Golden Visa applications plummet 46% in March

There was a sharp fall in applications for Portugal’s investor Golden Visa in March.

Investment fell 46% like-for-like on 2017 to €103.3 million according to data from the Portuguese immigration service SEF (Serviço de Estrangeiros e Fronteiras).

In March, investment from the Authorisation of Residency for Investment Activity (ARI) captured €103 million down 46% on the same period last year (€192 million). The majority invested was in property (€92 million) and capital transfer netting around €10 million.

In March 174 Golden Visas were issued, 163 through property purchases of which 23 were issued for purchasing property for modernisation.  By the end of March 137 ARIs had been granted for property modernisation.

In the first quarter of the year, investment from Golden Visas totaled €293 million, a fall of 32% on the €433 million on the same quarter in 2017.

Since October 2012 total investment from Golden Visas stands at around €3.7Bn. China continues to head the list in terms of demand with 3,771  from 2012 to March 2018, BRAZIL (533), South Africa (242), Russia (211) and Turkey (188).