zeeshan khan
According to Pedro Portugal Gaspar, President of Portugal’s Agency for Integration, Migration, and Asylum (AIMA), the organization has started accepting Golden Visa applications again. According to Schengen News, there is a large backlog, with some 50,000 investors and their families still awaiting approval, some of which have been delayed for almost three years.
Although processing of applications has begun, the pace is still slower than candidates would want, according to a Público article. Some of these programs are not stagnating; rather, they are progressing. “Of course, the way the processes are set up determines the ability to react,” Gaspar said.
Portugal’s Golden Visa
Non-EU citizens who satisfy certain standards while making qualifying expenditures in Portugal are eligible for residence under the Golden Visa. The program’s investing in real estate option, which let foreigners to get residence by buying property in Portugal, was its main source of popularity in the past. However, as part of the government’s attempts to solve the nation’s worsening housing problem, the plan was formally abandoned in 2023.
Delays Disappointed
Before the 2023 prohibition on residential property expenditures, the government promised quick permit approvals, but many investors felt duped, according to attorney Tatiana Kazan, who spoke to Citizenry.
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Many people had faith in the government’s assurances that residence permits would be issued promptly prior to the prohibition. Although the money was invested, Kazan said, “the anticipated permissions were not delivered.”
Investment Routes Shift to Alternatives
Investors have turned to alternative active Golden Visa possibilities as a result of the real estate pathway’s termination, such as:
- Investing in funds: at least €500,000
- Transfer of capital: €1.5 million
- €500,000 was spent on scientific research.
- Employment creation: a €500,000 investment that generates a minimum of five new positions
The Cultural Heritage investing opportunity is one such path that is becoming more popular. This option raised €12 million in 2024 alone, a 165% increase over the €4.5 million raised in 2023. The closing of the real estate option, which diverted investor attention to other profitable avenues, is primarily responsible for this rise.
