The country is attracting foreign investors and migrants thanks to its perceived open attitude to foreigners and a low crime rate.
“I wouldn’t dream of doing it back home,” said the Brazilian businessman, who was robbed and assaulted several times while living in São Paulo. “In Lisbon, you don’t have to keep looking over your shoulder.” Says Eduardo Migliorelli decided to move his family to Portugal the evening he discovered he could walk the few hundred meters from a restaurant to his hotel without fear of being attacked.
“Portugal is the most open, tolerant and liberal society I have ever lived in,” said Chitra Stern, a Singaporean of Indian descent who moved to the Algarve in the south of the country in 2001 to look for business opportunities.
Itay Kastel, an Israeli, moved with his family to Portugal in 2016 to expand the property business he had been running for 10 years in Angola. “We’re really happy with our decision. The atmosphere here is embracing and helpful,” he said.
Andy Yacoub, a Londoner, chose Portugal to start a new life with his Mexican wife and young son, obtained Portuguese residence permits for the family within a few weeks and found local banks happy to lend on his existing properties so he could expand his portfolio. “In Portugal, you are welcomed into the community,” he said. “We feel at home here.”
