Portugal Golden Visas 2023
Portugal's golden visas are back on the media agenda. Prime Minister António Costa, on the sidelines of the Web Summit, stated that the programme has performed its functions, the option of stopping it is being considered and the government will focus on attracting digital nomads and tech companies to the country.
The property market reacted to this statement with «great surprise and concern», admitted Hugo Santos Ferreira, president of APPII (Portuguese Association of Developers and Investors), in an interview, stressing that the Prime Minister's statement merely «brings noise and even greater instability to a market that is already experiencing a crisis».
He believes that the scheme still has great potential, can be reformatted to suit current needs and aimed at attracting investment in construction, addressing the shortage of housing for sale and rent.
“Every year, the golden visa programme brought the country an average of around 500 million euros in investment. In 2022 alone, from January to September, the golden visa has already brought in 465 million euros. And in September, almost 70 million euros in just one month. It would be wrong to close a programme that brings millions of euros a year to the economy at a time of uncertainty, resulting from the international macroeconomic and geopolitical scenario.« — Hugo Santos Ferreira, President of APPII
Between 2012 and September of this year, golden visas have attracted a total of €6.56bn, with 11,180 residence permits having been issued. Half of the investors are Chinese, followed by Brazil, Turkey, South Africa, Angola, and Russia.
The terms of the programme in 2023 have not changed compared to 2022. We examined the terms and entry threshold for metropolitan, coastal and interior areas in detail in this material.