the US website is 30% higher than in the Portuguese listing.

That is why we also help in the negotiations. We can present ourselves before the seller/agent and not reveal the identity/nationality of the potential buyer. This way the foreign citizen will be safe from potential speculation in price due to their country of origin. Also, if both the seller and the agent aren’t aware of the primary goal of the acquisition (eligibility for Golden Visa), they will ignore the financial availability of the potential buyer, making it easier to bargain the asked price.

That is why we cover the following services:

Real Estate Investments:

• Our paralegals will visit the properties at different hours and, if desired, make a videoconference with you from the property;
 
• Perform acts of due diligence to ensure the property is in conditions of being sold/bought, free of onus or pending costs.
 
• Assistance in the negotiations until signing the first commitment agreement and/or the promissory sale and purchase agreement;
 
• Analysis of all documentation pertaining to the property, and accessing of all relevant entries in the Land Registry, Tax Authority and/or the local municipal council;
 
• Receipt and holding of funds in the law firm clients/escrow account (if required);
 
• Drafting (or reviewing) of the promissory purchase and sale agreement;
 
• Drafting (or reviewing) of the final purchase and sale deed;
 
• Registration of acquisition of the property title deed at the Land Registry Office and at the local Tax Office;
 
• Acting on behalf of the owner, with the various utility companies —electricity, gas, water, telephone, cable, etc.;
 
• Acting as depository of all the documents regarding the property own by the client;
 
• Due-diligence on investment funds linked to real estate:Fund solvability in the present
  
  • Fund solvability in the present
   
  • Analysis of the contracts;
   
  • Verification of both the surface right and of the binding clause to the entity chosen to explore the property;
   
  • Review of the mandatory buyback clause;
   
  • Analysis of the fund future solvability to comply with the buyback clause;
   
  • General acts of compliance.

Contact us to learn more about the services we can provide.