Portugal: Investments of €34 Million for Cultural Projects Threatened by Abolishment of Golden Visa
On February 16, the Council of Ministers confirmed that it would terminate this scheme, noting that the new changes were part of a more comprehensive package of measures introduced to tackle the housing crisis, AtoZSerwisPlus.pt reports.
But the decision, among others, is expected to also affect the area of culture, with investments of a total of 34 million euros planned for projects related to cinematographic art.
According to the Portugal News report, there are a total of 170 international investors relating to culture, spread over ten projects with a value of €34 million.
The lifting of the Residence by Investment Scheme, also known as the Golden Visa program, also led to the suspension of some film projects, while the Ministry of Culture noted that the topic is in the legislative process.
In addition to the housing crisis, the Golden Visa Scheme of Portugal -which permitted wealthy foreign nationals to acquire residency if they made a financial contribution to this country- was often criticized for turning a blind eye to many unlawful affairs, including corruption and money laundering.
However, constitutionalists considered the decision to abolish this program unconstitutional after it violated the law.
According to specialists in the fine print of the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic (CRP), it went against the law after it violated the principle of citizens’ trust and legitimate expectations.
Previously, the Portuguese Association of Residental Tourism and Resorts (APR) stressed that the changes that also included the ending of this program, which offered residency to wealthy foreign investors, could also lead to suspending investments of more than €600 million.
APR said that the measure included in the country’s government plan known as Mais Habitação could lead to “the suspension of investments of over 600 million euros and, therefore, the creation of over 1,000 jobs, which some of the associates of the APR had forecast for the next two years”.
Recently, El Pais revealed through a report that 11,758 Golden Visas have been granted by authorities in Portugal from October 2012 until February 2023, stressing that the number of non-EU nationals who acquired residency through this scheme, also taking into account family members, is nearly 31,000.
