The Portugal Golden Visa is an investor visa program that benefits individuals and families, providing them the right to live, work, study, and/or retire in Portugal and the European Union. The program also opens a gateway to Portuguese citizenship for investors and their families.
Since creation
Between the creation of the program in October 2012 and July 2023, Portugal has issued a total of 12,497 Golden Visas, with 5,366 going to investors from China, 1,221 from Brazil, 729 from the United States, 584 from Turkey, and 534 from South Africa, the top five nationalities to receive the Golden Visa over its ten-year history. Another 4,063 visas went to investors from other countries. Since its start, the program has invested almost €7.2 billion in Portugal’s economy.
As of July 2023, the program has not only issued 12,497 investor visas since the start of the program but also benefited 20,169 additional family members.
July 2023
Visas Issued in July
July 2023 totals were lower than those from June 2023. In July, Portugal issued 101 Golden Visas (a decrease of 43% from June), and visa recipients invested €57,220,038.56 in the Portuguese economy (a decrease of 28% from the previous month).
In July 2023, the top five nationalities to receive the Portugal Golden Visa were investors from the United States (16), the Philippines (13), the UK (10), Brazil (9) and South Africa (9). China has been among the top five nationalities to receive the Portugal Golden Visa since the beginning of the program in 2012. However, China was out of the top five this July for the first time. In addition, the Philippines returned to the top five for the first time since its last appearance in January 2021.
Investment Modalities
Of the 101 Golden Visas that Portugal issued in July 2023, 61 were for investors in real estate (39 new properties and 22 real estate rehabilitations), and 40 were for investors who made capital investments (3 capital transfers and 37 investments in the venture capital/investment funds modality). The 61 real estate acquisitions added approximately €41 million to Portugal’s economy, and 40 capital investments totaled approximately €16.1 million, for a total investment of €57,220,038.56 in July.
Final Considerations
Overall, July was a good month for the program, but investments in the real estate modality decreased by 46% this month. There is a good chance that the recent Mais Habitação (“More Housing”) bill has slowed interest in real estate investments.
Latest update on the program
The Mais Habitação (“More Housing”) bill, which includes reforms to the Portugal Golden Visa program, was just returned to the Portuguese Parliament on August 20, 2023, by President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa. The President’s suggested changes to the bill are unrelated to the regulations governing the Golden Visa program, so if/when this bill is approved and signed, we expect to see a new Golden Visa program that follows the current draft bill.
Currently, the program continues to be valid as is—and it is accepting new investors. At this date, the proposed changes are not expected to occur before the end of September, so there is still time to start the process of applying for the Portugal Golden Visa now.
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