The Portuguese Government has released the final version of the law proposal to regulate Golden Visa applications and end the program. This happened on Friday, April 15th.
The main takeaways: no retroactivity clause, the 183-day requirement scrapped and pending applications honoured.
We asked our Portugal immigration expert Joana Torres Fernandes at LVP Advogados to clarify the situation and advise our readers on whether applying for Portugal Golden Visa is still possible.
What are the main points of the final version of the proposed law?
- The proposal does not include a retroactivity clause and will honour pending applications. The current Golden Visa program will only end when the new legislation goes into effect.
- The parliamentary discussion on the proposal is expected to begin after May 10th and conclude within approximately 45 days.
- Applicants previously affected by the February 16th cut-off announcement will now follow the normal process. New applications will be accepted until the new law is published.
- The proposal eliminates the 183-day requirement for future renewals of Golden Visa permits. Initially, renewals were supposed to be converted to regular residence permits for entrepreneurs, also known as D2, which required a minimum stay of approximately 183 days per year. However, the proposal maintains the “seven days a year” requirement for all applicants who submit their applications until the new law is published.
My application was submitted a month ago, and I bought a qualifying property. Will I get the golden visa?
Assuming that you fulfil all of the necessary requirements and taking into account the recent draft law issued by the Portuguese Government on April 15th, which stipulates that new applications for the Golden Visa program will continue to be accepted until the final legal document is released, you should be able to apply for the program without issue.
I am buying a property and applying right now at the moment. Is the programme still open? Can I still apply?
Considering the phrasing of the proposal and the lack of a transitional period, we strongly advise investors who are in a position to proceed to take immediate action to benefit from the regime.
Based on the known agenda of the Portuguese Parliament, we anticipate that the discussion will not begin before May 10th. Given the typical pace of the legislative process, we expect it will take at least 45 days to reach a decision, assuming no significant delays.
I need to renew my golden visa. Will I have to renew it as a different type of residency?
According to the latest draft law, pending applications and future renewals will be converted into a regular residence permit for Entrepreneurs, also known as D2, without the minimum stay requirement of approximately 183 days per year, keeping the seven days requirement of the Golden Visa programme.
What do you advise our readers right now? Is it best to wait or go ahead and apply?
Based on our evaluation, we anticipate that the ongoing discussion in Parliament will not result in significant modifications to the current proposal presented by the Government and summarised above. Therefore, we recommend that investors who can proceed with the application to take advantage of the current regime without delay, as the proposal does not include any transitional period.
You can learn more about Portugal Golden Visa and compare it with other Golden Visa programs in our guide, Which European Golden Visa Schemes Are Best By Value?
