New nationality rules threaten investment via 'golden' visas

The Government has submitted three proposals to the Assembly of the Republic concerning the entry of foreign citizens into Portugal. One amends the Nationality Law, increasing the minimum residence periods. Another changes the Foreigners Law, revising visas for job seeking and family reunification rules. And the third provides for the creation of a border police.

The uncertainty generated by the new rules is causing concern among golden visa holders and investment funds that had, in this mechanism, a source of capital to inject into the Portuguese economy.

When questioned by ECO, André Rei, Senior Associate at PARES, clarified: "The residence permit regime for investment is not directly affected by these bills, with eligible investments and the respective procedure and legal requirements remaining unchanged". However, he emphasized that, considering that the attractiveness of the program in question "was directly related to the possibility of achieving Portuguese nationality after five years", the change in rules "inevitably affects" investors.