Cape Verde Real Estate Index

The €80 000 and €120 000 thresholds, renewal, tax exemptions, how to apply at the Casa do Cidadão, and why residence is not citizenship.

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16 February 2026 · 4 min read

Cape Verde Green Card: residence for property buyers

Residency Investment Green Card

Cape Verde's Green Card is a residence status for foreigners who buy a home there. It was created by a 2018 law on holders of a second residence.[1]

How much you need to invest

The law sets two minimum property investments, €80 000 and €120 000. Which one applies depends on the GDP per head of the municipality where the home is, with a rule by island where that figure is missing.[1] So the same budget can qualify in one town and not in the next. Ask your lawyer which threshold applies to the property you have in mind before you make an offer.

What it gives you

  • Residence in Cape Verde, renewed every five years, and every ten years from the second renewal.[1]
  • An exemption from IUP, the former property tax, and from IRPS, the personal income tax, on the terms of the law.[1] Since 2026 IPI has replaced IUP, and references to the IUP rules now point to the IPI code.[4] The transfer tax code keeps benefits set in special laws.[3] How this applies to your purchase is for your lawyer to confirm.

How to apply

Applications go to the Casa do Cidadão, which serves as the Green Card desk. The Directorate of Foreigners and Borders decides within fifteen days of receiving the documents the regulation lists.[2]

Residence is not citizenship

A Green Card is a residence status. Naturalisation is a separate process and needs, among other conditions, at least five years of legal residence in Cape Verde.[5] Tax residence is a third question again.

Before you buy

  • Confirm the threshold for the property's municipality.
  • Confirm that the property and its use qualify.
  • Ask for the list of documents and the current fees.

Browse homes for sale by island and price.[6]

Last updated 17 October 2026.

Sources

  1. Lei n.º 30/IX/2018 — estatuto diferenciado do titular de segunda residência (Green Card) — Assembleia Nacional de Cabo Verde. Boletim Oficial, I Série, n.º 23, 23 de abril de 2018, p. 539. Historical document; confirm current amendments and applicability with a qualified adviser. Official document (Legislation; accessed 19 June 2026).
  2. Decreto-Regulamentar n.º 1/2020 — Balcão Único Green Card e tramitação do pedido — Conselho de Ministros de Cabo Verde. Boletim Oficial, I Série, n.º 2, 7 de janeiro de 2020. Historical document; confirm current amendments and applicability with a qualified adviser. Official document (Legislation; accessed 19 June 2026).
  3. Lei n.º 54/X/2025 — Código do Imposto sobre a Transmissão de Imóveis (ITI) — Assembleia Nacional de Cabo Verde. Boletim Oficial, I Série, n.º 46, 6 de junho de 2025. Historical document; confirm current amendments and applicability with a qualified adviser. Official document (Legislation; accessed 19 June 2026).
  4. Lei n.º 55/X/2025 — Código do Imposto sobre a Propriedade de Imóveis (IPI) — Assembleia Nacional de Cabo Verde. Boletim Oficial, I Série, n.º 46, 6 de junho de 2025. Historical document; confirm current amendments and applicability with a qualified adviser. Official document (Legislation; accessed 19 June 2026).
  5. Lei n.º 33/X/2023 — condições de atribuição, aquisição, perda e reaquisição da nacionalidade cabo-verdiana — Assembleia Nacional de Cabo Verde. Boletim Oficial, I Série, n.º 89, 22 de agosto de 2023. Historical document; confirm current amendments and applicability with a qualified adviser. Official document (Legislation; accessed 19 June 2026).
  6. Cape Verde Real Estate Index — live listings — Qojo. monitored asking-price listings from tracked public sources; not transaction prices, valuations, or independently verified records. Qojo (Qojo dataset; accessed 19 June 2026).