Following the abolition of Portugal’s Golden Visa system, some expats are leaving the country, according to the Bloomberg report.
The same report notes that during the first half of this year, there was a total decrease of 18 percent in demand for international residency under the Golden Visa program, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
Additionally, the report said the decrease among U.S. citizens was 37 percent, based on figures provided by international consulting firm Get Golden Visa.
Figures from the Foreign and Border Service (SEF) previously revealed that between October 2012 and January this year, Portuguese authorities granted a total of 11,628 golden visas, the majority of them to citizens of China (5,258), Brazil (1,178), as well as the United States (558) and Turkey (547).
Residency by investment program in Portugal was terminated on February 16 by the authorities of this country in order to combat the housing crisis. The program allowed wealthy internationals to acquire residency if they invested a specific amount and met the necessary conditions.
Recently, a report on Portugal News noted that the Portuguese government was listening to suggestions related to proposed changes to the country’s Golden Visa program.
The Minister of Infrastructure and Housing of Portugal, Marina Gonçalves, highlighted that following the proposal under discussion in Parliament, it is currently a phase of listening to all suggestions.
Furthermore, she pointed out that more than 90 percent of Golden Visa investments are in real estate, which proves that this has an indirect effect on the housing market, as it increases the cost of housing.
“With this we do not want to discourage investments in the country, on the contrary, we already have a general visa policy, a general regime for granting visas which is also based on investment. » Gonçalves said, adding that it was a topic discussed in all European countries.
Portugal News, through a report provided previously, revealed that the Golden Visa program has led to the suspension of residential tourism projects of 800 million euros, which would have a total impact of 4.8 billion euros on the economy of Portugal.
However, a previous report from financial services company DBRS indicated that the removal of the Golden Visa program is expected to have a limited impact on the residential market.
Up to this point, several European countries allow wealthy internationals to acquire residency and citizenship thanks to the Golden Visa and Golden Passport program.
