LISBON – The government of Portugal had confirmed the abolition of the Golden Visa through two routes earlier but the most sought-after visa can still be availed.
The authorities had abolished two Golden Visa routes as part of the ‘More Housing Program’ under which new residence permits through investment in housing and the option to transfer at least €1.5 million into a Portuguese bank account were no more effective for the Golden Visa.
However, the Golden Visa can still be acquired through different routes by simply investing in Portugal. As per the fresh regulation, there are still four routes of investment for getting residency in the country.
These routes are as follows:
- Investment amounts required for a fund – half a million euros
- A capital investment- €1.5 million
- For Science and Research – half a million euros
- Persons looking to create jobs will be required to invest half a million euros and also guarantee at least five new jobs
Earlier this month, the Government of Portugal suggested making new changes to the Golden Visa Program. The proposal received support from the Assembly of the Portuguese Republic, with votes in favor from the Socialist Party, Bloque de Izquierda, and the Portuguese Communist Party.
The new amendments tweaked the Residency by Investment Schemes of Portugal and effectively banned real estate investment in the residential sector of Porto, Lisbon and Braga; however, the autonomous regions of the Azores and Madeira opposed such proposals, Schengenvisainfo reported.
Besides considering it unilateral, the President of the Government of the Azores, Jose Manuel Bolieiro, condemned Portugal’s decision to terminate new residence permits for investments in housing and claimed that the measures had relevance for the economic ties of the Azores.
“I will not be a commentator on the decisions. What I can say is the position of the Government of the Azores, which was favorable to the continuity of the golden visas and, taking into account their purpose, to express our disagreement and protest for the unilaterality of the decision,” he told Lusa agency.
Authorities in Portugal announced that they would abolish their Golden Visa Scheme, as part of the More Housing Program, on February 16, due to the housing crisis which the country is facing.
Portugal’s Golden Visa scheme, also branded as Residence Permit for Investment (ARI), allowed wealthy foreigners to secure residency in the country if they made a significant financial contribution; however, when it opened the doors to unlawful affairs, authorities decided to scrap the scheme altogether.
Portugal became the second country after Ireland to do away with the Golden Visa scheme despite the fact that Portugal saw a total of 41.9 per cent increase in investments through this programme last year.
Some say that the scheme was scrapped due to a surge in the prices of real estate and housing rents which made it difficult for locals to secure any place.
Meanwhile, authorities in EU countries have repeatedly pressed all European countries that offer Golden Visas to suspend the program.
