Portugal cancels the Golden Visa real estate investment program - now in Europe.

About the Portuguese Golden Visa program, given to foreigners when buying property or making million-dollar investments in Portugal, it has been announced that it will end. The government announced this on Thursday (the 16th) and said it would completely cancel the program, which has been in place in the country since 2012. The initiative is part of a broad set of measures designed to "fully address all dimensions of the housing problem." Called "More Housing", the program has been approved in the Ministerial Council and will come into effect after publication in the Diário da República (DRE), although the exact date has not yet been set.

The aim of ending the program is to fight real estate speculation in Portugal, according to Portuguese leader Antonio Costa. The government believes that the situation is leading to an increase in real estate prices in the country. "Golden Visas" have brought in around €5.8 billion over the past 10 years, according to the Foreign and Border Affairs Service (SEF).

Of the more than 11,000 visas issued since 2012, around 9,000 have been for real estate investments, according to government data. According to Costa, "there is no justification today" for maintaining the Golden Visa program.

The Portuguese program stipulates that a visa can be granted to those who purchase real estate worth at least 500,000 euros. In return, they can obtain a residence permit (AR) and family unification, as well as free movement in Schengen countries.

At the same time, the visa holder and his family are not required to stay on Portuguese territory for more than seven days a year in the first year of residence. From the second year, the minimum number of days of stay in the country will increase to 14.

With regard to the visas already issued, the head of state said they can only be extended if the new conditions are met.

According to the latest 2021 CEF report, Chinese nationals top the investor rankings. The US is second on the list and Brazil is third.

In 2021, the SEF completed 865 Golden Visa processes and another 1,171 investor family reunification processes for a total of 490 million euros. Of these, 409 million were invested in real estate.

Under pressure from the European Union

In Portugal, the official name of the Golden Visas is the Residence Permit for Investment Activities (ARI). In addition to real estate, the right of residence could be granted to those who invest in businesses that create at least 10 jobs or transfer €1.5 million to the country.

The Prime Minister explained that these latter options can continue to be requested, but the law will contain a "change in legal form". Details have not yet been disclosed by the government.

Despite the existence of these opportunities, Antonio Costa said the government has found only three cases where jobs have been created. "The share is very low, not to say almost zero, in job creation and a very low contribution in other activities," the country's leader said.

This issue has been discussed not only in Portugal, but throughout Europe, especially after the Russian aggression in Ukraine. Last March, the European Commission recommended that Member States "immediately abolish" Golden Visas: "The Commission has frequently and consistently raised serious concerns about citizenship and residence schemes for investors and the risks associated with them," the European Commission emphasized at the time. European Union (EU) authorities have also launched infringement procedures against Malta and Cyprus for "selling" European citizenship through Golden Visas.