The government of Portugal has decided to extend the deadline for the proposed changes from July 2021 to January 2022. This new proposal will exclude Porto and Lisbon property investments from the Portugal Golden Visa program.
The reason for these proposed changes is to encourage investment for the development of sparsely populated areas of Portugal.
Increased interest in Portugal Golden Visa program
This change is likely to encourage applicants interested in permanent residency in European countries to make inquiries for homes and invest in Portugal properties, especially Porto and Lisbon.
Last year, as Portugal’s home prices increased by 5.9%, the housing costs also increased for many locals amid Coronavirus. Further, due to the pandemic, the unemployment rate rose to 6.8% from 6.6% in 2019 due to the devastating situation.
According to the experts, when the Portuguese government introduced the deadline of July 2021, the Asian buyers were hesitant to commit due to the temporal limitation they had been given to make the transaction and further go to Portugal to complete the necessary biometrics. Therefore, this latest decision made by the Portugal government lifts this barrier, and the comfortable time frame would give investors more confidence regarding their applications.
In the case of property investment, Portugal saw an investment of €646.7 million in 2020, which, despite an 11% decrease from a total of €742 million registered in 2019 due to covid, is a high figure. In January, Portugal granted 55 residency permits while China’s citizens accounted for about half.
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n 2020, Portugal issued 1,182 golden visas, while 296 permits were granted to China and Hong Kong citizens. This makes them among the program’s top beneficiaries, based on official data.
Reason for the changes in Portugal Golden Visa program
These changes had been planned to take effect on July 1, 2021; however, the government decided to extend the deadline until January 2022. In January, Portugal’s Council of Ministers unfolded their plan to update the residency-by-investment program. The Council of Ministers had back then agreed on the new changes in the Portugal Golden Visa program under the legislative authorization granted by the State Budget Law of 2020.
The presented changes’ main reason was to promote internationals’ investment in low-destiny areas, mainly through urban rehabilitation, high environmental, cultural heritage, etc.
Through the Portugal Golden Visa Program, internationals are eligible to invest at least 500,000 euros in the country to receive a residence permit. Investors must spend a week in the country during the first year and two weeks during the next two years to keep their residency.
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