Portugal Will Not Abolish its Golden Visa Program
In this regard, Portugal’s Prime Minister, Antonio Costa, last month said that the country is considering putting an end to this program, after, according to him, it has fulfilled the function it had to fulfil, stressing that there is no reason to maintain the scheme further, AtoZSerwisPlus.pt reports
Regarding the issue, the Communist Party called on authorities to abolish the much-criticized program, despite the fact that it has brought significant financial benefits to the country’s economic sector.
However, it was the PM’s own Socialist Party that voted against this proposal.
“The government explicitly said that this issue would be assessed. And that assessment and analysis, after the (programme’s) last alteration, hasn’t been concluded. The Communist’s Party proposal was, therefore, out of time in relation to the fine analysis still to be done,” an official source pointed out in this regard, according to the EU Observer report.
Wealthy internationals from other countries are eligible to acquire residency in Portugal through the Golden Visa program by making an investment in properties of at least €500,000.
However, the scheme was in the media spotlight many times after it was reported that it has been involved in many unlawful affairs, such as corruption and tax evasion.
The Commission of the European Union has often called on all country’s authorities that run such schemes to terminate them as soon as possible. However, not all countries have considered this advice after it makes a significant contribution to the country’s economic sector.
Last month, the data provided by the Foreigners and Border Service (SEF) revealed that 11,189 internationals benefited from Portugal’s Residency by Investment Program (RIP) in the last 10 years.
In addition, the data provided by SEF also revealed that a total of €6.54 billion had been invested in this country, with about 90 per cent being in the real estate market.
Of the 11,189 Golden Visas issued also benefited a total of 18,368 family members, while the main beneficiaries from this program were citizens of Brazil, Turkey, and South Africa.
However, in October this year, the data provided by Lusa showed a registered 4.5 per cent decline in the number of applications filed for the Golden Visa Program and a 34 per cent decline in chain terms.
