Portugal suspends issuing golden visas

The Portuguese Foreigner and Borders Service (SEF) has suspended the issuing of gold visas requested since the beginning of July, based on a decision by its Director, according to Portuguese daily newspaper Jornal de Noticias.
The decision is the result of a legal vacuum created by new law 63/2015, which does not regulate certain matters that were originally written in the form of legal articles but are not included in the new law.
Among the articles repealed by the new legislation is one that defined the length of time candidates for golden visas may stay in the country and the minimum investment required for one to be granted.
Law 63/2015 offers up new possibilities for granting golden visas – by transferring capital of 350,000 euros or more for investment in scientific research within the national scientific system, by transferring capital of 350,000 euros or more applied to investment or supporting artistic production, or the maintenance or recovery of cultural heritage.
In addition golden visas can be granted through acquisition of property worth at least 500,000 euros, with positive discrimination for investment in low-density areas, so that these investments will not be concentrated exclusively in large cities, representing a decrease of 20 percent.
The other conditions for granting residence permits in return for investment – capital transfer of at least one million euros and creation of at least 10 jobs – remain the same.
According to Jornal de Notícias, over 350 golden visas were granted by the end of April and China continues to be the country with the highest number of applications. MDT/Macauhub