I’ll probably wait for the U.S. dollar to become stronger (hopefully) and for more clarity on Portugal’s new immigration and citizenship laws. As for Turkey, it’s probably not a great option right now due to its fragile economy and ongoing regional tensions.
If you are considering Turke bear in mind tnat the state emded the Lira exchange rate guarantee since April 25 investors are exposed to fluctuations
If thia doesn’t matter to you i think it s worth doing it, who knows Turkey may one day join EU.
How does this matter to your decision making on CBI? It’s not a loaded question, just genuinely interested as to how you think this may affect you at all as a foreign CBI investor.
I guess you are not buying a 2nd passport because you want to ‘participate in a democratic process’ in another country?
Unless Turkey resolved the conflicts with Cyprus, they are a century away from joining the EU.
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Low chance with Erdogan at helm
Has there been any discussion around Golden Visa renewal fees lately? I’m especially curious about a €6K+ AIMA fee and whether it applies to renewals or just initial applications. Appreciate any insights!
Renewal fee is about 50% of initial application fee, unless you invested in real estate, in which case you might be asked to pay about €200 instead for your entrepreneurial visa.
There has been a recent discussion for the gv holders who joined the program via real estate route. Many lawyers state that for them the renewal will be much lower, somewhere around 183 €s. This is because those GVs (the ones with “expired” routes) will be converted to normal immigration visas which come with much lower fees.
Can we please keep discussions on renewals to the renewals threads, like this one?
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That I didn’t know! I was wondering how the government could afford to do a rate lock like that with how bad the Lira has been. I was actually very hesitant to do any type of investment like bonds or just even holding it in a deposit in fear they might have defaulted on that agreement. Hopefully the grandfathered those they promised it to.
Because of that fear I had I was looking into property. It’s not as long of a timeline and maybe ??? Might make some money as an air BB maybe.
This is all just theorizing on my part. Thinking of PT maybe out then maybe this might be something to consider. Governments shift… who knows where turkey will be in 15 years. Maybe a member of the EU if not I heard a lot of Brits retire there?
We are going there in a few months to get a taste of the country.
The main reason it matters to me is our plan when we retire still 10-15 years away is I’d like to be somewhere in Europe (yes I know Turkey is not really Europe). However another driving reason is the cost of Healthcare in America. We want to retire young and we probably can’t do that if we have to pay for Healthcare. That was another draw to the EU. Turkey is know to have very good health services especially if you get private such is doable for us.
I just don’t want to retire to a not especially free society… if that didn’t bother me I’d go to Egypt just because I love it there (although my wife would totally disagree lol). The draw of an “EU citizenship” have me comfort to a part freeer society than what the US has currently.
I’m just trying to make backup options. It’s very hard to guess the future especially 15-20 years ahead… so I’m trying to lay out plans that would ultimately benefit us.
André Ventura’s been to visit the President
President of the Republic will send the Foreigners’ Law to the Constitutional Court: “99.9% certainty”, says Ventura, Expresso.pt, 22-July 2025
Chega leader says that the President of the Republic defends that an analysis by the judges of the Ratton Palace can give greater security to this law as well as to the Nationality Law, which the Government wants to approve in September with ChegaThe Foreigners’ Law was swiftly approved in Parliament, with the support of the AD and Chega parties, but, as Expresso anticipated, it will stall in Belém. The President of the Republic is convinced that it is the best solution for a law that has raised several constitutional doubts and precedes another, the Nationality Law, which may also be tainted by unconstitutionalities. Therefore, the President “believes” that the best option would be for it to be reviewed by the Constitutional Court…
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From what I’ve gathered so far, it seems that for Malta you’d need to be a resident, preferably a PR, before being able to donate to earn merit. I was given a hint that residency would include physical presence at least 18-24 months in 36 months as the last 6 months are required, but note you may not have to pay tax on income not remitted to Malta.
I think the changes being sent to the court now are around family reunification, stripping citizenship from criminals etc. But I wonder what this means for amendment to nationality law to require 10 years residency or the shift in the residency clock to begin when the residence permit is issued. Those changes haven’t been approved by parliament yet and has been sent to committee. I’m not sure if it can go to the constitutional court before actually being passed by parliament.
I only read/pasted the bit that was before the paywall, but my read of what Sr. Ventura thinks:
- For the Foreigners’ Law that “was swiftly approved in Parliament” (earlier this month), he expects the President will refer it to the Constitutional Court, given its “several constitutional doubts.” Foreigners’ Law changes "precedes another…
- the Nationality Law [to be debated before October], which may also be tainted by unconstitutionalities." Thus Ventura figures the Nationality Law will also get punted to the Constitutional Court for review after it’s approved by Parliament.
Ugh. Under current rules, I’m eligible to apply for citizenship in the first week of October. This is going to be a nail-biting couple of months.
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I still have a couple more years before I’d reach 5 (since GV application… if that’s the starting line… who knows?!). So I can already move on to despair and anger over these potential changes 
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Meanwhile in other Lei da Nacionalidade news (sorry, both are paywalled so only get the gist of them until other papers publish these stories)…
Committee studying the proposed changes doesn’t seem interested in hearing from the immigrants who will be affected:
(also note how PSD, Chega, CDS, and IL all seem to be singing from the same songbook now)
Parliament rejected the request for an opinion from all associations except one: the Jewish one, Publico.pt July 22, 2025
The National Assembly rejected requests for written opinions from immigrant and/or religious associations regarding the Nationality Law. However, one passed: the Jewish Community of Lisbon.The names of the associations were announced one by one by the chair of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs, Rights, Freedoms, and Guarantees, and for all of them, the result was the same: a rejection by the right-wing majority, including the PSD, Chega, CDS, and Iniciativa Liberal (IL). However, one representative association will be asked to provide a written opinion on the Nationality Law: the Jewish Community of Lisbon, a religious association of the Jewish community in Portugal.
At least the lawyers seem to be on our side?
Portuguese Bar Association raises “well-founded doubts” about the constitutionality of the Nationality Law, Publico.pt July 23, 2025
Changes to the Nationality Law, whose discussion in Parliament has been postponed until September, could violate articles 4, 13 and 18 of the Constitution, warns the Portuguese Bar Association.The Portuguese Bar Association (OA) has issued an “unfavorable” opinion on the changes to the Nationality Law proposed by the Government, pointing out “well-founded doubts about the constitutionality” of the bill, which could involve a violation of three articles of the Constitution.
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They are and will always be on our side because of the financial interest. No immigration no money. More immigration more money. 
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It is little wonder as to why I have had my head in the sand over these proposed changes. This whipsawing is making me dizzy. We feel that the uncertainty over the anticipated legislative changes is much worse than bad news as at least we can make contingencies. But this not knowing where one stands is extremely destabilising, so much so that we have scheduled an appointment at the Embassy of Canada to talk about possible options for us to move there. Never thought this would happen but here we all are. 