This has perhaps already been posted, but I could not find it. Apparently, Portugal is now considering a new form of the GV - the Solidarity Golden Visa. The idea is for applicants to “make an investment of at least €250,000 in social projects in Portugal.” Though really, it isn’t an investment in the classical sense - it seems more like just donating the money to those concerns, with no return back.
Who knows if this will actually happen, and what that will mean for the already horrific queues for GV processing!
There are a couple of articles about this out there. Here is one for more info (full of the standard hobby-horses of GV=Real Estate=bad, sigh):
With all respect for your leading and helpful role as an active NG contributor, obhee, this is simply an unhelpful reply to the OP.
Here we have a new post simply designed to share some reported news concerning a possible PT GV development, along with commentary that invites more. Obhee, your positions are not invalid, also they’re well and frequently expressed so quite obvious if searched; I’m simply suggesting that we might allow this new post to stand for informing about some possible GV development without triggering a new round of global condemnation. In contrast, perhaps constructively commenting on the downsides is more helpful to new participants, such as by pointing out the lack of accountability and total capital loss associated with donations, as your valuable contributions make clear from personal experience.
This is an entirely fraught process, and we have on NG specific spots for both new and rehashed complaints, including this popular thread: Will you apply Portugal Golden Visa knowing what you know today? @tkrunning was corralling some of the complaint department filings lately, I believe.
Thank you to the OP for the interesting link, as well as to obhee and so many others for their continued participation and dedication to this forum.
Out of curiosity were you able to deduct your donation from your US taxes? If so depending on your marginal tax bracket, the real cost to you could be much less than 250k.
I wonder if it’s possible to use something like a Donor Advised Fund to qualify for the GV.
No idea about ohbee’s circumstances, but when we lived abroad previously, we were not allowed to deduct any contributions we made to charities in the UK from our US taxes. The tax code at that time was very specific about an organization being incorporated in the U.S.
The article talks about 250k GV where the money will be invested into equipments and infrastruture of the immigrants. Govt do not say anything about prioritizing this specific type of GV investors.
What I can imagine is that several investors opt for this route and all of their money will be firstly used to prioritise the D7 D2 or to de-clog the Manifestacao de Interesse. What is the benefit of investing into equipments (biometric machine, card printing machine…) for others using while the investors themselves do not even get the pre-approval on time and most likely are the last ones in the line to get the biometric?
While some people still think portuguese govt is incompetent, others might think that they are clever and cunning like foxes. What do you think?
It only makes sense to me if Govt garantees that the investors get cards first, then they need to send the money of 250k within 60 days or their cards will be deactivated. Moreover, the resident cards must have 5 years validity immediately. Then it’s OK to do this kind of toilet flushing (although I am still not 100% convinced to go for it).
What do you think?