New legislation will end the issuance of special residence permits for foreign buyers of real estate in Portugal, but will allow such permits for other kinds of investors.
According to local media reports cited in China-Lusophone Brief, non-Portuguese who invest more than 500,000 euros (4.42 million patacas) in eligible venture capital funds will continue to qualify for the so-called “golden visas.”
The same benefit will apply to a foreign investor creating at least ten jobs, or investing more than 500,000 euros in a company that uses the funds to create at least five jobs or maintain at least ten existing positions.
[See more: Mozambique grants visa-free access to travellers from 29 countries]
The golden visa scheme is a highly lucrative business for Lisbon, attracting 654.2 million euros (5.7 billion patacas) in investment in 2022 – an increase of almost 42 percent compared to the previous year.
Golden visas are especially popular with Chinese investors, who have accounted for 5,247 of the visas issued to date, followed by Brazilians (1,168) and Turks (546).
Since the beginning of the program, 18,808 residence permits have been granted to dependent family members, China-Lusophone Brief reports.
