I guess we glean different things from the same news, friend. If you think sharing criticism of the program sways people one way or another, perhaps that is because the criticism is valid.
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I invested in the golden visa 3 years ago but I have not yet been given a biometric appointment. I may never get an appointment. So the Portuguese government is obliged to compensate me? This is really great!
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Vichy,
If you can prove the action denied you your rights under existing laws with get their authority from the constitution, then yes. However, you need to act in good faith by starting the documentation process of notifying the appropriate authorities with demands for resolution or compensation and if necessary filing a law suit for resolution which it sounds like you want your money back. If so, then you should prepare documentation that you have already tried to get compensation in other ways, but the government is the responsibly party for denying your rights and the ONLY way to get just compensation is suing the government. Not a short process, but it would not be much shorter in any other countryā¦definitely not the US. You only need a lawyer to go to court, you can do your own letter writing and have them translated into Portuguese.
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You donāt seem to be getting it.
If you limited yourself to reminding potential investors of various pitfalls, I think everybody would consider it a valuable service.
However, when you editorialize, not only are you not treating the reader as a grown-up who is able to make their own decisions based on their personal risk tolerance, you often cross into implicitly insulting people who decide differently than you do.
Need some examples?
Not sure why anyone would tempt fate [ā¦]
It seems illogical to me [ā¦]
I would seriously reconsider [ā¦]
I canāt imagine why [ā¦] it makes no sense [ā¦] There is only one likely direction [ā¦]
Lots of us are frustrated with the process, but being relentlessly negative is just tiring, you know? Letās all do better.
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I look forward to the day when there are GV-related things to be optimistic about. Seems they will come, just in the distant future.
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The man took the one GV route where you explicitly donāt get any money back, have some sympathy
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Sure, itās negative. But the positive parts of this journey have been ground down for some of us in the grueling process itās become. I value his opinion, as I do all of yours, and Iām surprised at the level of resistance in allowing him to express himself. Much like investing in the market, we all have different risk tolerances and will respond differently to adversity. This isnāt something everyone should pursue, particularly now, and the more honest we are about that, the better we serve others making their decisions. While on my soapbox, Iād like to thank you all for your thoughtful analyses over time. They have been immensely helpful.
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I just love cultural heritage so much!
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H/T to you @ohbee as one of two (?) persons taking the cultural heritage donation route.
I remember, about a year ago, remarking on how positive and supportive your posts were.
Its been a long roadā¦!
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It has been a long road and will continue to be a winding twisting road. I would have done the cultural heritage route had that chance been available when I invested. I would have felt prouder saying I was an ARI investor who invested in the culture and heritage of Portugal.
With that said, this road is not going to get an shorter because of the extra work for SEF introduced by the Ukrainian war (6 month halt on applicationsā¦how many of us are actual refugees from a war zoneā¦.cut them some slack), the fact that the COVID time period meant SEF lost employees and like all places are having a hard time hiring employees and then the Costa Government/PS Party introduced populist drama, i.e. GV is BAD, SEF needs to be broken up, Costa/PS is going to fix housing, etc. On the GV front it appears in tracking their initial statements to the current proposed edits, the PS has done almost a 180 or possible a 540 (the single pirouette fits his flourishing style) from their original position which has caused another rush pile-up in the application process.
All we can do is advocate, be patient and if our rights have been denied or the law has been broken seek the appropriate redress. Everyone has their opinion, but as with all readingā¦ negativity day after day makes you an angry person or causes you to tune out, which I did for over 2 months because I did not want it anymore. I came back only because there are important events occurring and wanted to see what was going on in the community and found myself trying to present new and what I thought were important facts.
