Parliament Approves Termination of New Golden Visa Applications
The Government’s proposal to end new residence permits for housing investment was approved on Thursday in the Assembly of the Republic, with favorable votes from the Socialist Party (PS), the Left Bloc (BE), and the Portuguese Communist Party (PCP). The revocation of residence permits for investment, known as golden visas, was one of the proposals included in the More Housing program, which was approved on Thursday in a specialized session. The Social Democratic Party (PSD), the People-Animals-Nature Party (PAN), and the Liberal Initiative (IL) voted against the proposal.
With the implementation of the new law, no new applications for residence permits for investment activities will be accepted, although this will not affect the possibility of renewing previously granted permits. Both new applications and renewal requests for residence permits for investment activities will remain valid, including those that are “pending prior control procedures in the Municipal Councils” at the time the law comes into force.
The limitation imposed does not apply to the granting or renewal of residence permits for family reunification. The initial government proposal allowed for new applications for residence permits for investment or support in artistic production, as well as the preservation and maintenance of national cultural heritage. However, the Socialist Party, which supports the parliamentary majority, proposed the elimination of this exception during the specialized session.
The termination of golden visas for housing investments has divided left-wing and right-wing parliamentarians, with the BE and PCP demanding more from the Government, while the PSD, PAN, and IL contested the measure. The announcement was made on February 16 during the first presentation of the More Housing program, when Prime Minister António Costa announced the end of granting golden visas as part of measures to combat real estate speculation.
At that time, the Prime Minister detailed that “out of the approximately 11,000 golden visas granted, over 9,000 were solely dedicated to real estate investments.” He emphasized the “extremely low, if not negligible, job creation rate and minimal contribution to other activities.”
