Portugal Golden Visa program: Update on the Bill Proposal on July 6, 2023

  • 7 July, 23

Following the announcement on July 6, 2023, the special commission created for the analysis and preparation of the final draft of the “Mais Habitação” law approved the bill to be presented to Parliament.

Despite the proposals presented by all parties to keep some options of investment, including the one initially presented by the government itself, the final draft does not contemplate the continuity of the ARI regime. Therefore, the present draft states that no applications will be admitted following the entering into force of the new law.

Notwithstanding, there is relevant good news:

  • It was made clear that all applications submitted until the entering into force of the new law will be fully processed, and renewal rights will be fully assured;
  • The analysis of all files submitted up until the entering into force of any amends will follow all existing rules and regulations;
  • No changes will be implemented to the law regarding the adding of family members, which means that family reunification will still be possible after the changes being implemented
  • No changes were added regarding the access to citizenship and permanent residency were included.

Regarding the timeline, we believe that the Parliament will vote on the current law up until July 19th, 2023.

The final step of the process, if the current document is approved by the Parliament, will be sending the proposed shall be proposed bill to the President of the Republic.

There is no way to determine how the President of the Republic will respond to the diploma, but three scenarios may take place:

  • Direct ratification and in this case, the proposal will come into force on the date set forth in the proposal.
  • The President of the Republic does not accept the proposal as it is, and returns it to the Parliament for revision; or
  • The President of the Republic does not issue an opinion on the document but requests its evaluation by the Constitutional Court.

In any case, it is not reasonable to expect that, even if option Takes place – direct ratification, that the law comes into force before the middle/end of September. Our assumption is based both in the complexity of the package – that will require extensive analysis, and the current holiday period, that will for sure add time to current process.

Cre: iaservices

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