Proposed changes to the Golden Visa scheme which hands out residence permits to qualifying non-EU nationals were presented today to the Council of Ministers by the deputy Prime Minister, Paulo Portas.
An investment of €350,000 or more in 'research activities carried out by public or private institutions' now will qualify the investor for a Golden Visa, according to the Portas amendments.
People can qualify if they transfer €350,000 or more for "investments in research, artistic production, or renovation or maintenance of national heritage, ie, culture,” said the deputy PM. "Similarly, investments in urban regeneration value of more than half a million euros will open the door to residence permits to foreign nationals."
Portas also proposed "positive discrimination for investments that are in low-density areas, i.e. with less than 100 inhabitants per square kilometer or a GDP 'per capita' below 75% the national average," adding that there would be a "20% reduction of the minimum quantitative requirements."
It was widely hoped that Portas would be simplifying the scheme to stop people abusing it, rather than making it more complicated by widening the programme’s rules to cover areas that seem vague and open to interpretation and hence abuse.
Portas of course would not be drawn into discussion of Operation Labyrinth which last November saw corrupt practices uncovered in the Golden Visa scheme.
The head of the Foreign and Borders Service was arrested, as was the head of the Institute of Notaries as was the secretary general of the Ministry of Justice, Maria Antonio Anes.
An investigation into the scheme by replacement Minister Anabela Rodrigues suggested that staff might benefit from some training.
Portas did say that surveillance of the scheme will be tighter with "a regular audit by the General Inspectorate of Internal Administration of the Golden Visa system" whose "recommendations and conclusions will be communicated to the First Committee of the National Assembly and published on the Government's web site."
There will be an interesting debate on the Golden Visa scheme in Parliament on March 12th.
The Deputy Prime Minister said that if someone abused the scheme, which they have, they would "feel the full force of the law" and defended the importance of the programme in attracting investment.
"There now are 13 countries competing with Portugal with Golden Visa or similar schemes, I do not think it’s very smart if we close the shop for other countries to benefit from these investments."
These proposals will now go to parliament for a debate on March 12th, 2015.
