PORTUGAL GOLDEN VISA – UPDATE INFORMATION ON THE BILL PROPOSAL

  • 17 April, 23

Following the announcement on March 30th, 2023, the Government has finally delivered to Parliament the proposed amendments to the immigration law, which are part of the proposal “More Housing” bill.

As you are aware, the draft proposal on housing reforms has undergone considerable changes since it was first announced at the Meeting of the Council of Ministers. As expected, the Government maintained its position regarding the end of the Golden Visa program. However, there are a few substantial changes in the wording used compared to the initial version shared in the presentation on February 16th, 2023. The important points of the final proposed amendments to the Golden Visa program including:

i) Inclusion of Submissions after February 16th

 There is no mention of the potential retroactive effects previously announced, meaning that the program will remain open for new applications until new legislation is published. However, the possibility of a notice period is still included during the discussion of the documents in Parliament during the following months.

ii) Renewals and conversion into D2 Residency

According to the first document presented by the Government in February, it was mentioned that the possibility of renewals for holders of investments in real estate options would be based on the rental of the property for housing purposes. However, this measure does not appear in the document presented to Parliament on April 14th. It is evident in the proposal that renewals will be granted under current regime as have been so far.

Pending applications will maintain their validity and will be converted into the “Entrepreneurs Residency Permit (D2 Visa)”, they will be granted an exception regarding the minimum mandatory stay in Portugal, namely the applicants will be asked for a minimum of 7 days in the first year of residency and 14 days in the subsequent periods of two years of residency.

iii) Permanent Residency

Applicants can keep applying for permanent residence and keep their minimum stay in the same terms as predicted for the Golden Visa.

iv) Investments for Cultural Matters

Applications for Investments under artistic production, recovery, or maintenance of cultural heritage will still be admitted. Regarding this topic, it is possible that during the discussion in the Parliament, other investment options will also be included as still allowed.

v) Implementation of the New Law

According to the document presented, the law related to the end of the Golden Visa regime is predicted to be implemented the next day after publication. However, a notice period may be introduced to the proposal during Parliament discussions.

Applicants should proceed “as soon as possible.”

For this legislation to come into force, it will have to go through a legislative process, which requires it to be discussed beforehand in Parliament, firstly, in the general session, followed by the analysis in the respective specific committee and the final vote, the entire Legislative process is expected to take a minimum of 2 months.

It’s important to note that there will be any discussions on this matter in Parliament before the beginning of May, taking into consideration the available agenda of the Parliament.

Finally, the law will be submitted to the President of the Republic, who has 20 days to ratify, veto, or send the document to the Constitutional Court.

Mercan Asia is open for any discussion from now on about the investment and our plan to support you in case of any scenario happens.

Join us on 20 Apr 2023 for THE INSIGHT OF GOLDEN VISA MOVEMENTS WEBINAR to get more information about Portugal Golden Visa Program news and our latest project:

  • What the future holds for Golden Visa investors? 
  • Action plan: How to beat the deadline in 1 week
  • Mercan’s project: Get to know our newest 4-star branded hotel in the South of Portugal!

The webinar will take place on April 20th, at 9 am Pacific time – 12pm New York time – 5pm Portugal time. Here’s a REGISTRATION.

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