Portugal has closed the program of "golden visas"

According to EEE, referring to the statement of Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa, the program for obtaining a residence permit in exchange for investments, real estate acquisition or job creation, which has been in effect since 2012, has now been closed. The validity of the residence permit already received will be extended if foreign buyers use the property as housing or rent it out for a long-term lease.

The reason for the closure of the program is in an attempt to overcome the housing crisis and to "combat speculation" in the real estate market. Since 2012, the program has been successfully used by 11,535 citizens of other countries who have invested 6.8 billion euros in the Portuguese economy. About 50% of them are Chinese citizens. They are followed by Brazilians and Americans.

Recall that in February last year, the Portuguese authorities stopped accepting applications for this type of visa from Russians. The government of the country indicated that the stop was temporary, but until the last day, Russian citizens have no opportunity to obtain such a visa. Over the past decade, Russians have received over 430 "golden visas" from Portugal.