Parliament has rejected the proposals of the PCP, BE and PAN to end golden visas, as well as the proposal by Chega who called for the enlargement of the regime.

“The way and the time is one of evaluation” about a “successful legal amendment that safeguarded the dimensions that are important in this regime”, said the socialist deputy Pedro Anastácio.

The PS parliamentarian, the party that voted against all these proposals, argued that “the last legal change made to the regime responded adequately to the housing dimension, allowing to safeguard and maintain the regime's dimension”. For Pedro Anastácio, the changes represent “something that is also important and fundamental for the country, which is the promotion of productive investment, job creation, investment in urban requalification, cultural heritage and in activities of high environmental or social value”, adding that “it is necessary to assess the effects after the introduction of this change” in order to assess whether the desired balance has been achieved.

The deputies only approved a PSD recommendation to the Government for urgent regulation that would allow the operation of the online platform and the submission of online applications for golden visas for real estate purposes in the Autonomous Regions of Madeira, the Azores and interior.

Online platform

While the debate and voting took place, it was announced by the Portuguese Association of Real Estate Developers and Investors (APPII) that the platform was now operational.

Jornal de Notícias reported last Tuesday that the lack of regulation of the law that changes criteria for the attribution of Residence Permits for Investment, which came into force in January, was preventing the submission of new applications to the golden visa regime.

The following day, the Secretary of State for the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, André Moz Caldas, stated that the law in question did not need to be regulated and could be “directly applicable”. “From my point of view, the law amended in the past is directly applicable and does not require any special regulation”, said the Secretary of State.

This morning, APPII announced that applications for the so-called golden visas were resumed and several new applications for Residence Permits by Investment (ARI) have already been submitted. In a statement, APPII adds that, “after a round with its associates, it confirmed that the platform to insert new ARI of the Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF) is finally operational”.

During the plenary debate, PSD deputy Sara Madruga da Costa defended the “urgency to proceed with the rapid operationalization of the SEF portal” within the scope of the latest changes, adding that “this is an excellent opportunity to put into practice the so often touted territorial cohesion”.