@nx1995xx aborting applications at this moment that are in pre-approvals on the basis of a press conference would be unconstitutional. Please remember, nothing has changed yet. This Housing Crisis proposal has several stages to become law, of which the GV aspect is one artefact.
We are a small minority of the overall number of GV applicants - many applicants are simply not part of this Nomadgate community.
Well said, by far the largest group of GV applicants is mainland Chinese who are applying using the exact same regime as the rest of us but will have their own community discussions in Chinese. My lawyer told us they have 900 Chinese clients applying for GVs so the lack of crossover between the overwhelming majority of applicants who are and speak Chinese and the Nomadgate community means we may not have the best informed discussion here.
Anyone know enough Chinese to track down their discussions? Would be good data if we can find their equivalent of the spreadsheet 
And do you know their forum?
I can ask my neighbor for help if anyone knows where to find the Chinese forum for PGV.
Likely to be on WeChat
May well have the opposite effect. Seems a lot of people trying to rush to get in before changes. Like the end of 2021 surge.
Yes, but I highly doubt anyone on the fence or starting the process from 0 today is considering investing in residential property. Both from the extended timeline (property selection, due diligence, closing, etc.) and the looming possibility that it will either need to be occupied by the owner or have a multiyear lease.
So, from that point of view, just the remarks from the government were likely enough to put an immediate halt on 99% of the residential property purchases under the GV.
Many of those rushing to apply are likely doing the commercial developer route (Mercan or others) and possibly the fund route. In terms of helping to stop the increase of housing prices and increase the overall quantity of dwellings, neither of those routes should cause the government any issues.
Per the recent Mercan video, the Jan 2022 rule changes more or less killed the residential property pathway already!
As @ohbee said I think the residential real estate was already a tiny portion. Mercan alone may be something like 50% of GV applications, and theyâre just one commercial developer.
The government announcement tries to frame GVs as a cause of the housing crisis but I think thatâs just propaganda to justify shutting them down based on orders from higher up (EU).
If you look at the facebook groups discussing D7 you will see people there complaining that they have to lease housing to apply for the visa even if they donât end up living in it. And the volume of D7 is much higher than GV. Think of all those âleasedâ (but actually vacant) apartments and you realize the D7 is much more responsible for housing shortage than GV 
I wonder where all the d7 applicants will end-up living then?
Afterall living in Portugal is condition of granting & maintaining their visasđ€·đœââïž
They might live there eventually. I think the issue is that even for the preliminary application (outside Portugal) they have to have a lease. Which could go empty for months before they actually get their residence card (which is the point at which they have to start living there).
I did think about WeChat however I donât think Chinese GV discussions would take place on this monitored platform because (a) itâs not legal for Chinese citizens to have dual citizenship which the GV is a path to and (b) Chinese can only exchange and export USD50k a year so it would take some pretty good financial planning to fulfil the GV requirements which does imply some irregularity that they may not want the CCP to know about given the clampdown on corruption. So I concluded the thousands of Chinese applicants must have their own dark web to discuss these things away from the prying eyes of the state. Chinese are more likely to be 100% reliant on their agents to administer their GV applications as in general their English is only slightly better than our Chinese and their Portuguese is likely non-existent. I speak as someone who lived there four years.
I couldnât agree more. We purchased in July 2022, submitted our application in August 2022 and have yet to hear from SEF. We purchased a residential property connected to a resort in a low-density area of the Algarve and receive rental income arranged entirely through the resort. We have the option to live there permanently in the future if we desire. We didnât have any real expectation the GV would be provided anytime soon but we are in no hurry. The Portuguese country, especially the bureaucracy, moves very slowly. This is part of the charm of the culture. One must have much patience. The silver lining to this is that if you are in no rush, the Portuguese wonât be in any rush to take away your rights. Portugal has become too attractive to too many people from many places for it to cut-off those who value its charms. Expect more red tape, sure. There may be requirements that one will need to adapt to, but I canât see the door closing to outsiders. Too much is at stake for both sides.
Hi,
We did the same thing. A vineyard/resort in a low -density area of the Algarve that handles all of the rentals! and with the option for living there full time (or simply more time) when that can happen.
Congratulations! Whatâs not to like? While I began this with the goal of gaining citizenship, I am so pleased with the investment that I will not be dumping it anytime soon regardless of what Portugal does with GV. If I want to live there eventually, I will apply for whatever takes GVâs place.
Hello I am so late to all of this. We are just now going to start working with the Mercan group as we were unaware of the Golden Visa program for Portugal. As amateur as this question soundsâit doesnât look like it is too late. Can anyone share thoughts? Many thanksâŠJanelle
Generally, sentiment around here ranges from âdonât touch Portugal with a 10m pole, they hate you and are incredibly slowâ to âI love my investment and Portugal and am signing paperwork to invest in the GV todayâ
I think a fair assessment is that Portugalâs processing times are very long (1+ years for pre-approval, then say another year for biometrics and your card, then the 5 years until you get citizenship). The residential path is going to be a pain in the butt going forward, whether legally or not (government is actively fighting residential investors and AirBNB). Commercial RE and fund investments are probably safer, and you can almost certainly get your application in if youâre quick enough, with the slowest part being FBI background check getting apostilled for americans (which you may not actually need for your initial submission)
So, if you donât mind gambling your lawyer fees and investment funds, you can squeak in before things change, but it is certainly risky and you should read more before investing, especially in anything non-liquid
Personally Iâd suggest going with an index fund-like investment like the IMGA Acoes (add accents where appropriate) and trying to squeak in if you really want an EU passport with minimal time on the ground. If youâre willing to move now, there are probably better options
Garrett thank you so much for this. For the Index like fund investment, I am assuming this is through Mercan as well? We wonât be moving now as our kids are in high school this is an option for 5-6 years from now.
Garrett means an equity fund that invests in Portuguese companies, like major banks, electricity generators & distributors, large supermarkets and the like. Thatâs one of the currently-permitted GV investment routes. Youâd be making a direct purchase in the index fund via a bank/broker in Portugal (Mercan just does real estate investments). The benefits would be (a) itâs liquid, so the GV doesnât work out you can just sell it at any time, (b) itâs not real estate, so may be unaffected by changes in renewal rules, (c) it should be v quick to arrange [a few days in my case]
Some lawyers will tell you that once youâve applied, youâre in the system and will be allowed to continue with it. But no-one knows for sure - presumably the closer you get to the end of the process the safer you are. And critically, itâs also very unclear how renewals will be handled for different investment routes.
Even before you decide your route, lawyers, etc, you should crack on today with ordering the docs youâll need - police records, birth & marriage certificates etc, because those will be the logjams in timing, and the door could slam shut in little more than a month. Plenty of advice on these forums on that.