They can continue to sell the program without selling us out!
This is my favourite part 
“Most investors want mobility and optionality, not another passport to manage.”
I am sick to death of these charlatans trying to repackage the GV program. Maybe my memory isn’t what it used to be (it still is) but I firmly recall this program marketed as a citizenship by investment program. Their attempt to downplay this is an utter disgrace and makes me want to 
7 Likes
If that’s what they want there are much better options than Portugal. Italy, Hungary, Latvia all have better cheaper more efficiently processed residencies with less physical presence requirement to maintain the residency.
3 Likes
Can we merge this with the bitching thread. We don’t need two functionally identical threads
After reading this I had a look at the Italian Investor Visa, I hadn’t realised it was an option before now.
From what I can see the visa can be renewed 3 times for 2 years each. That gives enough time to apply for PR…but the catch is PR requires 5 years of physical presence and therefore tax obligations in Italy.
The alternative route would be to swith to another TR visa at the 6 year point…the catch here is the only other options I’ve found are the Digital Nomad or Retirement. Again, these require full time physical presence.
So my assessment is Italy GV is good for short term EU access, but won’t deliver long term access ( or PR or Citizenship without residency / tax residency)
I don’t think that’s correct. What I’m seeing online is that the initial card is 2 years, subsequent cards are 3 years, and you can keep renewing the 3 year cards indefinitely as long as you maintain the investment.
Only if you want to sell the investment do you need to switch to PR and live there.
But if you want a PR with low physical residence requirement, the Bulgarian Golden Visa leads to PR immediately on approval. No 5 year “temporary residence” needed first.
Most posts within this thread have explained the calculus behind not continuing with the GV process (after the recent law changes) - and alternatives we might pursue. If this isn’t interesting to you, why are you continuing to read the thread?
3 Likes
That makes more sense, maybe where I looked was incorrect, that’s better than PGV for just EU access.
For christs sake, have we learned nothing about trusting the word of Golden Visa industry types?
3 Likes
While anyone who is selling something will try to portray it in the most favorable light, all you can do is get as much information as you can, from as many possible sources, and make your best calculation.
Or stop looking at GV schemes.
1 Like
Totally agreed. Actually it’s the main reason I’m so thankful for this forum:) I just think the input that’s really valuable is that of people that have actually gone through / are going through the process.
The unenforceable promises of used car salesmen is information, true, but unless these are well known, well regarded lawyers with public reputations to uphold… I’d treat it as highly suspect information very much in need of independent verification, that the government very well may pull the rug on at any moment:/
Still, this is an interesting thread with interesting alternatives, and I thank you for sharing it! Sorry if my bitteress at having been grossly mislead is shining through a bit more than it should today;)
3 Likes
Hi @Sheri_Fox (and others reconsidering your PT investments). I’ve started putting together this comparison table, which hopefully will help.
2 Likes
Maybe you could add other GVs (Latvia, Italy, Bulgaria, Greece) to the comparison table?
Thanks for putting together the nice table @PTbound! Mentally I’m 100% sure PR does us personally no good but it’s helpful to have the facts on paper.
It’s going to take a while just to get the Portugal variants correct! 
Just returning to say we had a very pleasant and informative chat with our attorney today. There was no hard sell, no trying to convince us things were fine or normal, no guarantees, just an honest acknowledgment of the current lack of clarity. He said not to expect a TC result until January given the holidays. In our situation, he actually recommended that we consider delaying my Feb biometrics and see how things play out. I will likely follow this advice, even though it could lengthen our timeline. I am just too stressed out by the unknowns. I hope this opens up a biometric appt for someone who has been waiting much longer than I have!
He also hinted at the possibility that my and my spouse’s biometrics could be scheduled together if we allow AIMA extra time. So… I will be eagerly awaiting updates to see if AIMA keeps up this new momentum or sputters out again. I really appreciate everyone sharing their thoughts and experiences here and giving me a place to sort out my thoughts I hope this is helpful to someone else in the same boat.
2 Likes
Did he mean that he thinks the TC won’t give their opinion until January? I thought their 25 day period was fixed, which takes them to mid-Dec. Perhaps he meant the Assembly revising the bill, in which case January would make sense.
1 Like
Yes, perhaps he was referring to the entire process. Although it’s still Portugal, so “fixed” is a bit loosey-goosey. Basically he said we likely won’t have clarity until at least mid January.
2 Likes
I intend to do the same. Continuing for another decade under such uncertainty and escalating expenses is simply not feasible. My appointment is at the end of January, but I have yet to receive any information regarding my wife’s appointment, despite the initial indication from my attorney that we should have heard by now. The final implications of the new law also remain unclear. Just too many unknown variables in this equation.
1 Like
I don’t know of many (any?) people who’ve successfully managed to reschedule their Bios, though. Danger if you just skip your Feb. ones is AIMA might think you’ve abandoned your application.
A friend of ours gave up on the GV and got a D7 recently (Bios, everything, done). Now AIMA’s sent them a GV Bios appointment (yes AIMA really are that incompetent) and their lawyer’s finding it impossible to contact AIMA or use the portal to cancel it.
1 Like