Portugal Day poll shows âprofoundly dissatisfied countryâ - Portugal Resident
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âDigital nomads have no impact on housing market.â yet GVs do. Curious!
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Final vote on July 19?! Will be nice to know the actual changes, hopefully.
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Most of the opposition parties have now submitted amendments to the Governmentâs drafting on ending the ARI. Frankly quite disappointing. PSD, the main opposition party, seems to accept all the vague and retroactive drafting in Articles 44 and 45, and their main proposal is to extend the ARI to the Autonomous Regions (which presumably wonât be accepted).
PSD (77 MPs) - Extend ARI to Maderia/Azores until end-2026. Otherwise agree government draft
CH (12) - Keep ARI entirely as now
IL (8)- Keep ARI, but remove options to invest directly in real estate. Delete language about entrepreneur visas.
BE (5) - Agree government draft, but move cut-off date back to 16th February
LIVRE (1) - no amendments on ARI
PAN (1) - no amendments on ARI
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Pretty fast reading given the number of papers submitted! I see that Artigo 46 is scratched out from PS requesed modifications⊠
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Most of those came out yesterday. The real breaking news is that PS has just published its revised draft. Lawyers are currently studying it, but at first sight, itâs huge:
Instead of scrapping 90-A (the ARI regime) in its entirety, they seem to be just stopping ARIs for those who invest in direct real estate (aside from low-density), and those doing the capital transfer > EUR 1.5m option. It looks like other ARI applications can continue.
The drafting is a mess, and there are unanswered questions, particularly around existing applications and renewals. But this seems like a major climb-down. Iâll update more later.
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Yes, I see that PS has submitted modifications.
They now say Artigo 44: NĂŁo sĂŁo admitidos novos pedidos de concessĂŁo de autorização de residĂȘncia para atividade de investimento previstos no artigo 90.Âș-A da Lei n.Âș 23/2007, de 4 de julho, e ao abrigo do disposto e ao abrigo do disposto nas subalĂneas i), iii) e iv) da alĂnea d) do n.Âș 1 a partir da data da entrada em vigor da presente lei.
A major change!! Agree with you - this removes the 1.5m clause, and the 2 âbens imĂłveisâ clauses.
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Yes, the consensus seems to be:
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The Portugal Golden Visa survives !
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New applicants can no longer buy real estate (or use the large capital transfer route). Instead, the focus will shift to investment funds (whether private equity / venture capital [, or open-ended equity funds like IMGA or BPI Portugal]) - EDIT - not open-ended fund - see my later post below
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The treatment of pending applications and renewals remains unclear. The draft is a mess, but perhaps will be tidied up over the next three or four weeks.
This is all interpretation and speculation at this stage - always rely on your own legal advice.
C19-PS.pdf (346.1 KB)
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It will be great if all the government achieves in their quest to destroy the program is to generate yet another insanely huge flood of applicants.
Maybe that was their plan all alongâŠ,
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âThe Socialist Partyâs proposal keeps the conversion to D2 [Entrepreneur] visas, but I donât think that was intentional,â says Monteiro. âIt wouldnât make sense considering the spirit of the changes. I just think that whoever made this document, wrote it with their feet rather than their hands,â she adds sardonically.
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Two more things from the PS proposals that I hadnât spotted earlier. In relation to Law 23/2007:
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Article 77(3) amended to read âThird-country nationals who are the subject of restrictive EU measures may be denied the granting or renewal of a residence permit.â ie no citizens of Russia or Belarus
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Article 3(1)(d)(vii) amended to EXCLUDE investment funds like IMGA or BPI Portugal as eligible ARI investments - only venture capital funds will be allowed.
Also a provision about the re-evaluation of investments every two years: âThe investment activities foreseen in paragraph d) of the present article require evaluation every two years as to its impacts on scientific and cultural activity and on the promotion of foreign direct investment and job creation.â
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If i understand correctly, allowing only investment in Venture or Private Equity funds for future applicants is a big change, and, if done correctly, could have a positive impact on start-up funding in PT.
A smart move for the country IMHO, good optics for PT as investment destination.
Iâm not sure potential GV applicants will be happy tho
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I agree: standing back from personal considerations, itâs a logical and defensible policy. The investment options theyâve left in are unarguably good for the country.
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What does this mean for property investors who will apply before this bill becomes law (lots of folks are rushing to get that in), or for property investors who applied already/will be renewing their existing gv based on that investment?
I thought the govt made a big deal about how any changes wonât be retroactive till law goes into effect and any current/pending/renewal applications will be protected under original rules. Did all that language and protections get removed?
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Possible need to switch for renewal. Or before, if they actually make the cutoff Feb 2023.
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No one really knows. They may be fine, maybe not. Lawsuits may be needed. Itâs best to follow the path of least resistance IMO, which is NOT real estate.
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