Is Portugal’s Golden Visa Scheme Worth It?
Source: Foreign Policy
LISBON—On Nov. 7, the same day that Portugal’s Prime Minister António Costa resigned
Nine other countries
Since the changes to the visa program last month, five investment avenues for Portuguese golden visas remain open. But, Casaburi said, since the real estate option was taken off the table, her monthly business for October was down 75 percent. Nationally the impact will not be known for two years due to processing backlogs. Some real estate firms claim that demand for housing has already fallen 20 percent, but since there’s a lack of inventory, prices remain elevated.
Despite recent efforts, fixing the Portuguese housing crisis will not be easy. And given the discrepancy in spending power between Portuguese nationals and those moving to Portugal, even from within Western Europe, the Portuguese buyer and renter remains at an almost insurmountable disadvantage. In 2021, the average full-time annual wage in Portugal was around $21,000, compared to $30,700 in neighboring Spain, $43,800 in France, and $48,500 in Germany. Compounding the problem: only 2 percent of Portuguese housing is public housing, one of the lowest rates in the EU.
As for the investigation unfolding in Rio, a facilitator of golden visas who works in Brazil said it’s believed five businesses which help golden visa applicants invest were heavily implicated in the investigation. And, the source added, the Rio consulate where the raid occurred was known to directly process visa applications.
Despite this most recent investigation into corruption, Bloomberg has reported that businesses which help to facilitate golden visas —a burgeoning space to which Casaburi, Nobrega, and Baker belong—aren’t too worried the programs will end because they’re big business. In Europe, golden visas have generated more than $27 billion in direct investment.
This summer, when the golden visa’s real estate changes were pending, Nobrega emphasized that investors like stability. It’s a sentiment Costa, post-resignation, seems keen to stress as well—never mind the deepening scandal that has tarnished the reputation of those nearest to him (envelopes stuffed with cash amounting to $82,900 were found in his chief of staff’s office). “To all those who have placed their trust in Portugal,” Costa said two weeks ago, as Portugal’s president announced the forthcoming dissolution of his government, “I want to say that today, and always, business investment is desired, welcome and will be well received.”
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