en 
In March, the amount raised through the Residence Permit for Investment (ARI) program, grew 126.5 percent compared to the same month of 2022 (€34.6 million), to €78.4 million. Compared to February, when it raised €55.2 million, the increase was 42 percent.
Last month, 163 golden visas were granted according to Lusa, of which 119 were for the acquisition of real estate (70 for urban rehabilitation) and 44 for capital transfer. Again there were no ARIs granted via job creation.
The amount raised through the purchase of properties totalled €57.2 million, of which €23.7 million related to acquisitions for urban rehabilitation, according to data from the Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF).
USA dominance
In March, the United States 'dethroned' China in the list of countries with the highest number of golden visas obtained in the month under review. The United States obtained 28 golden visas, China 23, the United Kingdom 16, followed by Brazil (11) and the same number as South Africa (11).
In March, 262 visas were granted to grouped family members, compared to 209 in February and 153 in January, totalling 624 in the first quarter. Investment in ARI amounted to €177.2 million in the quarter, 42 percent more than in the same period of 2022 (124.7 million euros). In total for the first quarter of this year, 386 golden visas were issued, of which there were 130 in February and 93 in January.
A decade of attracting investment
In cumulative terms — since the program was created, in October 2012, until February, the investment totals more than €6,931 million e. In this period, 11,921 ARIs were allocated, of which 5,304 to China, 1,198 to Brazil, 607 to the United States, 568 to Turkey and 525 to South Africa.
Since the start of the program, 10,874 golden visas have been granted through the acquisition of real estate, for a total of more than €6,175 million. Of this amount, €586.2 million concern the purchase for urban rehabilitation.
In terms of capital transfer, the accumulated amount amounts to €755.9 million out of a total of 1,025 ARIs awarded, and in more than 10 years of the program, 22 golden visas were granted through the creation of work.
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How do these large amounts of monies benefit the native Portuguese people who are struggling to feed their families?
While the limited time 9 UVA on many food items is a small start.m, more needs to be done .
And I am an American immigrant living in a semi rural area. And yes, we too are affected by the extremely higher costs of everything. We are not "rich" Americans, but after 40 years of saving we are not quite poor yet. I worry about how our Portuguese neighbors get through this. However, as Americans, we have found we are often qouted higher rates than our Portuguse neighbors.
We pay our city & municipal taxes as required. We pay IVA as required on purchases. We have monetary ups & downs as do native Portuguese.
So how and where do the native average income Portuguese get more relief from the cost of living?
By Lisa from Other on 20 Apr 2023, 01:08
@Lisa, the funds invested in the Golden Visa are not 'owned' by the Portuguese people, it's private capital belonging to the visa owner. The GV brings capital and investment to Portugal, creating jobs, and supports a number of services and tradespeople. We would all be worse off without it. Presumably you'd prefer us all to be poorer in the name of generating 'equality'? The wealth of GV holders is not the cause of poverty in Portugal or elsewhere!
By Billy Bissett from Porto on 20 Apr 2023, 09:54
This article gives a false impression that the money was invested in the Portuguese economy. It may have been indirectly, but in reality the vast majority of money coming into Portugal through the Golden Visa scheme is in the purchase of housing property. This benefits rich individuals with large houses worth €500,000.
By Martyn Cymro from Beiras on 20 Apr 2023, 13:34
We heard that Golden Visa will end. What are the real facts on this?
By Claudia Da Silva from USA on 20 Apr 2023, 13:46
Sorry Billy, you are simply wrong. I am with Lisa on this. The investments do not go directly to local community projects, in fact as you say, they are simply investments that benefit the individuals (tax breaks/rental income), the government (who knows where this money actually goes?) and companies (how many good paying jobs, as opposed to min wage, have been directly created?). On top of this the cost of local housing goes through the roof due to the inflated prices that are being paid for sub standard properties which effectively prices locals out of the market, check out current government “initiatives” to slow this down. If you are still in doubt try doing some simple research.
By Stuart Wood from Algarve on 21 Apr 2023, 08:45