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other markets where Portugal has preferential access). gauge of labor costs, average per capita income was $US2,351 in Portugal (1983)--Hong Kong's average per capita income was almost twice that. Many Japanese, US, South Korean and other multina- tionals have recently set up plants in Portugal to benefit from these--and other--advantages.
One: a foreign investor can qualify for a 10-year tax holiday (negotiate it first). Two: there's an influx of skilled labor from France--Portuguese citizens who are being bribed to go home to help solve France's unemployment problem. "Doing business in Portugal" is outside the scope of this monograph. But consider it--especially if you're worried about Hong Kong in 1997.
Political stability
The best guarantee against political instability is the loca- tion of your property. An Algarve property is safer than one in Lisbon--the Algarve is entirely dependent on tourism (foreigners) while demand for property in Lisbon is primarily domestic. Only the most oppressive government would destroy its main foreign exchange-earner--the Algarve. But even a "free enterprise" government might place rent-controls on your Lisbon property....
Though it's only ten years since Salazar's dictatorship was overthrown, it seems unlikely that oppression from the right or left would succeed. Especially after Portugal joins the EEC, any likely instability would be along Greek lines: its current anti- US, pro-Soviet stance...based in Greece's dislike of Turkey. Fortunately, Portugal has no such dispute with any other nation.
Your best "guarantee": the laws of citizenship and residency outlined above are basically 2,000 years old--evidence of rather extreme stability in today's world.
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Why you should act now
As one observer put it: "Portugal is a giant loophole in the UK Nationality Act. Portugal has an "open door": qualify and you're a citizen. Portugal's current nationality laws enable almost anyone to reside in any EEC nation. So Portugal will be pressured by the UK and other EEC members to make residency and citizenship more difficult.
If you act now, you'll be protected by a provision of Roman law that forbids retroactive law: no matter what might happen in the future, if you've secured your status as a resident of
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