© Portugal Resident Open Media 2019 - Todos os direitos reservados | Foreign investors ‘start pulling out of Portugal’ in wake of changes to...Ryanair appeals to European Court of Justice to block state-aid for TAP Natasha Donn-7th February 2020.
Please continue to respect all commenters and create constructive debates.Are you sure you want to mark this comment as inappropriate?Please be respectful when making a comment and adhere to our There are no Independent Premium comments yet - be the first to add your thoughtsPlease be respectful when making a comment and adhere to our There are no comments yet - be the first to add your thoughtsSupport free-thinking journalism and attend Independent eventsIn June, Russian oligarch and Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich 'withdrew' his tier 1 visa application after coming under increased Home Office scrutiny‘Golden visas’ not suspended, despite Home Office announcement JOHANNESBURG — For years, Portugal’s Golden Visa programme has become a strong plan B for many South Africans looking to hedge their bets against the uncertainty that exists in the country. Portugal has this week come under fire from anti-corruption organisation Transparency International for the lack of clarity surrounding the popular golden visa scheme. The most insightful comments on all subjects will be published daily in dedicated articles.
“If this was a Portuguese national investing in China or Brazil, he would be unlikely to invest in an interior that he did not know, preferring principal cities with recognised prospects of economic ‘return’, low on risk”.Of the 8,125 golden visas attributed since the regime’s inception in 2012, Chinese nationals are the largest group of beneficiaries (responsible for 4,441 visas); Brazilians are the second largest, albeit with the much smaller tally of 841 visas.Whether APPII’s concerns can force any changes in these ‘final hours’ is what many in the property sector will be watching.President Marcelo is due to promulgate the 2020 State Budget towards the end of this month. An 88-page report published on Wednesday criticises many EU countries, including Portugal, and raises serious concerns over risks of money-laundering and to the security of the EU and its Member States. The changes in question are to stop investment into City Centre’s and Major Towns within Portugal for Golden Visa Investors and to only approve applications that are in interior parts of the country or fall under what the government determines as Low-Density areas. You can also choose to be emailed when someone replies to your comment.The existing Open Comments threads will continue to exist for those who do not subscribe to Independent Premium. Our journalists will try to respond by joining the threads when they can to create a true meeting of independent Premium. Applicants will also be required to prove that they have had control of the required £2m for at least two years and it must then be invested in active and trading UK companies, rather than government bonds.Just days after department announces 'sweeping reforms', they have been put on holdIndependent Premium Comments can be posted by members of our membership scheme, Independent Premium. By. “The changes are not a priority at the moment,” a source from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs allegedly told the media outlet Dinheiro Vivo. Just days after department announces 'sweeping reforms', they have been put on holdWant to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later?
He decided in the end not to go ahead”.According to Santos Ferreira, the notion that the golden visa scheme will be able to attract wealthy foreigners to Portugal’s interior from one minute to the next is “impossible”.He told TSF.
Due to the sheer scale of this comment community, we are not able to give each post the same level of attention, but we have preserved this area in the interests of open debate. Foreign investors have reportedly already started ‘pulling out of Portugal’ in wake of controversial changes to the golden visa residency regime.TSF radio reports today that Chinese and Brazilian nationals have cancelled property deals they were pursuing since parliament has approved ruling PS proposals to limit the emission of golden visas to areas of the Interior and the autonomous regions of Azores and Madeira (The cancelled deals were all in territories now removed from the regime: those of Greater Lisbon and Porto.Hugo Santos Ferreira, vice-president of the Portuguese association of property promoters and investors (APPII) has described a “torrent” of calls from overseas in the last week – particularly on Wednesday when the changes were voted through.The only chink of light for the property sector is the fact that the budget still awaits ‘promulgation’ by President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.This suggests a great deal of lobbying will be going on in the background.Said Santos Ferreira: “On the day of the announcement many promissory purchase and sales contracts, and indeed some final deeds, were not completed due to uncertainty”.These deals are now on hold as the market waits to see “confirmation” of the changes in the State Budget.The APPII vice-president said he himself had received a phone call from ‘an investor in Shanghai” on the night parliament approved the new measures.