Portugal's golden visa program netted €654.2 million in 2022

Source: Schengen Visa Info

Investment in Portugal through golden visas in 2022 reached €654.2 million, representing a 41.9 per cent increase compared to the previous year.

According to data from the Portuguese Immigration and Border Service (SEF), a total of 1,281 Residence Permits for Investment (ARI), also known as golden visas, have been granted by the respective authorities, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.

Data from SEF also reveals that the highest number of such visas have been granted in June and December – 155 and 151, respectively, while fewer were granted in March (73), August (77) and July (80).

In 2022, 1,533 residence permits were granted for family reunification, 192 of which were recorded in December alone, whereas since the programme was launched, 18,808 residence permits have been granted to reunited family members.

As per annual rates, since its launch, a total of 11,535 residence permits have been granted, and 2014 holds the record for the highest number of permits issued – 1,526, which is also the third year of the programme operating in Portugal. The Golden Visa Programme was launched in 2012, and two visas were issued that year. This number soared in the following year, reaching 494 and further hitting a record of 1,526 on its third consecutive year.

As follows, the upcoming years saw increasing numbers of golden visas granted; 766 in 2015, 1,414 in 2016, 1,351 in 2017, 1,409 in 2018, 1,245 in 2019, 1,182 in 2020, 865 in 2021 and 1,281 in 2022.

Furthermore, visas granted so far have reached a total of 10,593 and generated an investment of €6,041 million, of which €534.1 million is related to the purchase of real estate for urban rehabilitation (1,485 ARI).

As per the capital transfer criterion, 920 capital transfers have been granted so far, amounting to €712 million. The criterion for creating jobs reaches the attribution of 22 golden visas.

The top countries of origin for golden visa beneficiaries were China leads (5,247), followed by Brazil (1,168), Turkey (546), the United States (537), and South Africa (507).

The positive outcome of the programme for Portugal has been evident in the previous months too, as SEF reported that the number of golden visas granted in November was 40 per cent up, reaching a total of €65.5 million.

Nationalities to have taken the most advantage from Portugal’s Golden Visa scheme in November were citizens of the United States, with 18 golden visas granted to them, followed by the United Kingdom (14), China (13), Brazil (10), and South Africa (10).