Portugal’s parliament approved on Wednesday (5) two measures that directly affect foreigners with high purchasing power who are interested in living and investing in the country.
The deputies decided to limit the so-called gold visas - residence permits for those who buy real estate of at least 500 thousand euros - to regions in the interior of the country. This excludes properties in the most valued Portuguese cities. : Lisbon and Porto.
NGOs and European institutions accused the gold visa system of being less transparent and of enabling international money laundering schemes. In Portugal, the program led to the general increase in property prices.
Brazilians are the second nationality that most benefits from this program, behind only the Chinese. While in 2019, the Asian slice shrank, that of Brazilians increased by 16.6%, reaching 210 gold visas granted.
Portuguese parliamentarians also approved charging 10% tax on retirement and pensions of foreigners who are in the country through the regime of non-habitual residents, the so-called RNH. About 28,000 people currently have this status.
Translated by Kiratiana Freelon