Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa November 2014 | Page 56

FOREX

BY andrew rissik

EU Citizenship
Through Investment

Avoiding the pitfalls

T

he opportunity to acquire European residency
by investment has attracted significant interest
from South Africans, particularly from those
looking to provide opportunities for their children to
live and work in Europe.
Popular Portugal
By far the most popular method of obtaining European
Union (EU) residency is to acquire a property in
Portugal to the value of at least €500,000. Any
property over €500,000 will qualify but, the challenge
is to find property that displays sound investment
credentials and many South Africans have gone down
this road only to find themselves lumbered with a bad
investment.
The opportunity to travel freely, work and live
within the EU is a huge motivator and the temptation
to purchase a property in haste is very real. While
homebuyers do have a high degree of protection under
Portuguese law, there is still the danger of being taken
for a ride by unscrupulous builders, intermediaries and
vendors.
Buyer beware
One law in particular is the law of subrogation. It states
that all property debts - including local tax, mortgages,
and community charges – are part of the property and
are passed on to you as the buyer. As a foreigner with
no local knowledge it is all too easy to get lumped with
someone else’s debt, which is why it is so important to
go through the right channels.
It is possible to check this information at the local
land registry but, it is advisable to employ an English56

November 2014 SA Real Estate Investor

speaking lawyer that is familiar with Portuguese law
to look into this for you. Your lawyer will be able to
obtain a certificate detailing any debt attached to the
property in question. It is worth noting that while this
information is reasonably accurate, the system is not
foolproof. It is crucial to make sure that you are dealing
with reputable people on the ground.
Double expertise
Pam Golding Properties in partnership with the Sable
Group have tailored a citizenship-by-investment
package which will help you navigate your way to
Portuguese citizenship and take advantage of your
yearly offshore allowance to move your funds abroad.
Our primary concern at Sable is to help our EU
nationality clients attain citizenship through our
Golden Visa programme. Pam Golding understands
the property market in Portugal and the need to engage
reputable local professionals to source correctly priced
property, so our clients are not duped into buying
homes where the value has been artificially inflated to
meet the magic €500,000 mark. It is also important
each property our clients invest in is able to generate
reasonable rental returns if they elect not to move to
Portugal. The investment properties are also sourced in
mature, sought-after areas, ensuring an easy exit after
seven years.
We are confident that this conservative approach
will help our clients achieve their primary stated goal:
to obtain EU residency at the least possible cost.

RESOURCES
Sable Forex
www.reimag.co.za