The scheme offers beneficial tax rates for up to 10 years for successful applicants, including a 10% flat tax rate on Portuguese-source employment income and exemption from capital gains tax, as well as 0% tax on foreign income. It was introduced in 2009 and was designed to attract wealthy investors to Portugal.

Over 72,000 non-residents are registered for the reduced rate tax scheme, but it has been criticised for driving property prices out of the reach of locals.

As a consequence, the government announced that no new applications would be taken after 31 December 2023.