As far as advocating, I can tell you personally, you will get responses. Yesterday I got a nice email from the President of the General Assembly indicating that my rational, but pointed letter about the problems with the draft law was reviewed by the President of the General Assembly and forwarded to the Chair of the Parliamentary Committee we are all watching for consideration. When I sent a letter to President Marcelo, I got a very nice response that the letter had been received and the points made would be considered at the appropriate time in the legislative process. I got letters from the Portuguese Embassy in the US and the US Embassy in Portugal that indicated their were aware of the situation and assured me they were raising it with the appropriate people in each government and the other government.
Hey, they are acknowledging it and if even one person reads each of the 12 or so letters and thinks about the situation, I had my say in their/my democracy.
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Thanks @joelvogel. Nice to see another fellow applicant adding some weight to my previous 20+ emails to the Assembly.
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I think youāll all find that it was my emails that were decisive 
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That was the idea behind our cultural heritage donation: they are giving us this opportunity, letās use it to make a big contribution to the country. No shame on anyone elseās choices, but few of the other GV pathways felt like they achieved this goal. So, to us, donating to a museum was the obvious choice. Had all the private parties involved in selling the GV dream been a little more realistic about it, who knows what we wouldāve done.
Nice to hear your letters are getting responses.
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you must have an excellent writing style to get all these responses. I wrote dispassionate and fact filled, with supporting evidence, notes and did not even an acknowledgement from either the US embassy or the Portuguese embassies 
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My tuppence worth:
Given the backsliding and the wish to keep VC investments going:
- The program will be open till the EU shuts it but in all likelihood once China is added to Russia and Belarus the EU will go away but may insist on tax residence for those who ask for citizenship (so Americans and those in countries with taxation and a DTAA should be ok). An actual residence permit which is not used is worth less than a 5 year Schengen visa (you Americans donāt appreciate how good you have it - in fact you can overstay and exit through Germany with no penalty). The gatekeeping will happen at the passport mark.
- The old stuff for anyone with a permit will be grandfathered as too much pain to deal with
- Which leaves those in limboland to be dealt with which will also likely go to 2) once granted
The fact is that Brussels is aware that all its member states are short of worker bees and skilled workers (most GV are rather skilled) and that the green transition will require lots of dough. Everyone who actually moves will be very welcome - so say my dip friends in various EU foreign services.
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Not directly related to the GV, but for those who were speculating why Costa seemingly wasnāt worried whether his government would have to go based on the TAP scandal, perhaps this can provide some background:
TLDR: It seems heās a prime candidate for an important role at the EU level next year.
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He is, and has been for some time, and is often accused of being more European than the EU. But his departure first came up explicitly when PS won the election with a majority last year. At the time the President stated unequivocally (repeated since) that if Costa left in the middle of his mandate, it would be reason to call a general election.
There is no reason to think that the President would not keep his promise. The Presidentās statement gave everyone (PS/Costa) pause and as the article says, Costa has repeated several times that he will stay to the end of his mandate. Last week there were signs that Marta Temido & Ana Catarina Mendes are being groomed (for the EU or other positions??)ā¦
31 posts were split to a new topic: Golden Visa permits for Russians/Belorussians in the latest proposal
Interesting update I received today from our group. Looks like the vote is further delayed in Parliament:
Decisive Vote on Golden Visa Postponed Until September at the Earliest
In recent weeks, it has been reported that the Mais HabitacĆ£o proposal would have its decisive vote on the 19th July. However, at the Conference of Leaders on the 21st June, when the Parliamentās agenda for the following weeks was formally decided, there was no request to schedule this vote.
This information was only disclosed on the 26th June, with the publication of the summary of that meeting, whose minutes clearly show that this appointment was neither requested nor carried out.
Taking into consideration the unwritten rule that the scheduling of votes such as this one is completed 30 days in advance, and in view of the fact that the Parliament will have a break for holidays during the month of August, this means that the legislative decisions relating to the Golden Visa are likely to be voted on from September onwards.
This indicates that there will probably be an extension for the Golden Visa until September at the earliest. And there is also the possibility that there will be a transition period, although there has been no further information regarding this.
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I hope this turns out to be true.
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