Investment in Golden Visas rose 85% in March year-on-year to 192.4 million euros, and almost doubled compared to February, according to data from the Portuguese SEF.
In March, the investment resulting from the Residence Permit for Investment Activity (ARI), better known as Golden Visas, totaled 192,493,840.26 euros, an increase of 85% compared to the same month of 2016 (103,662,586.84 euros) and 93% compared to February, when the amount raised to 99,512,868.51 euros.
Of the total investment raised last month, the majority continues to come from the acquisition of real estate (172,008,223.31 euros), with the capital transfer totaling 20,485,616.95 euros.
In March, 303 golden visas were awarded, almost half of the total (679) granted in the first quarter of this year, of which 283 were due to the acquisition of real estate and 20 through the transfer of capital.
Of the 283 visas granted through the purchase of real estate, five Golden Visas for urban rehabilitation were granted in March under the new concession rules in force for a year and a half (since September 2015).
By the end of March, 21 Golden Visas had been granted for urban rehabilitation, the first of which was awarded in July 2016.
In the first quarter, the investment raised amounted to 433,257,163 euros, an increase of 87% over the same period of 2016 (231,538,393.26 euros).
In accumulated terms – since Golden Visas began to be allocated on 8 October 2012, until last March – the total investment raised with the ARI reached, for the first time, 3,000,434,107.62 euros. Of this total, 2,702,076,908.60 euros were raised through the purchase of real estate and 298,357,199.02 euros through the transfer of capital.
Since the creation of this instrument, which attracts investment, 4,881 golden visas have been allocated: 2 in 2012, 494 in 2013, 1,526 in 2014, 766 in 2015, 1,414 in 2016 and 679 this year.
China leads the list of assigned golden visas (3,325 until March, followed by Brazil (385), South Africa (174), Russia (171), and Lebanon (96).
An article translated from: http://www.diarioimobiliario.pt/Actualidade/Vistos-Gold-Investimento-ultrapassa-pela-primeira-vez-3.000-M