Postcard from... Lisbon, Portugal

Portugal’s ‘golden visa’ was born in October 2012, when the government, anxious to attract investment, started a programme offering residence permits to the well-off. It allows citizens from countries outside the European Union who invest in Portugal to obtain a Portuguese residence permit and later citizenship.

The investment can be a capital transfer of €1 million or the creation of 10 jobs or the purchase of property worth more than €500,000.

Visa holders need only spend seven consecutive days a year in Portugal in the first year and 14 days in subsequent two-year periods. They are able to keep their main residence in another country, travel within the 26 states of the EU’s Schengen Area and bring their family to live with them.