Are you a Filipino entrepreneur wanting to mix business with pleasure? The 2020 Portugal Golden Visa might be the answer to your dreams. The pandemic might have taken a toll on you and it’s completely understandable. With all the health and socio-economic crisis going on, we all just want to take a break from all of these. Sometimes all we need is to press that reset button and start living the life we want. But is this something achievable? With the Portugal European Golden Visa for Europe, yes it is!

Portugal

Portugal is located in the Southwestern part of Europe with two islands namely the Azores and Madeira. The locals speak Portuguese. The weather doesn’t differ much to our country, though there can be mild winters in the northern part. This place is one of European’s most favorite getaways due to its fantastic weather. Much of the area is surrounded by a coastline favoring the people a scenic view. Do you know what makes this country more enticing? Its main cuisine offers delectable and heavenly seafood goodness. Imagine this paired with a bottle of the best-tasting wines that are aged by the excellent winemakers in the world. If this isn’t the kind of life you’re dreaming of then I don’t know what is.

Porto, Portugal

Cost of living

Portugal offers the lowest cost of living in Western Europe. You can expect a comfortable living for $1,700 a month (for couples) and that already includes rent! Food costs are also affordable and may allow for some free-spending, consuming wines or olive oils regularly can be a privilege as the country offers abundant supply. Other miscellaneous costs including electricity, airconditioning, and heating are expected to run less than a hundred dollars. Overall, you can expect a monthly expense of less than $2,500.

Business Opportunities

I have gathered several ideas for start-ups to refer to and the options listed below so far prove to be the best industries to begin with.

• Tech-related business

People all over the world are shifting to different electronic methods, including buying, service delivery, marketing, and non-personal means of availing/selling services. It is reasonable why tech entrepreneurs are starting to emerge, more apps and software are made available for download and many are adjusting drastically to the e-world.

• Tourism

Although this industry has rested a bit, it’s only about a matter of months before tourism’s going to kick-off and hit a high demand as people will be scrambling to get out of their places once the pandemic starts to lay low. It’s good to include this business venture as part of your long term plans.

Benagil, Algarve, Portugal

• Winery

Since you are in a place home to the finest wines then might as well open your doors to this opportunity! It might sound like it would involve a moderate amount of money to operate one but expect high returns as you could sell the products and its left-overs at a higher price for aging. You could start by producing a small volume and simpler by-products and work your way up. If you’re interested in learning more about this field, Fil-Global can also help you enroll in a college and take the best wine and food courses in Portugal.

Wine aging in barrels.

• Food business

This operates better with the winery business as the two comes inseparably in every dining moment. If you are into cooking/baking or if you have operated your own restaurant here in the Philippines, taking those skills with you and showcasing our own cuisine in Portugal could be a great opportunity for you! The government supports business initiatives by offering help to start-ups. With the right people within reach, there’s no reason to fear failure in this new venture.

TimeOut Market

Requirements

Listed below are the things that you need to get hold of the Portugal Golden Visa. They’re easy to achieve and there are no complicated demands.

• No language exam

There are no tests to prove your capacity to speak the Portugues language, however, it is common sense to at least have a basic knowledge of the country’s primary language to be able to interact effectively with the locals. There are free downloadable applications for this such as Duolingo, Babbel, Memrise, and a whole lot of others. If you wish to read a Portuguese language and culture blog, you may also check out FluentU as they offer quality articles to take your Portuguese language learning to a higher level.

• No show money

You don’t need to provide complicated financial documents, you just need to show that you have the capacity to open up a business. For a thorough discussion on this matter, contact the Fil-Global agents and book a one-on-one consultation.

• Open up any business

Yup! Portugal opens its doors for any businesses - mainstream or not, there is no rule for this as long as you open up one! As for the employment process, entrepreneurs must hire 10 workers of any nationality to stay in your business in Portugal for five years and provide a minimum wage of about €650.