Open a Portuguese bank account remotely, with custody for Golden Visa funds

How does custody work for a Golden Visa fund investment?

A Golden Visa fund investment needs a custody account in your name to hold the fund units, and this account combines that custody account with a current account and a Portuguese IBAN. You move the money and hold the investment in one place, and the bank confirms the investment in writing for your Golden Visa file.

What custody means, in plain terms

When you invest in a Golden Visa fund, you don't end up with cash in an account. You end up with fund units. Units are securities, and securities have to sit in a custody account in your name, held by a bank that's allowed to look after them.

A normal current account can't hold units. A custody account on its own can't receive a wire or pay a bill. This account does both jobs: a custody account for your fund units, and a current account with a Portuguese IBAN for your euros.

How the money moves

1. We open the account. You'll need a Portuguese NIF first. If you don't have one, we can get it for you.
2. You send your investment from your home bank, in euros. Convert before you send. Money that arrives in another currency is converted at a 0.60% spread, which is about €3,000 on €500,000.
3. You subscribe to your fund from the account. The euros leave the current account and go to the fund.
4. Your units land in your custody account. They're registered in your name at a Portuguese bank, which is what the Golden Visa application needs to see.
5. The bank confirms your investment in writing. It issues the declaration for your Golden Visa file: €75 plus VAT within 3 working days, or €200 plus VAT for next day.
6. You pay your AIMA fees from the same IBAN. No second Portuguese account needed.

Things investors ask us early

“Do I need the full €500,000 in place before opening?” No. Open the account first and move the money when you're ready. While your assets with the bank are under €100,000, it charges an account fee of about €130 a quarter. Once your units are registered, you're over that line and the fee stops.

“Am I tied to one fund manager?” No. The account works with any fund registered with the CMVM, Portugal's securities regulator. We don't choose your fund and we don't give investment advice.

“Does every fund need this?” It depends on the fund. Some funds take your money from abroad straight into their own client account. Others will only accept a transfer from a Portuguese account in your name. Ask your fund how it takes the money before you decide. If yours takes it directly and holds the units for you, you may not need this account at all.

“I'm a US citizen. Is that a problem?” Some Portuguese banks won't hold fund units for US persons, because of US tax reporting rules. This bank does, and we've opened accounts here for US Golden Visa clients. Those same rules stop US persons trading stocks and bonds through the account, which doesn't affect a fund investment.

Why we moved our Golden Visa clients here

Confession: we used to send Golden Visa clients to one of Portugal's big retail banks. On one US case it turned into round after round of extra document requests, and the account opening dragged on while the client waited.

We stopped. Every Golden Visa client of ours now opens this account, whatever their nationality. The bank specialises in investment clients and knows what a Golden Visa file needs from it.

Can a non-resident open a Portuguese bank account without moving?

Yes. This account is opened from abroad and doesn't need you to be resident in Portugal, so property buyers and others who are staying where they are can still have a Portuguese IBAN.

You're buying a flat in Lisbon or a house in the Algarve, and you're staying where you are. Or you need euros in Portugal for another reason, and the retail banks want you resident here first, or in a branch to sign. You can use the account to:

• pay the deposit and the deed in euros from a Portuguese IBAN
• set up direct debits for IMI, water, electricity and condominium fees
• receive rent in euros if you let the property out

Two honest points before you order.

The bank charges about €130 a quarter while your assets with it are under €100,000. For a property buyer who keeps a small working balance, that's around €520 a year. A retail bank is usually cheaper to run once you're eligible for one.

And you'll need a Portuguese NIF first, the same as for anything else here.

How does the account opening work, step by step?

There are five stages, and you do them all from home: getting started, the bank's portal, the bank's review, certification, then signature and activation. These are the same five stages we use in every update on your order. Around 2 to 3 weeks on a complete file.

1. Getting started

You order and fill in a short form. We introduce you to the bank, which runs a quick pre-check, usually within a few days. It asks for a few basic details, including a phone number for its security text messages.

At the same time, you upload your documents to our secure portal and we check them before the bank sees them. If anything needs fixing or translating, you hear it from us now rather than from the bank weeks later.

2. The bank's portal

Once your documents are ready, the bank sends you its own secure link and PIN. You answer its questions about your work, your income and where your money comes from, and upload your documents there. These questions are about you, so you answer them yourself.

3. The bank reviews your documents

The bank checks your set and may ask follow-up questions in its portal. You answer them there and upload a new version if it asks for one. A request on the first round is normal.

4. Certification

Our partner lawyer certifies your approved documents in Portugal and we send the certified set to the bank in Lisbon.

“The bank's portal says my documents need certifying. Do I have to do that?” No. That list is for us. Our partner lawyer certifies them from your scans, and there's nothing for you to post.

5. Signature and activation

You download the bank's account documents from its portal, initial every page, sign the last one and upload them back. Signing on a tablet is fine, so there's nothing to print. Your signature has to match the one on your passport, with no corrections. The bank then runs a final check and activates your account.

Translations and complicated source-of-funds questions add time.

Joint accounts open in two steps. The first holder's account opens online, as above. The second holder is then added on paper: they post the bank's original forms to Lisbon, and that takes about two weeks more.

What does the account cost to open and run?

Our fee is €500 for one holder or €600 for a joint account. The bank charges about €130 a quarter while your assets with it are under €100,000, and nothing once you're over. Golden Visa investors pay custody on their fund units instead.

The bank also charges a transaction fee when you subscribe to a fund, set out in its price list.

VAT on our fee depends on your billing address. Billing addresses outside the EU pay no VAT. Use the billing address that matches your card.

Two worked examples for one holder

• Golden Visa investor, €500,000 in a fund: €500 to us, then about €154 a quarter in custody fees once the units are in. The account fee stops once your assets pass €100,000.
• Visa applicant with less than €100,000 in the account: €500 to us, plus about €520 a year in the bank's account fee.

The account fee runs on calendar quarters, and the first quarter is charged in full. Opening late in a quarter means paying a whole quarter for a few weeks. Don't let that hold up a visa request. A month lost on your appointment costs more.

What else do people ask about this account?