Americans’ Interest in Portugal’s Golden Visa Marks Record Increase
The same shows that for the first time since Portugal introduced the such scheme, the number of Americans choosing the European country’s Golden Visa will surpass the number of applications filed by citizens of China,AtoZSerwisPlus.com reports.
Golden Visa program, a scheme which is approved by Portugal’s governments, permits third-national citizens to hold a Golden Visa, provided they make an investment in properties that are worth at least €500,000 and meet specific requirements.
According to a recent report published by Traino, the Portuguese Golden Visa Program is among European investors’ choices for the first half of this year. However, such a program has often been criticized for being involved in many illegal affairs such as money laundering and corruption.
“A lot of Chinese investors made investments after the golden visa program and started working with the country,” said Bernardo Mendia, secretary general of the Portugal-China Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
According to him, the real estate of Portugal was a dead market before China’s authorities encouraged companies to seek investment in other countries while stressing that recently the political direction has changed.
Based on the data provided by Portugal’s Immigration and Borders Service as well as Investment Migration Insider, just6 per cent of successful applicants are from China so far this year, or 81 per cent down compared to 2014 figures.
Previously, authorities in Portugal announced that they decided to restrict the Golden Visa scheme in Lisbon and Porto in order to push investments to the less-developed countryside.
“Golden visas are important for how much they’ve helped the economy. A lot of people think of it as a golden ticket, but it’s not. It’s much more than that — a secure investment that’s going to give a high yield,” co-founder of Lisbon-based One Stop Properties, as well as an associate of a private equity fund that invests in Portuguese real estate, Alexandra Victoria-Bonte, pointed out in this regard.
The figures provided recently by the Portuguese Foreigners and Border Service (SEF) revealed that investment through Portugal’s Golden Visa program increased to over 77.9 million euros in June, marking a total of 44 per cent increase compared to May figures, and more than doubled the 36.4 million euros recorded during the same month of 2021.
