en 
The golden visa was first introduced to Portugal 10 years
ago, and has since allowed for the entry of 30,000 people, including applicants
and family members, who invested around €6.6 billion in Portugal according to a
report by Diário de Notícias.
The vast majority of the applicants came in through the
purchase of properties and only 22 of these immigrants created jobs, another
objective. The program has come under criticism, such as causing the cost of
housing to rise and being abused.
"There are programmes that we are re-evaluating and one
of them is the golden visa, which, probably, has already fulfilled the function
it had to fulfil and which, at the moment, is no longer justified to
maintain", António Costa told journalists at the end of a visit to the Web Summit.
While he did not give dates for the end of the golden visa,
he underlined that it was being evaluated. "We are evaluating whether
golden visas make sense, but there are other [regimes] that continue to make
sense." He gave as an example of, Regressar, a financial support programme
for emigrants who want to return to the country. He also mentioned the
initiative to attract digital nomads, who can have a temporary stay visa.
Opposition to the
visa
The Left Bloc is one of the parties that has defended the
end of the Residence Permits for Investment (ARI). It considers that it
contributes to the increase in the cost of housing and makes "our country
an accomplice in international corruption" or "money
laundering". Catarina Martins has challenged the PS to approve the party's
proposal to end golden visas within the scope of the State Budget (OE)
discussion. PCP and PAN also presented proposals in this regard. Livre also agrees
with the end of these visas.
The PSD wants to know the Government's intentions and participate in the discussion, while Chega is against the end of the programme. The Liberal Initiative, on the other hand, admits the "elimination in the context of a review of the investment attraction policy". Also because, they note, "most of the investors adhering to the program come from autocratic countries like China and Russia". It's true for the number of Chinese, who make up 5194 of these visas, but Russians aren't even part of the top five anymore according to DN figures.
Between October 2012 (start of the program) and September
2022 (last month counted), 11,180 foreigners obtained a golden visa (ARI), to
which 18,368 family members joined, totalling 29,548 according to data from the
Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF). Most were attributed to Chinese (5,194),
followed by those from Brazil (1,137), Turkey (530), USA (483) and South Africa
(474).
Almost 90% of the €6.6 billion invested in the country (€5.9
billion) went into real estate.
In 2022, the monthly average of golden visas granted was
100. The year in which the most investors benefited from the programme was 2014
(1,526), 2015 with (1,414) and 2018 with (1,409).
Changing the rules
The rules for granting golden visas changed on 1 January. Now
they only cover properties acquired in the interior of the country, in Madeira
and in the Azores. The minimum capital invested changed from one million to 1.5
million euros. The amount for funds and for opening companies with a view to
job creation increased from 350 thousand to 500 thousand euros.
On October 30, new immigration rules came into force, which
facilitate the entry of certain groups of citizens. Among these, digital
nomads, who are now granted a temporary stay visa. Those from
Portuguese-speaking countries also have simplified access to a residence
permit.
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The overall and constant embarrassment reference the level(s) of leadership, political intelligence, or lack of, and blatant misrepresentation of the truth, is once more evident here. Our PM, really does not know nor understands what he is talking about. These Passport purchases and Tax Regimes have done nothing but ‘plunder’ from the Locals, our History, our Culture to mention but a very few aggressive results thus far.
By Miguel from Lisbon on 04 Nov 2022, 11:48
Time to stop the golden visa easy access to Portugal. Figures show the majority of entrants don't create work but use the infrastructure and utilities, providing another safe haven for money launderers and other crooks.
By DAvid Clark from Algarve on 04 Nov 2022, 11:52
As someone who is here on a Golden Visa and has been living here for 4+ years, I can certainly understand both points of views stated above. That said, one cannot make a blanket statement that all Golden Visa holders are either destroying the Portuguese culture or money launderers. According to the stats there are roughly 12000 GV holders with about 18000 family reunification. At the same time the majority do not live here in Portugal. I have a hard time believing that this small number is damaging the Portuguese culture or economy or increase crime. These issues can also be exacerbated by those holding D7 visas.
In my opinion, there needs to be to fix the shortfalls of the program with tighter background checks, prioritizing those who live and integrate into the Portuguese society, spending money in Portugal, learning the language etc as well as increasing the minimum stay required in a Portugal.
By FR from Lisbon on 07 Nov 2022, 07:33
My husband (76) and I (65) have just put our home in San Francisco up for sale this weekend and have, for the last 6 months, been seriously considering moving to the Braga region -- we are both published authors (business books and an academic book on medieval history in major univ libraries around the world). We are TERRIFIED of the rise of racism, fascism, intolerance on our country. We have visited Portugal and found it very much to our liking -- we are learning Portugese, are professionals with advanced degrees (I still work full time at age 65 and can work remotely). In the mid-1990s, I lived in one of Europe's capital cities while I earned my Masters degree.
As one who has lived all her life in a city that saw "the world come rushing in" -- first during the Gold Rush starting in 1849 and then during the "high tech rush of the last 25 years or so -- I fully appreciate all the concerns that the Portugese have -- esp about "rich incomers" pushing housing costs to levels that the Portugese can't afford.
I can only say that our goal is not to plunder and pillage or as "ugly Americans" who think everyone should "do as we do." (We will not eat fast food, etc).
We want to live in peace, harmony in a culture that is not obsessed with marketing and consumerism, that values and protects its beautiful natural environment, and has a peaceful, tolerant population.
We are not rich, are not oligarchs, are not money-laundering, have no criminal records -- sadly, we are, crazy as this sounds, seeking refuge from America and Trumpsterism.
By Stoirin from USA on 07 Nov 2022, 18:22