US citizens exit Portugal as demand for 'golden visas' plummet 37%

Source: Schengen Visa Info

Following the abolishment of the Golden Visa scheme of Portugal some expatriates are leaving the country, based on the report of Bloomberg.

The same notes that in the first half of this year there was a total of 18 percent decrease in demand for residence by internationals under the Golden Visa scheme, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.

In addition, the report says that the decrease among US citizens was 37 percent, based on the figures provided by the international advisory firm, Get Golden Visa.

The figures of the Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF) previously revealed that between October 2012 and January this year, authorities in Portugal granted a total of 11,628 golden visas, the majority of them to citizens from China (5,258), Brazil (1,178), as well as the United States (558) and Turkey (547).

Portugal’s Residency by Investment scheme was terminated on February 16 by authorities in this country in order to tackle the housing crisis. The scheme allowed wealthy internationals to acquire residency if they made a specific amount of money investment and met the needed conditions.

Recently, a report on Portugal News noted that Portugal’s government is listening to suggestions related to proposed changes to the country’s Golden Visa program.

The Minister of Infrastructure and Housing of Portugal, Marina Gonçalves, noted that following the proposal under discussion in parliament, at present, it is a phase of listening to all suggestions.

In addition, she stressed that more than 90 percent of the golden visa investments are in real estate, which proves that it has an indirect effect on the housing market, as it surges the cost of housing.

“With this, we do not want to discourage investment in the country, on the contrary, we already have a general visa policy, a general regime for granting visas that are also based on investment,” Gonçalves said, adding that this is a topic being discussed in all European countries.

Portugal News through a report provided previously revealed that the Golden Visa Program led to the suspension of residential tourism projects of €800 million which would have an impact of a total of €4.8 billion on Portugal’s economy.

However, previously, a report of the financial services company DBRS, said that the lifting of the Golden Visa scheme is expected to have a limited impact on the residential market.

Up to this point, several European countries allow wealthy internationals to acquire residency and citizenship through the Golden Visa and Golden Passport scheme.