Portugal to stop issuing golden visas

The Portuguese government will no longer issue golden visas, Prime Minister António Costa has announced. These visas were granted in exchange for investment in real estate or the country’s economy, and they allowed, over time, to obtain Portuguese citizenship and a passport.

Mr. Costa announced this decision after yesterday, February 16, a meeting of the Council of Ministers on housing issues, the newspaper reports. publico. Already issued “golden visas” will be extended only if the investment is aimed at permanent housing of the investor “or his descendants”, or if the property will be rented out for a long time, the prime minister said.

Between October 2012 and January 2023, Portugal issued more than 11.6 thousand residence permits under the golden visa program. Thanks to this, it was possible to attract investments worth more than €6 billion into the country. Most of these visas were received by citizens of China (5258), Brazil (1178) and the United States (558). After the start of the Russian military operation in Ukraine, Portugal refused to all citizens of the Russian Federation in the issuance of “golden visas”.

In January Bloomberg reportedthat foreigners provoked a record rise in house prices in Portugal. In 2022, house prices in the country rose by 18.7%, the highest annual increase in more than 30 years.

Laura Keffer