The consultant compared programs from several countries and came to the conclusion that Portuguese is the best in the world. Despite changes to golden visas and the end of the unusual residency regime, the appetite for foreign investors continues in Portugal.
Despite the changes, Portugal continues to offer the best golden visa program in the world.
The conclusion is from the consulting firm Henley & Partners, which conducted a study of these programs in several countries, according to “Bloomberg.”
Portugal reached 75 points in the ranking among the 12 countries analyzed. Austria and Greece follow, tied for second place. Switzerland; Italy and the United Kingdom tied for fourth place. Canada and Spain tied for fifth place. Luxembourg and the United Arab Emirates are in sixth place; Singapore and Australia are in last place with 64 points.
The consultant analyzed ten factors including quality of life, processing time, time required to obtain residence permits, and overall costs.
“Portugal continues to offer the best golden visas in the world. The sunshine country offers a high quality of life at sustainable prices and a clear path to EU citizenship, according to consultancy Henley & Partners, which examined factors such as the time needed to obtain citizenship, taxes, costs and reputation,” he said, adding that golden visas “It continues to thrive.”
Despite the government-mandated changes to this program and the end of the unusual resident system, the advisor notes that the country continues to attract foreign investors.
“Facing a housing crisis blamed, at least in part, on wealthy foreigners, Portugal ended tax incentives for expatriates,” Bloomberg wrote of the end of the system for unusual residents. However, despite this, wealth advisors say the country continues to attract foreign investors.
“European investment residency programs continue to dominate the top positions of highly sought-after investment programs in the world,” says the consulting firm's CEO Jörg Steffen.
He added: “These programs allow the participation of some of the world's major economies and are a way to reduce exposure to volatility.”
A record 128,000 high-income individuals will move to a new country in 2025. North Americans were the main nationality to apply for a Golden Visa through this consultation in 2023, and top the rankings this year, through agreement with Henley & Partners .
Other countries such as Hungary and the United Arab Emirates have recently launched their policies for granting residence permits in exchange for investment.
The government ended the previous golden visa system by justifying the influence of these investors on rising housing prices, as the vast majority of residence permits are granted through the purchase of real estate. In this way, you decide to complete the transfer of capital in an amount equal to or greater than 1.5 million euros and to invest through the acquisition of real estate with a value equal to or greater than 500 thousand euros. However, there are still several ways: create at least 10 jobs; Transferring 500 thousand euros to scientific research activities; Transferring an amount of 250 thousand euros for artistic production or preservation of national heritage; Capital transfer of 500 thousand euros to subscribe to participation units in securities investment funds; Transferring an amount of 500 thousand euros to establish a local company, or investing in an existing company, while creating or maintaining five jobs for a period of no less than three years.
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