Portugal’s Golden Visa back in motion « Euro Weekly News

Portugal’s long-troubled Golden Visa scheme is back in business — sort of.

After months of silence and growing frustration among applicants, the country’s immigration agency has confirmed that it has resumed processing requests. But for the tens of thousands of people still stuck in limbo, this news isn’t quite the light at the end of the tunnel.

Pedro Portugal Gaspar, head of the Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum, admitted the system is moving again, but slowly. He acknowledged that around 50,000 investors and family members are still waiting, some of them for more than three years. “We’re processing applications again,” he said, “but naturally, there’s a limit to how fast we can go.”

Portugal ends property route, shaking investor confidence

The Golden Visa used to be fairly straightforward, especially for non-EU nationals willing to invest in Portugal’s booming property market. For years, buying a flat in Lisbon or a villa in the Algarve meant not just sunshine, but the promise of Portuguese residency. That all changed in 2023, when the government scrapped the real estate route in a bid to cool the housing crisis.

The move caught many by surprise. Immigration lawyer Tatiana Kazan told Portuguese outlet Público that lots of investors had acted on good faith — based on public assurances that their applications would be fast-tracked. “The money came in, but nothing happened,” she said. “They believed the process would be smooth, and now they’re left waiting, sometimes with no answers at all.”

Alternative Golden Visa routes gain traction amid processing delays

With the property door closed, investors have been turning to other parts of the scheme that are still active — like business ventures, scientific research or funding cultural projects. One of the biggest shifts has come in the cultural heritage sector. In 2024 alone, Portugal received €12 million through this investment stream, more than double the figure from the year before.

It’s proof that interest in the Golden Visa is still alive — but the bureaucracy just hasn’t kept up. For Portugal, the challenge now isn’t convincing the world to invest. It’s catching up on promises already made.

The government may be saying all the right things, but for thousands of applicants still checking their inboxes for updates, patience is wearing thin.

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