If you want to directly email an individual member of the Committee, go to https://www.parlamento.pt/sites/COM/XVLeg/6CEOPPH/Paginas/Composicao.aspx
Then if you click on the committee member, it brings up their bio page, and at the top right thereās a link to āEnviar e-mailā
Thanks. One question. After translating the Article 43-45 with chatgpt, I see below. But I donāt see anywhere where it explicitly mentions VC funds and leaves out investment funds. Could you pls point me to it. TIA
Iām using link https://www.parlamento.pt/ActividadeParlamentar/Paginas/DetalheIniciativa.aspx?BID=152805
Article 43
Repealing provision regarding residence permits for investment
Paragraph d) of number 1 and numbers 2 to 4 of Article 3, Article 90-A, and paragraph r) of number 1 of Article 122 of Law number 23/2007, of July 4th, in its current wording, are repealed.
Article 44
Residence permits for investment activity
1 - New applications for residence permits for investment activity, provided for in Article 90-A of Law number 23/2007, of July 4th, are not accepted from the date of entry into force of this law.
2 - The provisions of the previous number do not affect the possibility of renewing residence permits for investment activity when these permits have been granted under the applicable legal regime until the date of entry into force of this law.
3 - The provisions of the previous number also apply to the granting or renewal of residence permits for family reunification provided for in Article 98 of Law number 23/2007, of July 4th.
4 - The provisions of number 2 also apply to holders of residence permits for investment activity and their family members who meet the requirements provided for in Article 80 of Law number 23/2007, of July 4th, in its current wording, and intend to apply for the granting of a residence permit for permanent investment activity, with the exception of what is provided for in paragraph b) of number 2 and numbers 3 and 4 of Article 85 of the same law.
5 - In the cases provided for in the previous numbers, the renewal determines the conversion of the residence permit into a residence permit for immigrant entrepreneurs, under the terms of number 4 of Article 89 of Law number 23/2007, of July 4th, in its current wording, and its holders must comply with a minimum stay period of seven consecutive or non-consecutive days in the first year, and fourteen consecutive or non-consecutive days in subsequent two-year periods.
Article 45
Pending applications for residence permits for investment activity
1 - The applications for granting and renewal of residence permits for investment activity requested under the provisions of numbers 1 and 2 of Article 90-A of Law number 23/2007, of July 4th, which are awaiting a decision by the competent authorities on the date of entry into force of this law, remain valid.
2 - The provisions of the previous number also apply to applications that are pending prior control procedures at the Municipalities on the date of entry into force of this law.
3 - The provisions of number 5 of Article 44 apply, with the necessary adaptations, to the aforementioned applications.
4 - For the purposes of the provisions of the previous number, the competent authorities must verify the adequacy of the investment to its respective entrepreneurial project.
5 - The following entities are competent to verify the adequacy of the investment to its respective entrepreneurial project, depending on the matter:
a) The Portuguese Trade and Investment Agency (AICEP);
b) The Development Bank;
c) The Agency for Competitiveness and Innovation;
d) The National Innovation Agency (ANI);
e) The Office for Cultural Strategy, Planning, and Evaluation (GEPAC);
f) Others deemed appropriate in accordance with the matter.
Sure. Take a look at the current PS draft, which is called āC19ā towards the bottom of this page:
Parliament site: https://www.parlamento.pt/ActividadeParlamentar/Paginas/DetalheIniciativa.aspx?BID=152805
First go to p22, where youāll see proposed amendments to Article 3 of Law 23/2007. This is where each investment type is defined, and we are looking at paragraph (vii)
In this paragraph PS has deleted āinvestment fundsā, while preserving āventure capital fundsā. Thatās important, because these are distinct types, as indicated in lists maintained by CMVM, the securities regulator.
Investment Funds: CMVM - Sistema de difusĆ£o de informaĆ§Ć£o - Fundos / GestĆ£o de ativos
VC Funds: CMVM - Sistema de difusĆ£o de informaĆ§Ć£o - Fundos / GestĆ£o de ativos
Youāll see that PS also revokes capital transfers and real estate by repealing paragraphs (i), (iii) and (iv).
Then we turn to Article 44 and Article 45 on pages 19 and 20. Youāll see that the investment types from paragraphs (i), (iii) and (iv) are brought back into Article 44 and 45, providing protection against retroactivity for existing applicants. Articles 44 and 45 should also bring back the āinvestment fundsā which were deleted from paragraph (vii), but they donāt. Thereās our problem.
āVenture capital fundsā donāt need Article 44+45 protection, as they still exist as valid ARI investments. But investment funds donāt, so they drop into a limbo which isnāt currently rescued by Articles 44 and 45.
Thanks! I sent an email to my lawyer with the link and he responded by saying that he spoke to IMGA after that and they are making some āmovesā to prevent the law passing by excluding investment funds. Iām working on sending the letters to members
Sounds great! Thanks
Sent email to all 48 of them. Lets see.
Does anyone know what happened with the vote today. Are investment funds still in limbo for people who are pre-approved but not granted permit?
Waiting for news, but I donāt think theyāve got to the ARI yet. Thereās another Committee session scheduled for tomorrow.
Seems theyāve now approved some form of the draft in Committee:
From the article
With the entry into force of the new law, no new applications for the granting of residence visas for investment activity will be admitted, which will not affect the possibility of renewing the permits already granted.
What about the ones applied but not granted yet?
Hello all,
The final version of the draft law went before the Committee today and is expected to go to the Assembly tomorrow. Iāve posted it in another forum.
In short, it seems to me that for those of us who have invested in equity investment funds (IMGA, BPI Portugal etc), the situation is ideal. ARI applications for these investment types continue to be allowed. Therefore, we continue to rely on prior law, and we do not need ārescuingā by Article 44 and 45, with the issues we highlighted in this forum.
I know people in this group wrote letters, in some cases to dozens of legislators and others, highlighting the legal problem we identified. Weāll probably never know if they were decisive, but Iād like to say thank you to everyone who got involved: I think youāve saved us all from a messy legal quagmire.
Indeed - I was in Lisbon this past week for spouseās biometrics (another post in another thread) and I took to opportunity to ask my lawyer about this. She confirmed (or youāre confirming her; not sure which :)) - as you say - about as good as we could ever have hoped for.