The concepts
The Golden Visa is related to the legal residency, provided in the Law nr. 23/2007, of the 4th of July, which provides for the Legal Regime for the Entry, Stay, Exit and Expulsion of Foreigners. It is a residence by investment program, which came into force in Portugal in October 2012. It provides applicants with temporary residence permits and enables them to live and work in Portugal, with minimum stay requirements of only 7 or more days, in the first year, and 14 or more days, in the subsequent years. It can be requested by non-EU nationals and grants the right to legal residency in Portugal.
The non-habitual resident status (NHR) is related to tax residency. It is a tax regime introduced in 2009 in the Personal Income Tax Code (CIRS). It provides special tax rates and rules for qualifying individuals (the main requirements being having Portuguese tax residency and not having been tax resident in Portugal in the preceding 5 years). The NHR status can be requested by both EU and non-EU nationals who have their tax residency in Portugal.
The benefits
The main benefit of the Golden Visa pertains to the freedom of circulation of persons in the Schengen area, by having a Portuguese residency, without necessarily having to move permanently to Portugal. In addition, many applicants expect to have the possibility to request Portuguese citizenship later on, provided certain requirements are met.
The benefits of the NHR status depend on the type and source of income. Qualifying income may be subject to a 20% flat rate for 10 years. In addition, depending on the double taxation treaty in force and the source of income, the income obtained abroad is possibly exempt if it is taxed in the source State or if it is considered not obtained in Portugal.
The (dis)connection
Notwithstanding the fact that a Golden Visa holder may be eligible to benefit from the NHR status, it is not a direct consequence.
Indeed, a Golden Visa holder usually takes advantage of the duration of stay requirement flexibility, which is different from the other residence permits, i.e. very short mandatory stay periods. In this sense, a Golden Visa holder has a Portuguese residence permit that grants the right not only to reside in Portugal but also the benefit to circulate freely in the Schengen area, but is not, as a result, automatically tax resident.
The NHR status can only be required if the person is a tax resident. A person is considered to be a tax resident if they have a permanent place of residence in Portugal or remain for, at least, 183 days in any given period of 365 days.
The NHR status is meant for both EU and non-EU nationals who are tax resident in Portugal. On the other hand, a Golden Visa holder may not necessarily be interested in becoming a tax resident in Portugal, but can opt for this tax regime and accumulate both situations, should they decide to become tax resident.