The end of the Irish IIP and Portuguese Golden Visas
Published at: 23/02/2023 09:09 am
Both Ireland and Portugal announced the end of their residency by investment programmes. According to the EU Member States, their Golden Visa programmes fulfilled their objectives.
Portugal's Golden Visa (Autorização de Residência para o Investimento - ARI) was one of the most popular immigration schemes in the European Union for third-country nationals. The program attracted investors with various options, but most of the 6,8 billion euros capital inflow arrived in the real estate sector. More than half of the successful applicants came from China, but the scheme became more interesting for US citizens in recent years.
The Portugal Golden Visa program helped refurbish and revitalise the traditional city centres of Lisbon and Porto, and changed the view of the beautiful cities during the last ten years. But the investors can live in something other than Portugal to maintain their resident status, so most choose to rent their properties through Airbnb and other applications.
The wealthy buyers drove up the real estate prices. In Lisbon, the cost of one square metre has doubled since 2015 and reached 3,805 euros. It means that the average Portuguese family could not afford housing and had to leave the main cities.
According to Prime Minister Antonio Costa, only those residents who use their properties as their own primary homes may renew their resident status.
Meanwhile, in Ireland, The Irish Immigrant Investor Program (IIP) allowed non-EU citizens to settle if they invested at least one million euros and could prove that they have a net worth of at least two million euros. Interestingly, the scheme helped the Irish economy but still came under "increased scrutiny". The reason is that almost only Chinese investors arrived, for example, in 2022, only 41 applicants were not Chinese from 1316 qualified new investor residents.
Please, note that IIP has accepted applications only until 15 February 2023.
The European Parliament and the European Commission aim to cancel all residency by investment programs. However, according to EU laws, your status cannot be erased or changed if you become a resident under any investment scheme. Ask here Discus Holding Ltd's experts for the fastest, safest and most profitable investment options before the deadlines.