(Bloomberg) -- Julius Baer Group Ltd. plans to open an office in Lisbon next year as it seeks to tap into the wealth of a growing number of affluent foreigners taking up residence in Portugal.

The Swiss wealth manager wants to have a presence that’s closer to its Portuguese clients and is in the process of getting regulatory approvals, a person familiar with the move said, asking not to be identified because the matter isn’t public. 

Portugal has in recent years become a hotspot for rich foreigners as the Iberian country offered attractive tax breaks and a golden visa program that granted residency to non-European citizens. Though the previous government scrapped some of the incentives last year, many coming from countries such as the US, and Brazil are still taking advantage of those policies.

Also read: Rich Brazilians Moving to Portugal Pull Local Bankers With Them 

The Zurich-based firm will move a team of 14 bankers — led by Jose Maria Cazal-Ribeiro and Goncalo Maleitas Correia — from Madrid to the new Lisbon office, the person said. 

A representative for Julius Baer declined to comment. 

Cazal-Ribeiro and Maleitas Correia were part of a group of private bankers who left Credit Suisse in Portugal in 2019 to join Julius Baer in Madrid. The goal was to “develop and grow” the market in Portugal on a “cross-border basis,” Julius Baer said in a statement the same year.

Portugal’s golden visa program earlier required an investment of as little as €350,000 ($374,400) in local real estate, but now non-EU investors need to buy a stake in a fund that funnels money into property. 

Under the non-habitual resident program, the government previously offered a flat income-tax rate of 20% and 10% levy on pensions for 10 years, but it has stopped accepting new applications this year. But those who applied before 2024 will have those benefits until the 10-year period runs out.

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