Are you living in PT full-time? Or were you sensible and retained a home base elsewhere (unlike us)?
The solution here is: never use the words “Golden Visa”. Instead of this, use the term: residency by investment. It is literally an exact translation of “autorização de residência de investimento” which is printed on the resident card.
I only say that I got my residency via investment approved by portuguese government. Then they almost never asked me anything and they kept their mouth shut. A few of them asked me what kind of investment. I replied that “governement used financial investment to do some projects including real estates, agricultures, restoring art and historical buildings,…and what exactly government did with the money I had know idea or some of the money could be corrupted which is also a possiblity”. Then none of them wants to find out more information. A few of them even applauded me because they thought that i must be clever to figure out the Residency by investment 
.
It is very strange that we are living in a schengen country in 21st century but whenever people hear the word “gold”, they immediately have bad impression.
For those ill-educated people, you need to use more tecnical terms (investment) instead of just saying “gold”. It’s best way to stop the stupid getting stupider.
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No, it was on our roadmap but we had not made the move yet. I fully admit my “pulling the plug” is easier than someone who has moved to Portugal already. But the only control I have over the situation is to decide to not participate in the charade any further.
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Wise decision. Had we had even the remotest inkling that things would turn out this way, we’d have never left our warm, insulated new-build in leafy Sussex! 
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You can use this term if you want. I’m a D2 now so entrepreneur sounds better.
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Do people often ask about how you got your visa in Portugal? I’ve literally never been asked that question. People might ask why you moved to Portugal or something of that sort but most locals are quite unaware of visas or permits of any sort since they never need them, same for EU citizens for the most part. EU citizens usually get a shock when they reach the 5 year mark and suddenly have to deal with AIMA for their PR cards. That’s when their ordeal starts.
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We can only assume that some people “socialize” too much 
I cannot even imagine a situation where some random local would start challenging me of what kind of visa I got into the country on..
Some inordinate level of intoxication is required on both sides 
A couple weeks ago I went out for dinner after an event with an American ARI and a few younger Portuguese people. Halfway through dinner, the ARI cheerfully announced that he had a golden visa and lived full time in Portugal, incidental to some unknown topic of conversation on the other half of the table. The Portuguese all took it in stride but I later cautioned the ARI never to mention that to people, because the term had become radioactive since 2023; I suggested keeping it under the lid altogether, or saying “ARI visa” if he had to say something. The ARI had not been following the trends and had no idea, still thinking that “golden visas” were appreciated as saviors of the economy.
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Choose your friends carefully.
It usually starts out with a derogatory comment about immigrants, typically Asian and Brazilian immigrants. Then it will move on to social problems which are largely the fault of these immigrants. Once the housing crisis is brought in to the discussion, it invariably turns toward rich foreigners on Golden Visas coming to Portugal to flip houses, engage in all sorts of diabolical misdeeds and ruin the futures of every young Portuguese. All the while we say nothing, lest we give ourselves away.
Being in a situation where people are far too comfortable expressing their opinions on the evils of immigration as well as citizenship by investment programs is enough to make one feel both uncomfortable and unwelcome.
This has happened with other expats as well. There are many pre-Brexit Brits that feel they did things “the right way” and that GV applicants are gaming the system. Maybe this is worse for us in Algarve as it’s become Chega’s power base and the long-term expats have a smug superiority. Either way it isn’t a very nice situation to have happen.
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That’s exactly my experience. Nail on the head. Unfortunately. People here are WAY too comfortable with normalised immigrant hate.
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Immigrants pulling up the ladder behind them, tale as old as time.
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The brief cites a December 1 poll here for the idea that 90%, something like 3,500 respondents, wouldn’t have gone the GV route. The link in the version pointed here is dead. Where can I find that?
Also, the implication is that the 15 are all Americans. True?
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Here you go:
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The 15 were not all Americans, but enough were that Expresso felt comfortable running with it.
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I didn’t see a link to the IMI article about the brief submission so here it is. Golden Visa Investors Challenge Portugal's Citizenship Law at Constitutional Court - IMI Daily
Here is a new short video on the amicus curiae brief from an influencer who tried to be accurate and fair to investors. No sugarcoating, no “get in now” pitch, nothing to sell - just information.
If you agree, please engage with the video so that she feels the support of our community 
Thank you!
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Not that I expect “Natasha The Editorialist” to change her ways, but I sent the following letter to the Portugal Resident Editor to try clue them in. As with the TR vs. PR. vs. Nationality comparison, it draws upon NG contributions - so thanks for those 
Subject: Inaccuracies in your 5-Dec “Amicus Curiae” article
Thank you Natasha for your article of 5-December on the “Amicus Curiae” Nationality Law appeal to the Tribunal Constitucional on behalf of Golden Visa investors. While politicians love our billions in investment money, they never seem to remember the impact of AIMA and immigration law changes on our willingness to invest in Portugal.
However it does your readership a great disservice to parrot the “nothing to worry about” Pollyanna view of Golden Visa promoters. Claiming that “having residency in this country, as a foreigner, is every bit as useful as nationality” is simply wrong, for many reasons.
More (perhaps twice as many) years to Citizenship obviously means more years for Portugal to change the rules of the game - again! Will minimum stay or language requirements change as well? If Portugal can pass the current retrospective changes now, who trusts it to not make more unfavourable changes in the next 5 years?
As opposed to proper Portuguese Nationality (what most of us signed-up for)…
Temporary Portuguese Residency adds these burdens and nerve-wracking uncertainty:
- A Temporary visa still has the same stay restrictions outside of Portugal that anyone from a non-Schengen country faces - i.e. no more than 90 days in the previous 180 (just not counting days in Portugal).
- Renewal costs every 2-3 years for entire families, at 3090 € per head for most Portuguese fund/startup/cultural/etc. Investors (a fee that will surely increase).
- Renewal hassle and grief every 2-3 years, with delays getting an AIMA in-person renewal appointment currently running around 6 months, plus perhaps another 3-6 months to get your new residency card after paying for it. Meanwhile many people are forced to live on expired visas while they wait for AIMA.
- Some GV investors are working on their 5th “temporary visa” renewal due to IRN delays in granting Nationality - for a family that could total around 75000 € in ever-increasing GV renewal fees.
- Dependent children may grow too old to be dependent anymore (especially given years-long AIMA and IRN delays), and thus ineligible under their parent’s visa.
And to be clear, Permanent Portuguese Residency is not “almost as good” as Citizenship either:
- Same 90 in past 180 day non-Portugal Schengen restrictions as Temporary Residency.
- Renewals might be simpler and every 5 years, but at 4326 € per head for most Investors and their families (another fee that will surely increase).
- Portuguese PR has never included years waiting in SEF/AIMA purgatory in its count for eligibility. Its 5-year clock only starts from your initial Temporary Residence card date, which could be 3, 5, or even more years after you first applied. So you could be waiting 8 or 10+ years in total just for PR.
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Wow, you guys were very busy while I was away!
First, thanks so much @kgoff74 and others for all your efforts. Especially for publicly making Leitão Amaro eat his own populist braggadocio (“left to the end… Those who pay the most… the ARIs, the so-called golden visas.”). Total self-own there António 
Thinking of any future PT legal needs, which firms most contributed to this brief? Seems Liberty Legal (Madalena Monteiro) and maybe Fieldfisher Portugal (André Miranda)? Was PAIIR/Prime Legal also involved?
Unlike our lawyers (SBPS) and most other PT firms, who just shake their fist at the sky and then resume plodding along under the same old injustices, your folks seem to be real go-getters. I like that!
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