According to accounts carried out by Lusa based on SEF data, investments raised through ‘gold’ visas fell 60% in July to 22.1 million euros in 2020 compared to the same month.
In July, the investment as a result of the Residence Permit (ARI) program for investment reached 22,197,726.03 euros, a 60% decrease year-on-year (56 million euros) and a 39% decrease compared to June (36.4 million euros).
According to Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF) data, 41 ARIs were given last month, of which 35 were given through real estate (11 for urban resettlement) and six through capital transfers.
The purchase of real estate in July saw an investment of around €20 million, of which €3.9 million for urban rehabilitation, while the transfer of capital totaled €2.1 million.
By countries, 10 ‘golden’ visas were granted to China, five to the United States, five to Russia, four to Brazil and three to Turkey.
In the first seven months of the year, 486 ‘gold’ visas were granted, of which 55 were granted in January, 100 in February, 73 in March, 98 in April, 52 in May, 67 in June and 41 in July.
Between January and July, the investment raised through this instrument was EUR 259.8 million, a decrease of more than 40% compared to EUR 439 million registered in the first seven months of last year.
The ARI grant program, launched in October 2012, registered as of last July – in cumulative terms – a total investment of 5,898,831,577.11 euros. Of this amount, the majority corresponds to the purchase of real estate, which, after more than eight years of the programme, totaled 5,337,491,502.47 euros, with a total purchase of 319,135,316.77 euros for urban rehabilitation.
The investment from the transfer of capital is 561,340,074.64 euros.
Since the manufacture of this device, which aims to attract foreign investment, 9,875 ARIs have been provided: two in 2012, 494 in 2013, 1,526 in 2014, 766 in 2015, 1,414 in 2016, 1,351 in 2018. 1,409, 1,245 in 2019, 1,182 in 2020 and 486 in 2021.
As of July, 9,265 visas were granted through the purchase of real estate, of which 885 were for urban resettlement.
Due to the need for capital transfer, a total of 590 and 20 visas were granted for job creation.
By nationality, China leads the way in visa allocation (4,953), followed by Brazil (1,028), Turkey (470), South Africa (409) and Russia (388).
Since the start of the program, 16,762 residence permits have been granted to reunite family members, of which 712 are this year.
