The End of the Portuguese Golden Visa has been Confirmed
Dixcart previously shared an article in December 2022 suggesting the end of the Portuguese Golden Visa was in sight.
On 16 February 2023, it was confirmed by the Portuguese Prime Minister, Antonio Costa, that the Golden Visa programme will be coming to an end (however confirmation of when it will end and how, is yet to be confirmed).
At this point it is unclear what actions are required until the Portuguese government makes further announcements, as well as how this news may impact renewals of current Golden Visa applications, as it has also been proposed there may be changes to the current requirements for existing Golden Visa applicants.
During the week of 13 February 2023, Portugal has been the second European country to end their Golden Visa, following Ireland. The programme was intended to encourage foreign investment into Portugal and was first introduced ten years ago, in 2012, to aid the recovery from the financial crisis. It has been particularly popular among wealthy Chinese citizens, however, other citizens who have also taken an interest include Brazilians, Turkish, South African and United Arab Emirates.
So far the Portuguese Golden Visa has been one of the world’s most popular residency-by-investment programmes, raising €6.6 billion from over 20,000 individuals (according to the Portuguese Immigration and Border Services), with a spectrum of benefits, including the right to live, work and study in Portugal, visa-free travel within the Schengen Area for a period of five years, and a minimum average stay requirement in Portugal of only seven days per annum.
