Is There a Future for Portugal's Golden Visa?

On 10th February 2020, the Portuguese Parliament approved the 2020 budget, which included radical new laws surrounding the highly popular Golden Visa programme which could threaten its future. 

This major reform excluded major cities such as Lisbon and Porto and the coastal regions such as the Algarve and the Silver Coast from the future of the Programme. These new changes were designed to benefit some of the low density and autonomous regions that had seen little or no benefit from the huge investment that has already been made in the Programme.

There was a torrent of complaints to these changes and as a result the Portugal Government back pedalled and stated that in order for the new measures not to unduly affect applications that were already underway, that it is justified for the reforms to come into force from the beginning of 2021. It was also widely believed that the coastal areas will remain in the programme.

The world however has dramatically changed since then with the coronavirus pandemic and as such the proposed reforms are now on hold with a source from the Ministry of Affairs stating that “These changes are not a priority at the moment”

So where does this leave investors and can they still invest in Lisbon or Porto and be certain of qualifying for the Golden Visa?

They certainly can in the short term however nothing is certain apart from the Programme is alive and kicking and perhaps there are even better areas of Portugal to invest in?

For further information on the Golden Visa Programme or investing in Portugal contact me on [email protected]