The removal of Portugal’s Golden Visa program has led to the cancellation of a residential tourism project worth a total of 800 million euros which would have an impact of 4.8 billion euros on the country’s economy , according to the Portugal News report.
Portugal’s residency by investment program, also known as the Golden Visa program, allowed wealthy foreign investors to acquire residency in this country if they met specific conditions and made a significant investment in this country. SchengenVisaInfo.com report.
However, the program which made a notable contribution to the country’s economic sector was abolished on February 16 this year, under the program known as Mais Habitacao, in order to resolve the problem of housing shortage, in more due to the fact that the Golden Visa programs run by several EU countries are often criticized for their involvement in illegal affairs such as money laundering, tax evasion and corruption.
The executive director of the Portuguese Resorts Association, Pedro Fontainhas, accused the country’s government of making a “blind decision” calling “common sense” in order to avoid a “disaster” in this industry, according to a report from Portugal News.
Furthermore, Fontainhas warned that wealthy investors were swapping the country for Greece.
According to figures from Dinheiro Vivo, from February 16 to the end of April, residential tourism projects worth around 800 million euros resulted in the loss of a total of 500 million euros in taxes that would have been been collected by Portugal.
Furthermore, a total of 2,090 jobs linked to canceled projects have still not been created.
Among the territories of the country that have experienced the cancellation of projects are: Alcácer do Sal, Beja, Amarante, Castro Marim, Faro, Évora, Grândola, Lagos, Portimão, Óbidos, Reguengos de Monsaraz, Sagres, Salir, Sines, Troia Santiago do Cacém. , Tavira, Vila Real de Santo António as well as Vila Viçosa.
However, recent analysis from financial services company DBRS indicates that the lifting of Portugal’s Golden Visa program would have a limited impact on the residential market.
The same source revealed that there are other more important factors to explain the current upward trend in property prices in Portugal, namely the shortage of new housing, as well as international interest and economic recovery.
Although she was often accused of being involved in numerous illegal affairs, a total of 11,758 golden visas were issued by Portuguese authorities between October 2012 and February 2023, according to a report by El Pais.