Air travel restrictions will be partially relaxed in the coming weeks
Tourism travel likely to resume on more popular routes
In-flight social distancing may mean higher prices
For safety and security choose an AlmaVerde villa holiday
Beliche beach and cliffs, Sagres
Portugal relaxes COVID-19 lock down rules but maintains strict hygiene and social distancing
Why has Portugal not been as badly hit by the pandemic as other European countries?
How has Portugal performed so far?
The law (Decreto Lei no. 39/2008) requiring all holiday rental properties to be licensed for alojamento local (“AL”) has now been in force for nearly six years.
The Portuguese government offer, launched in August 2012, to grant residency to non-EU nationals purchasing property to the value of €500,000 has already delivered a “decisive stimulus” to the property market, to quote a government spokesperson.
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The Portuguese law changed in August 2013 such that all properties being advertised for sale must have a valid Energy Efficiency Certificate. Otherwise owners can be fined from €250 to €3,740, while estate agencies advertising uncertified properties can be fined from €2,500 to €44,890.
EU declares illegal the charging of tolls on formerly free Portuguese motorways
A new A22 toll charging system to be introduced in 2014 to replace the one implemented less than 2 years ago
Portugal has four times more kilometres of motorway per inhabitant than the UK
FT asks why Portugal spent so much money on motorways only to choke off use with unaffordable tolls
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Last August, looking to stimulate its property market as well as its small-to-medium enterprise sector, Portugal introduced a Golden Residency scheme under which a non-EU person can obtain EU residency in return for an investment of €500,000 in property or €1,000,000 in a business.
Continuing its protest against the introduction of the A22 tolls, the Algarve’s Left Bloc is taking to the N125 on 25th July to highlight the many “black spots” and to stress the need for urgent improvements, if the N125 is ever to be a viable toll-free alternative to the A22.
The government will not be introducing the tolls on the four “SCUT” motorways previously scheduled for the 15th of April, reports AFPOP, the Association for Foreign Residents and Property Owners in Portugal. The process is now on hold until the result of the elections in June.
