Portugal unveils new Golden Visa rules

Portugal has announced new requirements for its Golden Visa programme, which will increase minimum investments requirements for several categories, reported Investment Migration Insider. These long-awaited changes will come into effect on January 1, 2022.

These are some of the major changes to Portugal’s Golden Visa programme:

• Capital investment/deposit category: Minimum investment threshold increased to €1.5 million;
• Investment fund category: Minimum investment threshold increased to €500,000;
• Real estate investment category: Minimum investment requirements remain unchanged at €500,000 and €350,000 (properties to be renovated), but eligibility for a Golden visa through these options will be limited to the interior of the country along with the autonomous regions of Azores and Madeira;
• Job creation category: Minimum capital required to register/capital injection into an existing company will increase from €350,000 currently to €500,000;
• Science and Research Activities category: Minimum investment requirement will rise to €500,000.

The changes in the real estate market will affect only residential real estate.

Anyone submitting their applications before the end of this year will be subject to the old rules, regardless of the status of their application on January 1, 2022.