Recently, a well-known real estate consulting firm in Portugal stated that after the worst performance of the Portuguese real estate market in the past decade in 2012, the country's real estate market has now shown signs of reversal and recovery. It is widely believed in Portugal that the launch of the Golden Residence Permit program has played a key stimulating role in the recovery of the real estate market.
Against the backdrop of the European debt crisis, European countries represented by Portugal, including Cyprus, Greece, and Spain, have launched programs that allow investors to obtain residence visas through real estate investment. This is mainly because the economies and real estate markets of these countries have been severely impacted by the financial crisis. At the same time, in recent years, as the Chinese government has begun to take measures to cool down housing prices, many wealthy Chinese citizens have started to release their housing demand overseas. The minimum investment amount promoted by the Portuguese government is 500,000 euros, which is comparable to the starting investment amount in Spain. The starting amounts for the visa programs of the Greek and Cypriot governments are 250,000 euros and 300,000 euros, respectively.
A spokesperson for the Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that since the implementation of the Portuguese Golden Residence Permit program in October 2012, out of a total of 318 visas issued, 248 have been granted to Chinese nationals, followed by Russians, who received 15 visas, far fewer than the number granted to Chinese nationals. According to the latest statistics, Chinese nationals account for nearly 80% of the foreign investors who have obtained Portuguese residence visas.
The purpose of the Portuguese government's launch of the Golden Residence Permit program is to encourage foreign investors to invest in the country's real estate market and stimulate the recovery of the real estate market, which has already shown initial results. Since the implementation of this program, it has brought investments amounting to 198 million euros to Portugal, and it is expected that Portugal will issue 400 such visas this year. Currently, the Portuguese government will not set a limit on the number of applicants for such visas next year.
