A few days ago, news about the "Portuguese Golden Visa is about to be closed" caused a stir online. The main reason is that on November 2, the Portuguese Prime Minister said at the Lisbon network summit that he is evaluating the existence of Portugal's golden visa.
Portugal's golden visa is "closed"? The proposal failed!
After 2 weeks of anxious waiting, good news finally came! At the 2023 National Budget Law Amendment Conference in Portugal, a vote was held on the proposal to end the country's golden visa, thankfully the proposal to "shut down" failed.
At this point, the Portuguese Golden Visa program has temporarily escaped. So can the Portuguese Golden Visa program be able to rest assured since then? Actually, otherwise.
As a model student in European immigration programs, the Portuguese Golden Visa program has been very popular with investors since its launch in October 2012. Portuguese immigration does not require the applicant's education, language, business background and funding explanation. The review speed is fast. If one person applies, he can bring his family to enjoy high-quality welfare systems such as free education and medical care. He can travel freely with his card 26 European Schengen countries . Among the most popular investment immigration projects in the world, the Portuguese Golden Residence Permit Project beats many similar immigration projects around the world!
So, such a model student first experienced the government's adjustment of policies within a year, and was considered to be shut down? The reason is nothing more than the following two aspects:
First of all, it is the objection from within Portugal
As of October 2022, the golden visa has attracted a total of about 6.609 billion euros for Portugal, of which the real estate investment amount reached 5.92 billion euros, accounting for 89.6% of the total investment!
Investment has played an important role in promoting Portugal's economy. The "function that must be fulfilled" mentioned by the Prime Minister in his speech actually refers to the "money-making" ability of Portugal's golden visa. This function is also a double-edged sword. While promoting Portugal's economic development, it is also regarded by the left-wing forces in Portugal as the main factor that pushes up housing prices and rents in big cities such as Lisbon, resulting in an increase in housing costs for residents in the country.
At present, judging from the news we obtained in Portugal, several parties including Left Group, Liberal Party , have voiced opposition to the Golden Visa project and proposed to end the project.
Secondly, it is the external pressure from EU
EU plans to shut down gold passports by 2025. After the end of the gold passport is clear, the EU will also step up efforts to restrict the golden visa program. In March this year, the EU once again called for the immediate end of various investment and naturalization plans, and at the same time, more stringent verifications of investment and residence plans were introduced.
Looking at the policy evolution of traditional immigrant countries, step by step tightening is also the general trend. In recent years, investment immigration policies in many European countries have been affected, with prices rising, tightening, and even shutting down. In summary, although the Portuguese Golden Visa program has temporarily escaped, it has not rested at ease. No one knows whether it will be put on the agenda again in the future.
