'Portugal abolishes golden visas for Brazilians as it fights rising real estate prices.'

In the last modification of the program, investments in Lisbon and Porto were excluded from it in order to reduce the pressure on prices in the real estate sector.

Restriction of tourist apartments

The cessation of "golden visas" approved by the Cabinet on Thursday was not an isolated measure. The plan to reduce real estate prices includes stricter controls on the supply of tourist apartments,''such as Airbnb or hostels, to increase the supply of rental accommodation. The Portuguese government will ban the issuance of new licenses, except for suburban properties in inland cities where 'there is no urban pressure' and 'they can be an important factor in economic development,' the prime minister explained.

The licenses already issued will be reviewed in 2030 and will be subject to periodic evaluation every five years after that. Owners of these apartments will have to pay an additional tax that will be used to finance housing policy, and tax incentives will be given to those who convert their tourist apartment to the residential rental market before 2024. Costa recognized that tourist apartments have''s strong impact on urban revitalization and job creation, but downplayed the importance it could have on the tourism industry, one of the country's main economic sectors.

"We cannot destroy the chicken that lays the golden eggs," he said, arguing that tourism should not turn cities into a "Disneyland kind of place" but should offer "unique experiences".

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