New live in Portugal: an overview of the Lisbon Web Summit 2022

Lisbon hosted, from 1^st to 4^th of November, the Web Summit, considered the largest technology and innovation convention on the planet, with over 70,000 participants and 900 speakers from around the world.

According to Forbes, it is “the best technology conference on the planet” that has grown to become the biggest European technology conference and the largest tech innovation global marketplace in the world. It is, however, about much more than technology alone: from business and politics to marketing, migration to climate change, media and entertainment, offering the opportunity to discuss solutions to most pressing challenges of the world today.

The 2022 edition was an event full of conferences, side-conferences and network, which allowed all participants to meet key people, investors, potential employers or future partners. It was again a great opportunity to again put Lisbon and Portugal on the spotlight as one of the favourite relocation spots for expats.

A lot of novelties unveiled around the Web Summit, this year. One of which was the launch of the Lisbon Unicorn Factory, which was inaugurated by the Mayor of Lisbon, Carlos Moedas, just a few days before the opening of the Web Summit. The Lisbon Unicorn Factory project follows the model of Paris’ Station F and it will help build up and develop Lisbon’s ecosystem of start-ups. The Mayor of Lisbon vehemently defended that it is of the utmost importance to “bring innovation to cities. Innovation stimulates employment, which promotes well-being.”

The Portuguese Prime Minister found an opportunity during his visit to the event, to point out the importance of the Digital Nomad Visa, stating that these new Residency Programs aim at attracting investment and young international staff. António Costa said, “We have to know how to welcome and to cherish everyone who wishes to live, work or invest in Portugal.”

Portugal has always been largely known as the ideal destination to retire, over the years. However, Portugal turned out to be a most attractive destination for millennials who are initiating their lives and careers. The truth is, Portugal is one of the best choices to simply start or restart regardless of how old you are.

There is a new wave of expats, digital nomads, entrepreneurs, high net-worth individuals settling in Portugal in search of a better quality of life and there are plenty of good reasons for choosing to live in the country, including the excellent climate, friendly people, superb food, delightful cities, and beautiful countryside, not to mention the quality of life, public safety and great services in general. According to SEF - The Immigration and Border Service, the number of foreign citizens living in Portugal is about 7% of the population in 2021.

Portugal is becoming increasingly known for its start-up scene and the increasing success of the Web Summit has been showing that in every edition. Funding to tech start-ups headquarter in the country grew over €180 million in 2021, up from about €1.2 million in 2016, according to the 2021 Portugal Start-up Outlook, which also reports that 1/3 of the founders who established start-ups in Portugal the previous years were foreign citizens.

The most common visa for someone intending to start a new life in Portugal, till this day, was the D7 Visa, which has proven to be the ideal option for those who wish to live in Portugal, showing evidence of having a net regular income that is deemed sufficient to support themselves and their family aggregate in Portugal.

However, Portugal offers other routes if you are looking to relocate to the country. The D3 Visa is the perfect option for highly qualified professionals. There is also the D2 Visa, fit for freelancers and entrepreneurs. The Start-up Visa is a residence visa for entrepreneurs which aims to attract investment, talent and innovation capacity to Portugal.

And the most recent Digital Nomad Visa will allow the holder to legally work remotely from Portugal and, it is presented in two different types, depending on how long the applicant plans to stay in Portugal: Temporary Stay Visa and Residence Visa.

Foreigner citizens don’t struggle to adjust, they just feel as if they´re home in Portugal. It certainly helps that most of the Portuguese population speaks perfect English and are welcoming to expats. After moving to the country, you can apply for tax benefits for up to 10 years and after 5 years of legal residency, you can apply for a European Passport.