I'm not ready to move to Portugal yet whilst my dog is still alive, she's 13yo. I live in Australia. However, I'm hoping to visit Portugal to buy a property, possibly in the Algarve and nearish to Faro airport in preparation to one day living there. Can I do this before obtaining my D7 visa?
Can I buy property in PT before obtaining D7 visa?
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3930
Hi Sara, Welcome 
Under the Schengen Convention, Australian citizens intending to travel to any Schengen country*, for a holiday or business, are authorised to stay in the Schengen zone for a maximum total of 90 days, without a visa, during any six month period.
After spending 90 days in the Schengen countries, travellers are required to remain out of the Schengen area for a period of at least 180 days before they can re-enter.
* Countries part of the Schengen Convention: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovak Republic, Sweden, Switzerland and Spain)
Kind Regards
6
That doesn't answer if she can buy property. I have the same question. Can I own residential property if not a resident, are there extra taxes if you do that, and can I then rent it out?
3930
Hi Dori,
My previous post partially answered the question asked by Sara, indeed... Please read this:
Who can buy a house in Portugal ?
(Post #10)
Yes, you can rent if you wish. You must also have a bank account, but this is part of the requirements for obtaining your residence visa. Taxes payable will be on the rental income from your property, as with any taxpayer in Portugal, Portuguese or not.
Best Regards
6
Thanks, that is very helpful. Where I live , there are extra taxes for homes owned by non residents. I assume that does not apply there, at least yet? They added these taxes to stop foreigners from buying property and driving up real estate values
9
Thank you for your replies. I do have a NIF and have opened a bank account with NovoBanco (contra360 account they gave me). So to clarify I can purchase a property anywhere in PT (not going the GV route), rent it out and then eventually move there under a D7 visa? I intend to buy under an allowed 3 month visit. Dori raised a good point: will I be penalised for further taxes either or both when purchasing property and in rental income?
3930
In Portugal, taxes are the same for Portuguese and non-Portuguese. There are no extra taxes for non residents. What does exist is price inflation in some cities, due to several reasons, one of which has to do precisely with the demand for buying houses by foreign citizens. This happens in some areas of Lisbon, Porto and Algarve. But if you move away from these locations, prices go down considerably.
There are also restrictions regarding some locations on buying homes to have access to golden visas, due to this price inflation.
You can buy to rent. But I suggest you use a company that manages these rentals. They charge a fee, but this way you are guaranteed that everything is OK while you are away from Portugal.
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