Propaganda
…
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You can’t make this stuff up:
What truly sets the country apart, however, is its temperament. While many European economies oscillate between boom and crisis, Portugal projects a rare sense of calm. In less than five years, it has reduced public debt by nearly 40 percent of GDP, maintained legal and political consistency, and reinforced institutional trust. For international investors, this stability is one of Europe’s most valuable currencies.
The fact that this isn’t sarcasm is a hilarious joke.
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If you manage to get a residency card from AIMA in under 4 months then I’d go out and buy a lottery ticket. It took us 18 months and a successful lawsuit to get our cards. And even after them informing us that they will be granting them, it still took 6 weeks to actually receive the printed card.
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It does seem there is quite a lot of variance in the processing time, looking at the database there seems to be a lot that are completed in 4-6 months and still a number that are 12+ months.
I tend to believe that AIMA has put resources into the process and it’s starting to get a bit of traction (as we have seen movement on the appointments) so I’m a glass half full on this but again, if I have to wait, the long term value to me of an EU LTR card is just so high, the price of waiting another 6-12-18 months doesn’t scare me, the overall deal (getting PR after 5 years) without having lived there, for my current lifestyle is just too good.
NB: I’m not really ready to spending long period in Portugal for the next 2-3 years and then after that 2-3 period I’d like to spend well in excess of >6 months / year so can hopefully I can turn my PG residency / PG Permanent Residency into an EU-LTR which in my view is priceless and just as good as a passport.
Again, show me another program that gives you a route to PR/EU-LTR without living there and for <1.5m euro and apartments costs etc and potentially a passport in 10 years.
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Oh, just wait — one day they’ll suddenly flip the PG Permanent Residency / EU-LTR rules too!
It’s good to know that EU-LTR rules are set by the EU not individual countries so it is a good backup if the PG PR rules are changed (and actual better than a country specific PR).
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But yes, you still rely on Portugal to apply and maintain it — and Portugal controls the practical side
Look at the vitriol from those purporting to be locals:
“As a Portuguese, I love it. Please leave”
“Remember to close the door behind you.”
“God forbid Portugese people can afford a place to live instead of a foreigner with no previous cultural affiliation to the country.”
“I think Portugal is full. There is no plan or interest for more billions…”
“Our nationality is not a commodity, people should move here because they love the country, not because they’re passport whores.”
“What a tone deaf post. F■■■ing brilliant idea. Why make it easy? Currently its a US colonisation.”
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I am not surprised by their responses at all. I would probably feel the same way and might have reacted similarly in their position. We have to remember that the issue lies with the government, not the people.
If this person had thought twice, he likely would not have made those comments to “test” the Portuguese people’s feelings about their country and their pride and dignity. His message came across as if the people of Portugal are begging us to keep our money and invest there. That is not the case. This is a contract between investors and the Portuguese government. The public should not be dragged into it.
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Malta at least in the past and certainly when I started the golden visa journey offered it
I used to watch his videos when he was a recent addition to the industry, but the Crypto Bro always flashing money was a huge turn off. His “Brand” is even called Wealthy Expat. I can’t think of a worse ambassador for us.
I realized how circular the industry is when IMI started citing him as an expert. The RBI/CBI space really is a snake eating its own tail.
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I swung by TPN and just above the “Oasis” article was this one applauding the innovation boom that is underway:
While I am sure that some of the tech and innovation expansion is organic, I am equally certain that the significant GV fund investments providied Growth Fuel and acceleration. The author neatly omits the source of these funds and how this innovation environment came to be. Between the Lince Capital’s Innovation Fund and Blue Crow, I know that these two firms have collectively several dozen investments on going. I am delighted to be part of the process of growth. I am less delighted to be kicked in the shins for the privilege.
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Funny enough, people actually turning away from the program rather than complaining but still paying is likely the only thing to make them start treating it better. ARI investors have been treated terribly for years, but new applications just keep rolling in, so why improve?
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Assuming the President signs this into law, how exactly would renewal work? Would we need to pay every two years to keep it active for a total of ten years? Would the 14-day stay requirement remain the same? And does the renewal cost increase over time?
There seem to be so many unanswered questions that even lawyers, AIMA, and politicians don’t seem to have clear answers. What a messy and confusing situation
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How would it work? They would continue to raise fees drastically in a journey of profit-maximizing price discovery, dangling the tease of eventual citizenship to keep you paying through the nose and jumping through the excruciating paperwork hoops. If they shoot too high and people start to abandon the program in droves, they’ll back off a bit and the people will cheer for their moral victory. Then, in five years, they’ll move the goalposts again, or delay your renewal by a few weeks beyond expiration and thus reset your clock to zero*. “No citizenship for you!”
A few lucky people may survive the race, early on, just to keep the others inspired with false hope so that they keep paying the exponentially increasing renewal costs.
[* In the old law, you needed at least five years of legal residence out of the last ten. In the new law, you need at least ten years out of the last ten. That doesn’t leave much slack–zero days to be exact–if AIMA slow-walks your renewal until after the expiration date.]
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The worst part is your file gets sent, according to AIMA Minister António Leitão Amaro, to the very bottom of the queue for committing the simple crime of being “rich” and investing money into the Portuguese economy.
I think it’s important to spread to the word to all you know in the business community about these experiences.
Anyways, Portugal is not the best place to open any enterprise that isn’t tourism or real-estate focused, most talented young Portuguese leave the country the first chance they get, with Portugal having the highest youth emigration rate in Western Europe, so your talent pool is severely diminished. Now with even skilled immigration being impacted by the Government’s actions, there’s absolutely 0 reason to do business in Portugal that depends on young, talented engineers or other folk.
I don’t care anymore what they do or don’t do, however they want to run things is their business of course, but it’s important to spread the word and warn both investors and skilled immigrants alike to what’s going on here. People can easily ruin their lives by choosing to move their skilled work to Portugal, stuck in endless renewal cycles and delays for the most basic thing of having the right to exist in the country. They should be warned, there isn’t enough material out there warning people about this stuff.
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Also, the government has made it pretty clear this past week that they don’t want “part-time Portuguese” and their behaviour in terms of policymaking would tend to back that up. The real worry many of us have is that they simply remove our ability to apply for citizenship as this is no longer a politically expedient program for this government’s agenda. Ten years residence from first card is probably not the worst-case scenario from a government obsessed with immigration and questions of nationality.
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Having lived here for a while and experienced many things, I can understand why they are the poorest country in Western Europe. What will this country become if the EU were to dissolve in the future?
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EU is not going anywhere.
Also I think it’s the poorest among Western Europe, if you account for Greece and Spain and Romania, Portugal is probably pretty good lol
Why someone would ever read TPN is beyond me. It’s like going to YouTube for the preroll ads and skipping the actual videos.
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