Portugal will end its golden visa program for new foreign property buyers
Portugal’s golden visa scheme was introduced in 2012 and allows foreign nationals to obtain residency in Portugal by investing – the most common investment being by purchasing a property normally worth €500,000 or more (depending on the area). According to data from SEF data, Portugal has issued 11,628 golden visas between October 2012 and January 2023. The most common recipients were people from China, Brazil, USA, Turkey, and South Africa.
The announcement took place on February 16th, and follows commentary from António Costa, Portugal’s Prime Minister, made in November stating that the golden visa “already fulfilled the function it had to fulfil and which, at this moment, it is no longer justified to maintain.” The measures will be discussed for a month before being formally ratified at the Council of Ministers on March 16, 2023.
So far there has been no discussion of what will happen with the other Golden Visa routes – like investing in a fund. It’s not known whether these options will also get chopped.
What we are seeing so far is that possible that Portugal is shifting their focus to more economically sound investor visa programs like the HQA Visa. Just weeks ago Portugal held a meeting to officially endorse the HQA Visa Program, with The Minister of Territorial Cohesion, Ana Abrunhosa, signing a Letter of Commitment to attract 50 new entrepreneurs to territories in the interior of the country.
For more information on the Portugal HQA Visa Program visit empoweredstartups.com
Photo by Carlos Machado
