The EU Parliament has voiced its concerns on the Portugal Golden Visa and other residency programmes.
Portugal is aware but will not be terminating the residency scheme imminently. It has instead responded by presenting an extension of this – the Green Visa
TAX3 reforms urged for Portugal Golden Visa
The EU Parliament has been urging the EU Member states that offer residency visas to adopt new reforms as outlined by the Special Committee on Financial Crimes, Tax Evasion and Tax Avoidance (TAX3).
In efforts to further examine the Portuguese Golden Visa programme, Parliament has recently been inspecting the administration of this scheme closely. Last week, Parliament informed they would be bringing the Minister of Internal Administration Eduardo Cabrita to the table to enquire as to why the program hasn’t undergone due audits over the past five years.
When posed with the option to abolish their Golden Visa scheme earlier in 2019, this was rejected.
Far-Left parties sought to terminate this program on the grounds that the foreign investment that came in was not subject to due supervision and inspection. Furthermore, it was criticised for inflating the real estate market without generating sustainable jobs in Portugal.
All efforts to end the Golden Visa in Portugal though have failed yet there is a very palpable level of pressure from both inside the Portuguese Parliament and externally from the EU to tighten the belt on the existing framework of Portugal’s Golden Visa.
What has come about in Portugal, has been a modified residency permit referred to as the “Green Visa”, recently approved by the Portuguese Parliament.
Read more: Portugal: An idyllic lifestyle and investment destination
What is the Portuguese Green Visa?
The Portuguese Green Visa is a new sub-category of the Golden Visa and will promote investment of EUR 500,000 from non-EU investors into eco and environmental projects in Portugal, including;
- Ecotourism Projects;
- Organic (non-intensive) Farming Investments;
- Renewable Energies Projects (as governed by Decree-Law 153/2014, by Ordinance No. 14/2015 and Portaria nº 15/2015);
- Carbon Neutral Investments (as per the Roadmap to Carbon Neutrality);
- Renewable Energy Investments (as governed by Decree-Law 153/2014, by Ordinance No. 14/2015 and Portaria nº 15/2015).
To appease doubts on the integrity of this new residency scheme from critics in the EU parliament, Transparency International etc. the Portuguese government needs to take the necessary steps to ensure the right processes are in place to monitor, audit and implement controls on its residency by investment schemes.
Throughout the investment migration industry there is a trend to move towards more ‘sustainable’ and / or entrepreneurial schemes that effectively deliver a greater good to the host countries.
In order to bolster the transparency of the industry procedures must be put in place to confirm that the EUR 500,000 invested in ‘green’ projects are in initiatives that truly give back to the local community and/or deliver ecological and environmental improvements.
