200 years have passed since Brazil’s independence, but ties between the two Atlantic countries have not weakened. Portugal is still seen by Brazilians as a haven to live and work. The proof of this is that they have invested more than 863.6 million euros to get a residence permit under the golden visa regime. On the brink of completing ten years, this program has already approved 1,123 gold passports for Brazilian citizens, a number surpassed only by the Chinese, who have so far guaranteed the granting of 5,168 visas.
Real estate purchase was the option preferred by Brazilians to guarantee the Residence Permit for Investment (ARI), the program’s official designation. According to data from the Immigration and Borders Department, since the entry into force of the regime and until July, 871 applications have been approved for the purchase of real estate with a value equal to or greater than 500 thousand euros, which represents an investment of 655.4 million euros. euros.
Lisbon and Cascais led the preferences of Brazilian millionaires. The three largest real estate investment operations for obtaining gold passports chose the capital as their destination, with amounts ranging between 4.9 million euros (the purchase with the highest value) and 3.9 million euros. The Top 5 in Brazilian investments concludes with the purchase of two properties in Cascais, a city that has received more than three million transactions.
The possibility of obtaining ARI through the purchase and execution of urban rehabilitation works, for an amount equal to or greater than 350 thousand euros, had fewer supporters. Through this option, 36 gold visas were granted, for a total of almost 14 million, and Lisbon and Cascais were again the privileged locations for the largest investments.
Regarding the requirement to obtain gold visas through capital transfers, Brazilians received 203 approvals, representing a global investment of 194 million euros.
The Portuguese state also approved three ARIs for Brazilian citizens for job creation in the construction sector and in the retail industry of watches, jewelery and jewels.
The Portuguese golden visa regime registered a high demand on the part of Brazilians between 2017 and 2019, a period when these citizens invested more than 100 million euros annually in the program. In this three-year period, Brazilians spent nearly 380 million in Portugal and obtained 504 visas. Demand fell due to the pandemic and the resulting travel restrictions.
In the meantime, the law has been amended, with the biggest impact being the ban on the purchase of real estate in Lisbon and Porto, the cities most sought after by these investors, and in almost the entire territory of the Portuguese coast. The new articles also increased the amounts required to guarantee an ARI under capital transfers.
North Americans shooting
Nearly 10 years after its entry into force (October 2012), the program has delivered a total investment of EUR 6497 million until August. The bulk went to real estate purchases, resulting in transactions on the order of 5830 million, of which 478.6 million were invested in urban renewal. The capital transfer requirement has attracted EUR 667 million over the past ten years. During this period, 11,060 gold visas were granted, of which 10,222 were for real estate purchases, 816 for capital transfers and only 22 for job creation.
Citizens of Chinese nationality stand out in the award of ARI, totaling 5168, followed by Brazilians (1123), Turks (525), South Africans (469) and, closing the Top 5, North Americans (466), whose interest in our country has soared lately. In fact, this year and in the build-up to the end of August, it is the North Americans who lead the granting of ARI, with a total of 145 visas, closely followed by the Chinese, with 134.
In the first eight months of 2022, the regime raised EUR 397.7 million in foreign investment, 34.7% more than in the same period last year, leading to the approval of 806 additional visas.
Gold visas in the European Union may have their days numbered. The European Commission has made a series of recommendations on the regime, as part of the suspension of gold passports to Russian and Belarusian citizens due to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and the European Parliament also voted to abolish this program. On the table is the possibility of becoming extinct by 2025.
In Portugal, the parliament rejected in June the proposals of the PCP, BE and PAN calling for repeal of the law, and those of Chega seeking revision to streamline it. At the time, the PS defended that the legislation is being evaluated, after the last amendment that came into effect at the beginning of this year.
Sónia Santos Pereira is a journalist for Dinheiro Vivo
Source: DN
