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The end of Portugal’s Golden Visas could lead to the suspension of investments of over €600 million, the Portuguese Association of Residental Tourism and Resorts (APR) has said.
The same notes that the abolishment of Residence Permit for Investment (ARI), also known as the Golden Visa Scheme for tourist units, particularly, is an erroneous and extemporaneous measure that appears one year after the last review and about three or four months after it was passed in Portugal’s parliament, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
According to APR, the measure included in the Government’s Mais Habitação plan could lead to “the suspension of investments of over 600 million euros and, therefore, the creation of over 1,000 jobs, which some of the associates of the APR had forecast for the next two years”.
Portuguese Association of Residental Tourism and Resorts has considered that the measure could lead to the loss of the contribution of each new international investor in the Portuguese economy, which, after a period of five years, is nearly six times the value of its initial investment.
Last year’s data provided by the association note that when it was already impossible to make an investment in Golden Visas for housing in urban centers, a total of 534 million euros of investment were raised, or nearly more than three billion euros to five years, considering that this is equivalent to 1.3 per cent of the national GDP (Gross Domestic Product) as well as 18 per cent of the Recovery Resilience Plan (PRR).
The APR noted that it understands that the extinction of the ARI would be a measure with significant economic and credibility effects for the country, disconnected from the reality of the state as well as its regions, and extemporaneous, highlighting that the worst would be to end suddenly and entirely with the ARI.
“We would potentially be hitting, in a potentially irreparable way, essential sectors for Portugal that need foreign private investment – tourism, energy, health, logistics, among others – in the medium term, since the State does not have the capacity to respond, not even with the PRR”, APR noted.
At the same time, considering how recent the last changes to the regime are, APR said that the overwhelming majority of the investments that have been carried out since its entry into effect is still in the development or construction phase.
Last month authorities in Portugal decided to abolish the Golden Visa Program, becoming the second European country after Ireland to terminate the Residency by Investment program in February.
Despite the fact that the Golden Visa Scheme of Portugal contributed significantly to the country’s economic sector,-offering foreigners residency provided they made an investment in Portugal- it was often considered an open door to many illegal acts while authorities in EU countries have continuously called on all EU states that run Golden Visa Programs to terminate them as soon as possible.
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