Almost two years after golden visas ended for real estate investment, the Portuguese government is considering changing the residency permit program in order to attract more foreign investment and international talent.

The Minister of the Presidency, António Leitão Amaro, said this, adding that improving the golden visa program is on the table, with the aim of boosting foreign investment and attracting talent from around the world to the Portuguese economy. The idea is therefore to strengthen Portugal's image as an “investment destination”, according to Bloomberg.

The government is now studying how to organise golden visas in a “more effective and economically efficient way”, ensuring that any change is “economically and socially fair”, Leitão Amaro told the same publication. What is out of the question is ending this program: "There is no plan to end it. It is not on the agenda", assured the governor.

The golden visa in Portugal continues to be one of the most popular programs of its kind in Europe, despite no longer covering the granting of residency through real estate investment since the end of 2023, by decision of the former socialist Executive of António Costa. It now offers visas to non-Europeans who invest at least €500,000 in eligible funds.

The most recent data from the Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA) reveal that the number of golden visas granted increased by 72% last year, reaching a record 4,987 in 2024. And North Americans, Chinese and Brazilians are among the main beneficiaries since the launch of the program in 2012.

This growth can be explained by the fact that golden visas in Portugal only require a stay of one week per year in the country. And also because several European countries have ended or tightened the rules around golden visas, as was the case in Spain, Malta, Ireland, the Netherlands and Greece, the same media outlet cites.

Now, the Portuguese government is working to speed up the processing of almost 45,000 golden visa applications that are awaiting analysis at AIMA. “We hope that by the end of the year this process will be largely resolved,” added the Minister of the Presidency in the same interview.