Interest in Portugal’s Golden Visa program remains high, especially among Brazilian and North American nationals, despite the real estate investment option being removed from the scheme.
Additionally, since the beginning of this year, there has been a four-fold increase in valid enquiries from people interested in the Golden Visa programme compared to the same period last year, Schengen News reports.
Presenting these estimates, Gustavo Caiubi, managing partner at Heed Capital, told Correio Brasiliense that demand was mainly coming from senior managers and their families, as well as retirees.
Many people want to understand what really happened to the Golden Visa and how they can still use it in Portugal.
New changes to Golden Visa Program
Portugal’s Investment Residency Scheme, or Golden Visa Program, allows foreigners to obtain residency by investing in Portugal. To benefit from this program, foreigners must meet certain conditions.
But the country’s housing crisis in recent years has prompted state officials to make new changes to the program.
In October 2023, Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa approved the “More Housing” bill. Among the new changes approved by the Portuguese President was the removal of the real estate option.
The managing partner of Heed Capital said the new changes were causing confusion for foreigners interested in the golden visa scheme.
Caiuby said there are still four ways to gain residency through Portugal’s residence-by-investment scheme.
According to him, the most sought-after option is to transfer at least 500,000 euros to a multi-market investment fund that would invest at least 60% of its assets in shares and bonds of Portuguese companies, or to fund venture capital for equity participation in technology companies and start-ups.
These investment options are preferred by our clients, of which we have over 240 in over 25 countries.
Portugal’s Golden Visa Programme is a major contributor to the country’s economy.
A total of 12,497 visas were issued to foreigners between October 2012, when the programme was first launched, and July last year, with the main beneficiaries of the scheme being nationals of China (5,366), Brazil (1,221), the United States (729), Turkey (584) and South Africa (534).
Following the removal of the property investment option from the Golden Visa scheme, there has been significant interest in the cultural production option and the Golden Visa Fund option.
