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Portuguese Golden Visa attracts long stay Chinese and their families
| Published: | 30 Jan at 6 PM |
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Although Portugal saw fewer Golden Visa applicants during 2017, more of those already holding the visa are bringing in their families.
Portugal’s Golden Visa is an investment tool for the comparatively wealthy, with the majority of successful applicants arriving from China. Amongst other requirements, an investment of over €500,000 is mandatory, and is usually used to purchase an upscale property.
According to president of the League of Chinese in Portugal Y Ping Chow, visa holders arrive first, stay alone for a while and make further investments, then begin bringing in their spouses and immediate families as well as, a little later on, their in-laws and parents. The country’s Golden Visa has proved a remunerative strategy, as it’s resulted in some €3.5 billion in revenue since it was first introduced.
Almost 15 thousand investors have taken advantage of the scheme since 2012, with the majority of the uptake from the just under 15,000 expats the result of property purchases. Number-crunching reveals a total of 1,351 Golden Visas were handed out last year, and 2.678 family members entered the country via the scheme. So far, each Golden Visa granted saw three family members arriving in the country within a year or so.
Although 64 per cent of the visas granted went to Chinese citizen applicants, the country’s become more popular with Brazilians since the scheme began. In 2017, 463 wealthy Brazilians arrived after being granted Golden Visas, twice the number of arrivals in 2016. Prior to the scheme’s introduction, Brazilians resorted to applying for Portuguese residence in order to be able to travel to the USA, but nowadays they’re arriving to live permanently with a view to Portuguese nationality in the long term.
Portugal’s Golden Visa is an investment tool for the comparatively wealthy, with the majority of successful applicants arriving from China. Amongst other requirements, an investment of over €500,000 is mandatory, and is usually used to purchase an upscale property.
According to president of the League of Chinese in Portugal Y Ping Chow, visa holders arrive first, stay alone for a while and make further investments, then begin bringing in their spouses and immediate families as well as, a little later on, their in-laws and parents. The country’s Golden Visa has proved a remunerative strategy, as it’s resulted in some €3.5 billion in revenue since it was first introduced.
Almost 15 thousand investors have taken advantage of the scheme since 2012, with the majority of the uptake from the just under 15,000 expats the result of property purchases. Number-crunching reveals a total of 1,351 Golden Visas were handed out last year, and 2.678 family members entered the country via the scheme. So far, each Golden Visa granted saw three family members arriving in the country within a year or so.
Although 64 per cent of the visas granted went to Chinese citizen applicants, the country’s become more popular with Brazilians since the scheme began. In 2017, 463 wealthy Brazilians arrived after being granted Golden Visas, twice the number of arrivals in 2016. Prior to the scheme’s introduction, Brazilians resorted to applying for Portuguese residence in order to be able to travel to the USA, but nowadays they’re arriving to live permanently with a view to Portuguese nationality in the long term.
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