In a highly anticipated Portuguese parliamentary session this week, the legislature rejected a proposal from the Communist Party to end the country's popular Golden Visa program , a residency-by-investment program that has brought nearly €7 billion in investment to Portugal since its launch in 2012.
However, in this week's parliamentary session, the majority Socialist Party rejected the Communist Party's proposal, with the Government deciding to create a working group made up of the Ministries of Economy, Foreign Affairs and Internal Administration, to assess the impact of the program on the country. and its economy and help decide on the way forward for the program.
“This means that, although the program is under review, the Government, on its own, will not be able to introduce any changes to the respective law during 2023,” explains Sara Sousa Rebolo , partner at Prime Legal, based in Lisbon.
“However, it should be noted that this does not prevent the [parliament] from legislating on the program as late as 2023. The Socialist Party currently has an absolute majority, with a mandate until 2026, so there is no possibility of contestation in the vote.”
That is, all the cards are in the hands of the Socialist Party when it comes to any legislation put to the vote in Parliament, including all matters and future decisions regarding the Golden Visa.
“The government doesn’t want to end the program,” says Tiago Gali Macedo , managing partner of Gali Macedo & Associates. “They just want to focus on more productive investments like funds, companies, productive real estate, etc.”
The Portuguese Golden Visa has been incredibly beneficial to the country's economy, explains Diogo Capela , managing partner of Lamares, Capela & Associados. “The Portuguese Golden Visa was created in 2012 as a response to the financial crisis Portugal was facing,” he explains. “The program has brought numerous benefits to Portugal, most notably the enormous amounts invested in the country, totaling more than 6 billion euros of foreign direct investment to date,” Capela states.
“Since its launch, Golden Visa Portugal has had enormous support, benefiting around 11,263 investors and 18,479 family members”, he adds.
Statements by the Portuguese Prime Minister on the Golden Visa
Earlier this month, parliamentary prime minister Antonio Costa said the program was 'no longer justified', sparking fears that the end of the program was near. Is this still the case?
“I believe that the Prime Minister's statements may have been excessive, possibly the result of media pressure in the face of recent news about some cases of social support obtained by Golden Visa holders, as well as cases of real estate pressure in large urban centers,” predicts Rebolo .
“However, we also believe that the program must have changes and improvements, in addition to a more environmental and social character, as these needs are now very clear. These are also the hot issues that the EU is concerned with addressing, so there is room to reach a compromise solution that allows using this investment attraction instrument as a response to these needs”, he adds.
Backlog for Golden Visa Investors Solved?
As one of the most popular residency-by-investment programs in Europe, the Portugal Golden Visa program has experienced a backlog , meaning new applicants can anticipate a processing time of almost 18 months – will this continue to be the case in 2023?
“Currently, the Portuguese Government is also moving forward with the restructuring of the Immigration Office, also adopting measures to reduce the delay that all immigration programs are suffering”, reveals Rebolo.
“Such improvements and measures will also resolve the delay in processing requests for the Golden Visa program”, he hopes.
The delay in issuing visas and processing applications is offset by the many advantages it offers, according to Rebolo, including “the flexibility that the program allows, by requiring only 7 days a year to stay in Portugal, with no tax impact and with access to the application for Portuguese citizenship and consequently European citizenship for the investor and direct family, through different investment options from €200,000.'
Article originally published on the website uglobal.com
