By Ebi Kesiena
Over a hundred Nigerians hoping to benefit from Portugal’s proposed 10-year tax exemption on foreign income will now have to wait longer, as lawmakers postponed the final parliamentary vote on the reforms for the second time this year, shifting it from September to October.
Fresh data from Portugal’s Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum AIMA, showed that 44 Nigerians, along with 77 dependants, secured golden visas between 2019 and April 2025. In total, at least 114 Nigerians have obtained golden visas since 2012, with dozens more currently pursuing new applications.
Last June, Portugal’s finance ministry unveiled draft legislation to grant qualifying golden-visa holders under the non-habitual resident (NHR) regime a full tax holiday on overseas income and a flat 20% tax rate on domestic earnings. Nigerians who had invested under the scheme were among those expected to begin reaping the benefits in September.
Originally scheduled for parliamentary approval in July, the legislation was delayed after the centre-right Social Democratic Party (PSD) demanded hearings involving policy experts and immigrant associations. The rescheduled September vote has now been pushed to October to allow lawmakers to address Constitutional Court objections concerning the foreigners’ law.
Alongside the NHR reforms, the government is also advancing a new tax incentive for scientific research and innovation known as Incentivo fiscal à investigação científica e inovação, designed to attract and retain highly skilled professionals in research, investment, and business development. The initiative offers benefits comparable to those of the NHR scheme.
According to AIMA, applications from Nigeria have doubled each year since 2022 as the naira’s steep devaluations make euro-denominated safe havens increasingly appealing.
On a global scale, China leads with over 5,366 golden-visa approvals, followed by Brazil (1,229), the United States – 713.
Over 4,455 persons have applied for the Portugal Golden Visa, with 2,901 applying as family applicants and 1,554 applying as individuals. Although Nigerians rank fifth among African participants, behind South Africa, Angola, Egypt and Morocco, analysts say they will overtake Angola and Egypt once the tax holiday becomes law in October.
The nationality bill under debate would also tighten citizenship rules, extending residence requirements from five years to seven years for citizens of Portuguese-speaking countries and to 10 years for others.
Portugal’s golden-visa scheme, launched in 2012 during the eurozone debt crisis, has raised more than €8bn.
