Golden Visa investment down 13% in 2020

Overseas investment attracted through Portugal’s Golden Visa programme fell 13% in 2020 to €646 million.

According to statistics from the borders and immigration agency SEF, last year investment from the programme Authorisation for Residency through Investment (ARI) totalled €646,729,464.80, which compared to the €742 million attracted in 2019.
In December, investment stood at €27,737,718, 46% down on November and a fall of 38% like-for-like.
That month 49 Golden Visas were issued of which 47 were from buying property, seven from urban rehabilitation, and two from capital transfer.
Property purchases brought the government €26.3 million in investment, of which €2.4 million corresponded to acquisition to refurbish property (urban rehabilitation).
With regard to capital transfer, this criteria attracted €1.3 million while not a single visa was issued on the back of job creation.
Of all the successful applicants for Golden Visas in December 2020, 14 were from China, four from Algeria, four from Russia, three from Brazil and three from South Africa.
The Golden Visa programme was launched in October 2012 and in terms of accumulated investment since then has brought €5,638,983,295,75 (€5.6Bn).
Under new legislation, Portugal’s Golden Visa programme will continue, with the exception of property investment in Lisbon, Porto or the coastal areas of the country, including the Algarve.
The Government says that all those who were issued their visas before the transition period will be able to renew them, even though their properties were purchased in the zones now excluded.
The new rules will be phased in gradually until 1 July 2021 as the Government wants to channel investment to Portugal’s interior and islands of Madeira and Azores, i.e., places with low population density.
The Government will now give priority particularly to investment in cultural heritage projects, activities of a high environmental or social value, productive investment and projects that create jobs.