Investing in property in Portugal no longer grants residency through the Golden Visa Program. However, international investors interested in this option are eligible to invest in investment funds, which are expected to experience increased interest and an influx of funds.
The Residency by Investment Scheme permits wealthy internationals to acquire residency in this country by meeting some conditions and investing financially in this territory, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports. However, the program is now subject to some different rules. Among them is also the abolishment of the option to acquire residency through investment options, which allowed internationals to acquire residency by making investments of €280,000 or more.
The new changes came following the decision of Portugal’s President, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, to approve the “More Housing” bill. The decision came as part of efforts to better manage the housing crisis, with the country’s authorities attempting to find effective ways to deal with this situation. However, such changes have not brought any significant impact on the country’s housing market, especially in Lisbon.
The housing prices in Lisbon remain above European levels, according to a Bloomberg report provided last month, which also emphasized that Portugal’s appealing factors, such as security, mild quality of life, and good health services, among others, continue to attract a large number of internationals planning to live in Portugal.
Besides, housing prices in Lisbon remain attractive, being nearly half of those in Paris or Zurich. Despite these changes, we have seen an increase in the number of requests for information from our foreign clients; there are simply not enough houses to meet demand, even with the slowdown in sales. Paulo Silva, from Savills in Portugal
Bloomberg’s report also noted that homes in Portugal’s capital continue to increase, reaching a record high in November. In particular, house prices in Lisbon increased by 5.8 per cent in comparison to the previous year, reaching a total of €5,426 per square meter.
According to a previous report from the Property Market Index, the approval of new changes to Portugal’s Golden Visa scheme, part of the “More Housing” bill, would not affect property values, as home prices are expected to increase 8.7 per cent this year. Lisbon and the Algarve emerged as the first locations for property growth in Portugal. The same noted that in other towns, such as Estoril, Cascais, Comporta, and Sintra, properties have also increased in value.
Portugal’s Golden Visa scheme has contributed significantly to the country’s economy. Since October 12, when it was first introduced, a total of 12,497 golden visas were issued by authorities in this country.
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