The decree-law published today in Diário da República also determines the increase in the amounts required in some of the investments. There will be no transitional period.
The Government approved at the end of last year the diploma that changes the program of Residence Authorizations for Investment Activity (ARI).
Determining the end of the allocation of so-called gold visas in the metropolitan areas of Lisbon and Porto, in an attempt to channel investment to the inland.
The new rules should come into effect as of July 1, 2021, but Decree-Law no. 14/2021 published this Friday, February 12, 2021, in Diário da República, points to a new date, contrary to what had been announced .
The restrictions will only apply from 1 January 2022 and there will therefore be no transitional period . After all, what changes with the new law?
In the decree-law now published, the socialist executive of António Costa begins by explaining that he decided to change the gold visa regime so that it “can be directed preferentially to the interior territories , investment in job creation and urban and heritage requalification cultural”.
With regard to housing policy, the document states, it is also “the Government’s commitment to promote the balance and quality of territories, whether in metropolitan, urban or rural regions, guaranteeing access to decent housing conditions for all”.
What will change?
The statute changes the legal regime for the entry, stay, exit and removal of foreigners from national territory, and indicates new minimum amounts that involve investment activity .
Any activity carried out in person or through a company that leads to the completion of the transfer of capital and for a minimum period of five years, as can be read in the law.
The following values are considered:
- Capital transfer in the amount of 1.5 million euros or more;
- Capital transfer in the amount of 500,000 euros or more, which is applied to research activities carried out by public or private scientific research institutions, integrated into the national scientific and technological system;
- Capital transfer in the amount equal to or greater than 500,000 euros, intended for the acquisition of investment units in investment funds or venture capital funds dedicated to the capitalization of companies, which are constituted under Portuguese legislation, whose maturity, at the moment investment, is at least five years and at least 60% of the value of the investments is made in commercial companies based in national territory;
- Transfer of capital in an amount equal to or greater than 500,000 euros, intended for the constitution of a commercial company with headquarters in Portugal, combined with the creation of five permanent jobs, or for the reinforcement of the social capital of a commercial company with headquarters in Portugal. national, already constituted, with the creation or maintenance of jobs, with a minimum of five permanent, and for a minimum period of three years;
Bottom Line
The diploma also makes it clear that the acquisition of real estate with a value of 500,000 or more“is only allowed when the houses are located in the Autonomous Regions of the Azores and Madeira or in the interior territories”.
The new rules apply to “all applications for residence authorization for investment required after the date of entry into force of this decree-law”, in this case, January 1, 2022, and not July 1, 2021, as had defined the Council of Ministers at the end of last year.
Even so, the Government underlines that these changes do not affect the possibility of renewal or the granting or renewal of visas for family reunification, when the residence permit for investment has been granted under the current law.
Author: Essay, Date: 12 February 2021, Source: Idealista.pt