Now that the Portuguese government has stated that the GV should lead to residency and not citizenship, does anyone still believe the Government will allow GV holders to gain citizenship without becoming full-time residents of Portugal?
This raises the question of what purpose the GV now serves. If a foreigner intends to live/pay taxes in Portugal, there are better resident visas than the GV. Is the GV now solely for applicants who want to travel around Schengen with the GV in their passport but know chances are slim of ever gaining citizenship?
The path is still there, but the timeline shifted pretty significantly. The government lengthened the nationality law requirements from 5 years to 10 years for most people (7 if youâre from an EU or Portuguese-speaking country). So the GV still technically leads to citizenship, just over a much longer horizon than the old marketing materials suggested.
What changed wasnât really the GV program itself but the citizenship requirements that apply to everyone. You still get permanent residence after 5 years with minimal physical presence, but now youâre looking at 7-10+ years of legal residence before you can apply for citizenship, depending on your passport.
I think the GV still makes sense for a specific profile: people who want EU mobility and the option to settle in Portugal down the line, but arenât ready to commit to full residency now. The minimal stay requirement (roughly 7 days/year) is the actual feature. If you know you want to live in Portugal soon and pay taxes there, youâre right that other visas (D7, D2, even the new digital nomad visa) are cheaper and more straightforward.
The real shift is psychological. The old pitch was âinvest now, citizenship in 5 years.â The new reality is closer to âinvest now, keep your options open, and if you do decide to make Portugal home over the next decade, citizenship becomes possible.â Itâs a residency-optionality play more than a (hehe, quasi) fast-track citizenship program at this pointâŚ
Unless Portugal changes the rules again. Perhaps requiring far more time in-country, for example.
The past year has seen various âunthinkableâ changes made to Portuguese Nationality Law. Letâs not pretend we can trust that this country wonât make more changes that are adverse to GVs.
The same EU mobility that provides the inability to renew a residence card and maintain a valid card, and the same mobility that means you wait at the airport EES queue for 3 hours each time you travel out of Schengen?
It is possible that for a certain segment of people a golden visa makes sense still, but I am tired of those who peddle some false narrative that it provides some readily available benefits or that itâs easy to maneuver.
The answer is that many GV applicants (in hundreds and even in thoudsands) have received their citizenship and passports, so the question about GV leading to citizenship is irrelevant.
Thanks for the thoughtful reply. Makes a lot of sense.
Now that the Portuguese Govt has said the GV should not automatically lead to citizenship, and has revealed its willingness to change its rules on investors midstream, I fear the Govt will take away the avenue to citizenship without residency. I donât want to get 8 or 10 or 12 years into the process, then find out I have to become a tax resident of Portugal in order to get citizenship.
The new law, and recent Portuguese Govt statements, make it relevant for new investors. I agree if you already received citizenship, or qualify to submit your citizenship application by May 30, youâre working with a different set of rules.
One way they can effectively do that is to fiddle with the regulations around what proves a sufficiently âclose connectionâ - increasing the level of language proficiency required, civic education tests, and other proof of integration that is difficult to obtain in 7 days a year. Reaching eg C1 proficiency is possible, of course, but also requires the kind of time investment that many GV applicants donât have.
I looked hard at the GV and decided to pass; am on the D7 now. I dont think its useful to analyse legal positions, start class actions, etc. This is great for lawyers but not for us. I would step back and look at the longer-term fundamentals. The world and a whole is becoming a more nationalist, racist, protectionist place. The UN, ICHR, etc was a great period of openness and inclusion, now its history. Governments are constrained by populist feeling - these guys need to keep their jobs. I remember companies in the Seychelles, numbered Swiss accounts, bearer shares, nominee directors. Not any more (well not for folk at my level anyway). We have to go with the flow. The appearance that ârich foreignersâ can âjust buyâ citizenship was fine once; now it is increasingly toxic. Of course the EU leads this cultural shift. Politicians can publicly rail against it and nobody pushes back. These changes happen slowly and I dont see this one reversing in my timeframe. So go with the flow. Get on a scheme that requires less money and more commitment. Blend into the background a bit. I really think its a strategic mistake to fight the zeitgeist on this one. Even if youâre right. Which you are. Well thats the path Im taking.