Rush for golden visas after Portugal’s decision to end much-criticised scheme | – #Rush #golden #visas #Portugals #decision #muchcriticised #scheme
LISBON, March 14 (Reuters) – Portugal’s plan to end its golden visa scheme for investors, which has yet to be officially approved, has prompted a rush of applications from consultancy firms that have criticized the plan as populist.
Since its launch in 2012, the scheme, aimed at non-EU nationals willing to invest in Portugal, has attracted 6.8 billion euro (7.30 billion dollars), most of the money goes to real estate. Successful applicants are then granted residency.
The Golden Visa has been heavily criticized at home for driving up house prices and Europe The commission called for the suspension of such programs.
Rent prices As part of a package to tackle the growing housing crisis, Portugal’s Prime Minister Antonio Costa announced the scheme last month. cancellation announced his intention to do. The measure is under public consultation until next Friday.
Investment way Armand Arton, head of Arton Capital, which helps people get a second residence or citizenship, said his firm saw a 50% increase in applications after the announcement.
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“As soon as you put a deadline on something, it causes people to rush,” Nuri Katz of another consultancy, Apex Capital Partners, told Reuters. “There’s nothing better than a deadline.”
In January, 93 golden visas were issued, down 45% from December, but 130 visas were issued in February, mostly from China, according to the border agency. USA and Turkey increased again when given to investors.
While the data showed a jump in applications, the process can take months, so it was not immediately clear whether the numbers reflected the government’s first announcement in November.
Both Katz and Arton called the decision populist.
“He (Costa) is just… an apartment prices trying to show he’s doing something about it,” Katz said.
Arton said: “I’ve seen many prime ministers do this kind of messaging for electoral votes.”
Costa’s Socialist Party is losing support due to, among other things, the housing crisis, but the next election is not until 2026.
His office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Costa previously said there was no reason to keep the scheme because he had fulfilled the role he wanted to fulfill without elaborating.
Golden visa rules were changed last year to divert investment from the red-hot property market in big cities to depopulated areas.
Goncalo Roxo of Portugal-based Real Estate Consultants says he discourages his clients from trying to speed up the process because of the risk of bureaucratic delays.
($1 = 0.9310 euros)
Reporting by Catarina Demony; Added by Patricia Rua report; Edited by Andrei Khalip and Alison Williams
Our standards: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Catarina Demony
2023-03-15 03:41:58
Source – reuters
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