Interest in Portugal’s Golden Visa Spikes Among US Nationals Following Presidential Election

An increasing number of Americans have turned their eyes to Portugal’s Golden Visa Program, prompted by the recent US presidential elections and various other factors.

While some Americans choose Portugal to acquire residency following the election of Donald Trump as the President of the United States, others are led by other social and economic factors, Schengen.News reports.

The figures from the Association of Americans Resident Overseas estimated that in November 2023, there were at least 5.4 million Americans living abroad, with a significant number of them choosing European countries like Germany, France, and Spain.

When it comes to acquiring residency and citizenship in Europe, Portugal is among the most sought-after countries, particularly due to its Golden Visa Program.

The Residency by Investment Program of Portugal offers a pathway to residency to wealthy foreign nationals from countries located outside the EU in exchange for financial investments and meeting the needed conditions.

There are several factors that lead Americans to choose the Golden Visa Program of Portugal among them:

Many Options to Acquire Residency
To obtain residency through the Golden Visa Program, foreigners can choose several means of investing in this country, among them:

• Fund investments
• Investments in donations in the arts or cultural heritage
• Scientific research
• Creation of ten jobs
• Share of capital and job creation

The most famous option of the Golden Visa Program of Portugal was the real estate investment route. However, this route was terminated as part of the country’s efforts to manage the housing crisis, which Portugal has been dealing with recently.

But, Gustavo Caiuby, managing partner of Heed Capital, told Correio Brasiliense that the interest of foreigners, especially those from North America and Brazil, in Portugal’s Residency by Investment Program remains high, in spite of the abolishment of the real estate investment option

Portugal’s Passport Among World’s Most Powerful
Based on the Passport Index of the VisaGuide.World, which ranks passports of 199 countries worldwide; in terms of the strength of their passport, Portugal is placed in the seventh position, with a passport score of 90.26.

It means that holders of Portugal’s passports are eligible to travel visa-free to a total of 105 countries and passport-free to a total of 43 countries.

Since Portugal is also a member of the EU’s borderless area of Schengen, holders of Portugal’s passports can travel freely within the Schengen Area.

Source: https://schengen.news/interest-in-portugals-golden-visa-spikes-among-us-nationals-following-presidential-election/