We are currently in a “wait and see” mode. Our family is able to apply for citizenship in September of this coming year (2026), if the current rules apply. That would allow my wife, my daughters (2), and I to get citizenship. My son will have just turned 18 and has not yet met the language requirement, so he will need to wait, regardless.
My hope is that, even if the law fully passes, that one of two things happen: a) that the law isn’t put into effect until after we can apply; and/or b) that we can collectively sue for retroactive treatment.
I will say, I don’t begrudge the various governments of the world tightening up immigration rules and regulations. I think we are exiting a global period of nearly unprecedented ease in these rules and some correction is likely needed. Not because immigration is bad (it’s VERY good), but simply because there needs to be enough “friction” in the system to make sure people do it for honorable reasons and to make sure it doesn’t happen so quickly that it destroys cultures.
I also, of course, hope that they will honor the commitments we made to Portugal four years ago. We love the country and the people. Our great desire is to obtain citizenship and spend many years sharing time between there and our home in the USA. We also hope that our children can do the same. It makes me sad that our love of Portugal is, in a sense, being rejected.
I thought open ended funds only became allowable in 2023? How did you invest via one in Dec 2021?
Answering the thread there are no other options for the plan B crowd that wants a European passport as a just in case and doesn’t want physical presence
And yes the physical presence can change but that’s political risk. The left can also get elected and re-pass count from application sometime in the next few years but nobody brings it up. Power will change hands and winds will shift many times over the years as it has past few years. I’m in my 30’s with 2 kids under 4. I can wait it out.
Yes. You only needed to look at the law to see the rules for funds. And IMGA and BPI were being discussed in these forums by then. I bought BPI for my ARI application in Sept 2021.
Your kids will likely be adults before the tide turns on “immigration clamp-downs” (if it ever does). The wave has only been growing the past few years.
For me, my reasons for staying the course on this GV program are:
My investment is a “closed-end” fund, so even if I decided to abandon my GV application, my €500k remains tied up for 6+ years regardless.
I don’t have plans to relocate to PT, which was the most important aspect of the PT GV. This remains a very unique aspect of the PT GV (only 1week/yr physical presence requirement). I’m not aware of any of program by any other EU member state that offers a path to citizenship without living a significant time in country and becoming a tax resident (exceptions might be some “citizenship by merit” countries, but I’m in no position to satisfy any of those options).
Lastly, the show simply isn’t over yet…in spite of the drama and the proposals, PT still hasn’t yet IMPLEMENTED any changes to the citizenship law. There’s still a possibility that the final law, when implemented COULD grandfather GV applicants who applied before the new law becomes effective.
So, am I please with the state of things on the GV program? NO, I’m absolutely not pleased. But am I going to abandon the program..? No, I’m going to hang in there, for the 3 reasons I noted above.
As others have said, I am continuing with the program because my investment is tied for three more years in a Mercan hotel, and I do see some value in having the Golden Visa at least for the 2-4 years until the funds can be returned to me. At that point I can decide to stay another cycle, switch to PR to wait out final years (if law does change to 10 years and we aren’t grandfathered in, still some hope there), or walk at that point. Probably wouldn’t walk because as many have said, there is no other program that has the 1 week a year stay requirement offering a path to permanent residency and eventually citizenship even in 10 years.
I find the delays and rug pulls maddening, and yet, since I am locked in financially, it really does not change much for me — I can’t get the monies out for a while, I am finally getting my biometrics done this week in Lisbon after investing in December 2022 and applying March 2023 and believe that eventually my dependents will get their biometrics too. The rumor is they will give us appointments by June for later this year…which in Portuguese means they will give appointments later this year for sometime next year. Oh and my card will probably come sometime this year in the next 6-12 months. Not 6 weeks. OK, with that reality, I can still play along. By 2029 it will be a key decision point but for now, it’s worth trying to get my spouse and kids their cards too at the planned cost (sure, about 10K higher, but everything in my world is about 10K higher, I tried to buy a new car recently and got that massive sticker shock too)
So in short, it’s still the best program (only) of it’s type out there and with some zen practice not allowing myself to get worked up about the changes but just going with it, I think I will be ok, at least until 2029 when my next decision point comes.