Goodbye, Portugal? Investing in real estate for a new path to residency.

Portugal has entered the investor map in recent years after expanding the benefits of its "Golden Visa" program, but everything changed in 2023. Last year, the country canceled the option to obtain a visa through real estate investments, a modality responsible for nearly 90% of visas issued over the past 10 years, amounting to 6.45 billion euros in investments, according to data from the Immigration and Borders Service (SEF).

Now even the country is becoming a "favorite" for those who want to buyreal estate and in return receive a residence permit in Europe: Greece.

The Greek Golden Visa program exploded last year and became the most popular in the world after a 95% increase in investment applications, reaching 8,516 applications, according to data from the IMI data center. The demand was so high that it triggered a real estate race, causing property prices in cities like Athens, Mykonos, and Santorini to double from an average of $250,000 to $500,000 per year.

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"The Greek Golden Visa has very attractive advantages..."

“The permanent residence visa does not require the investor to live in the country,” says Adalberto Pukka, an immigration advisor at Global Citizen Solutions. He explains that this allows one to purchase property and rent it out without losing the residence permit in the country and, consequently, the freedom of movement within Europe.

New GreecePortugal?

Despite recent changes, the Portuguese Golden Visa remains at the top of the Henley & Partners ranking of residence by investment programs. In the 2024 ranking, Portugal scores 75 out of 100 points. The company evaluates 10 criteria, scoring from 1 to 10, and classifies the countries. Greece's program, while becoming the most popular, ranks third, comparable to Austria's program, with a score of 73.