Gizane Campos
Just two months since Spain ended its own Golden Visa program following concerns about the effect of the program on the housing market, Portugal has made moves to reassure investors about the future of its own popular Golden Visa program, signalling that it remains a leading player in Europe’s investment migration landscape.
While details remain under discussion, Portuguese officials say they intend to make both the Golden Visa and the expat tax regime more streamlined, economically efficient, and socially responsible.
Portugal’s Golden Visa Is Evolving: Bigger Perks May Be On the Horizon
The PMs Democratic Alliance won the May elections in Portugal, but the elections did bring to the forefront important questions about the future of the Portugal Golden Visa, concerns that have now been addressed by the government. Officials are planning to double down on the Golden Visa to make the program even more appealing to investors.
Portugal’s Golden Visa, one of the most popular residency-by-investment schemes of its kind, offers non-EU nationals a fast track to Portuguese residency for a minimum investment of €250,000. Investment options include investment funds, approved cultural projects, and job creation.
New Portuguese residents may also be eligible for a 20 percent flat tax on local income and a ten-year exemption on most foreign income.
While Spain has ended its own Golden Visa program in light of housing concerns, Portugal’s Minister of the Presidency, Antonio Amaro, has emphasized that the Portuguese government has no plans to end the Golden Visa program – quite the opposite.
Referring to the Golden Visa and the special tax regime, he has revealed discussions to enhance the program and, as application numbers surge, the government is seeking to organize applications “in a more effective and economically efficient way.”
Portugal Charting Its Own Path for EU Investment Migration
Investment migration has been making waves in recent months. Alongside the Spanish Golden Visa coming to an end, Malta’s Citizenship by Naturalization for Exceptional Services by Direct Investment Program has been under scrutiny from the Court of Justice of the European Union.
Portugal has dealt with this turbulence by focusing on its fundamentals – attracting future-focused investment into priority sectors such as renewable energy, agriculture, and biotech.
While the real estate and capital transfer investment options were discontinued as eligible Golden Visa investment options in 2023, the Golden Visa investment funds option has emerged as a popular alternative.
A key factor to this is that funds are considered a hands-off investment, with investors placing their capital into regulated vehicles, which are managed by fund specialists with clearly defined strategies and risk levels in place.
As Global Citizen Solutions Investment Funds specialist, Lourenço Alvares, comments, “With funds, you don’t need to worry about property management. Instead, your investment is managed by experienced teams with deep expertise. It’s passive involvement, but it brings you active results.”
In short, funds provide investors with access to investment opportunities in sectors and sizable projects – infrastructure, renewable energy, agriculture, and hospitality – that would be difficult to access as an individual investor. The scale and collective efforts of pooled capital make this possible.
The Reality on the Ground: The Impact of Portugal’s Golden Visa
Beyond the headlines of the negative impact of Portugal’s Golden Visa on housing in Portugal, the data tells a clearer story. According to Global Citizen Solutions’ Global Intelligence Unit, as of 2024, Portugal’s Golden Visa program alone has attracted over €7.3 billion in investment since its inception. This capital has helped create jobs, upgraded infrastructure, and regional revitalization.
From strengthening healthcare in Portugal to revitalizing rural areas, investments from the Golden Visa are targeting specific areas for improvements, which have clear economic and social benefits on local communities.
Portugal’s Golden Visa Reaching New Heights
Rather than the program slowing down, the Golden Visa is propelling forward at speed, attracting interest from a wide range of applicants, with Americans in search of a better quality of life currently amongst the leading applicants.
Portugal’s Golden Visa experienced a record-breaking year in 2024; with a record 4,987 golden visas issued in 2024 and marking a 72 percent increase from the previous year. This surpassed the earlier peak of 4,029 approvals in 2017, according to AIMA, Portugal’s immigration agency.
Critics of the Golden Visa often overlook the ripple effect that foreign investments have on a country and its economy. Golden Visa holders don’t simply invest in the country and leave – they spend, create employment opportunities, renovate, and contribute to local tax revenues, and increasingly in areas that need it the most.
Portugal is currently facing labor shortages and an aging population. Immigration is not a burden but a solution to these increasingly present issues. When combined with innovation and framed within a sustainable model that looks towards a more robust and diverse future – for example, in regional renewal – they’re a strategic tool for resilience and growth.
In an increasingly uncertain global landscape, Portugal isn’t reinventing the wheel when it comes to investment migration. The country is, however, charting its own path in reframing investment migration, towards being more focused, sustainable, and leading it to tackle the crucial challenges in the country.
