Embassy of the United States Lisbon, Portugal

Investing in Portugal

This section provides information for current and potential investors in Portugal.

Potential investors: Getting Started. 

If you are considering investment in Portugal, here are some steps you may wish to consider as you get started:

• Register with the U.S. Embassy – If you are planning a visit to consider investment, let us know by sending an email to the contact addresses on this page.
• Visit host country resources, such as the Portuguese Trade and Investment Agency (AICEP)
• Contact local U.S. business support organizations, such as the American Chamber of Commerce Portugal 
• Subscribe to our embassy Facebook page

Current investors: Staying Connected.

If you are a current U.S. investor in Portugal, the U.S Embassy wants to stay in touch. Here are a few steps you can take to keep the channels of communication open:

• Register with the U.S. Embassy – If you are active in Portugal, let us know by sending an email to the contact addresses on this page.
• Add us to your mailing lists – we are always happy to stay informed
• Subscribe to our embassy Facebook page
• Set up a meeting with our economic or commercial team to discuss any issues that arise

Working in Portugal

In this section you will find information on business visas, travel advisories, and anti-corruption tools.

Business Visas

In most cases, Portuguese citizens who wish to travel to the United States for business or tourism and will stay less than ninety days do not require a visa under the Visa Waiver Program. Under this program, a visa is not required for most tourist and business visits of 90 days or less, provided that you are a citizen of one of the following countries: PORTUGAL, Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, San Marino, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, or the United Kingdom.
Regular Portuguese passports issued after January 1, 2001 or later comply with all Visa Waiver Program requirements.

Travel Advisories

Make sure to check the current State Department travel advisory webpage for any advisories regarding Portugal and visit the U.S. Citizens Service Page of the Embassy website.

FCPA

The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) is an important anti-corruption tool designed to discourage corrupt business practices in favor of free and fair markets. The FCPA prohibits promising, offering, giving or authorizing giving anything of value to a foreign government official where the purpose is to obtain or retain business. These prohibitions apply to U.S. persons, both individuals and companies, and companies that are listed on U.S. exchanges. The statute also requires companies publicly traded in the U.S. to keep accurate books and records and implement appropriate internal controls.

More information on the FCPA can be found here:  http://www.fcpa.us/

A party to a transaction seeking to know whether a proposed course of conduct would violate the FCPA can take advantage of the opinion procedure established by the statue. Within 30 days of receiving a description of a proposed course of conduct in writing, the Attorney General will provide the party with a written opinion on whether the proposed conduct would violate the FCPA. Not only do opinions provide the requesting party with a rebuttable presumption that the conduct does not violate the FCPA, but DOJ publishes past opinions which can provide guidance for other companies facing similar situations.

More information on the DOJ opinion procedure can be found here: http://www.morganlewis.com/documents/fcpa/FCPAOpinionProcedureReleases.pdf