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Portugal’s Golden Visa Surges 72% as Government Mulls New Special Tax Incentive · IMI Podcasts

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Portugal issued a record 4,987 golden visas in 2024, marking a 72% increase from the previous year and surpassing the earlier peak of 4,029 approvals reached in 2017, according to data from the country's immigration agency AIMA, cited by Bloomberg.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: The surge comes as Portugal's center-right government considers enhancing the program's incentives while promising to clear a substantial backlog of pending applications.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_00: The timing of Portugal's enhancement discussions follows Spain's recent decision to eliminate its golden visa program in April amid housing market concerns.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_00: Minister of the Presidency Antonio Letao Amaro indicated that Portugal is exploring ways to enhance both its Golden Visa program and expatriate tax incentives to strengthen the country's competitive position.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_00: Amaro outlined the government's broader economic strategy, explaining that proposed measures would target foreign investment attraction and global talent recruitment.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: The minister characterized the initiative as an effort to burnish Portugal's image as an investment destination, but declined to provide specific details about what enhancements might include.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: The government aims to organize the golden visa and tax programs in a more effective and economically efficient way, while ensuring any changes remain economically and socially fair.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_00: AMA currently faces a backlog of nearly 45,000 golden visa applications awaiting review.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_00: Amaro expects that, by the end of the year, this process will be largely taken care of.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_00: The minister emphasized there were no plans to end the program, stating, quote, there's no plan to end it.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_00: It's not on the table, end quote.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_00: This represents a reversal from Portugal's previous socialist administration, which had threatened to eliminate the program entirely and removed real estate investment as an eligible pathway in 2023.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_00: Portugal currently operates a modified non-habitual resident, also known as NHR tax regime, that offers a 20% flat rate on employment and self-employment income, excluding the dividends, capital gains, and pension benefits that characterize the original program that the government eliminated in 2024.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_00: Golden visa holders do not automatically qualify for this tax regime.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_00: While Portugal seeks to enhance its investor attraction capabilities, several European countries are moving in the opposite direction.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_00: The Netherlands, Ireland, and the UK have all closed their investor residency programs.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: Spain eliminated its golden visa in April.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_00: Malta now faces uncertainty following the European Court of Justice's ruling against its citizenship by investment program.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_00: At the same time, the UK is considering reintroducing a different version of its investor visa.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_00: This episode first appeared as an article by Ahmad Abbas on IMIDaily.com.
• 3:40
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