A sustainable, affordable and eco-friendly visa would be “an evolution” for Portugal’s Golden Visa Program, compared to the initial version launched in 2012, the president of the Portuguese Association of Real Estate Developers and Investors, Hugo Santos Ferreira, has said.
He has called for revisions to the Golden Visa Program and the Non-Habitual Resident (NHR) tax regime to lure wealthy foreign nationals, Schengen.News reports.
A Sustainable & Eco-Friendly Golden Visa
The president of the Portuguese Association of Real Estate Developers and Investors told Portugal News that there is an increase in demand from investors from Brazil and North America for Portugal’s Golden Visa Program, known as the Residence Permit for Investment Activity (ARI).
Therefore, he proposed new changes to this scheme, to bring in a larger number of investors, in line with the government’s regulations.
Among proposals are granting residence visas for investments made in affordable housing construction, decarbonisation of real estate, rental market development, energy, technology and innovation.
Santos Ferreira argues these changes would help Portugal restore the attractiveness it lost with the abolishment of the real estate investment option from the Golden Visa Program in October last year.
With the approval of the “More Housing” bill by Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa to deal with the housing crisis, foreigners are no longer eligible to obtain a golden visa by purchasing a property worth at least €500,000 after the real estate investment option was discontinued.
“NHS Incomprehensible for Portuguese, Let Alone Explain to Internationals”
The president of the Portuguese Association of Real Estate Developers and Investors said Brazilians are the most interested in Portugal’s NHR regime.
In addition, he told Dinheiro Vivo that the social and political situation in America is leading a large number of US nationals to explore new destinations, emphasising the need to “put Portugal on the map”.
Portugal’s Non-Habitual Resident (NHR) regime, launched in 2009, offered expats and investors various benefits for up to ten years, among them tax-free transactions and low taxes on pension income and wealth.
However, in October 2023, the former Prime Minister of Portugal, António Costa, announced that the NHR tax regime would be eliminated in January 2024.
Several changes followed the decision to determine the end of the NHR regime, including the introduction of a transitional period before the complete abolishment of the tax regime in 2025.
Persons registered as tax residents in Portugal in 2023 who had not been taxed in this country in the previous five years were allowed to apply for this tax regime by March 31 this year. Yet, under stringent requirements, some persons are still permitted to apply until March 31, 2025.
However, the president of the Portuguese Association of Real Estate Developers and Investors, Hugo Santos Ferreira, argues that the NHR scheme is incomprehensible for foreign nationals.
The businessman said the government needs to invest in new mechanisms and return to the previous format of the program to attract internationals, as Portugal competes with other European countries that offer similar schemes.
As a replacement for the NHR tax regime, the Portuguese government’s State Budget Proposal introduced a new scheme known as the Tax Incentive for Scientific Research and Innovation or Incentivised Tax Status Program (ITS), lasting for ten years.
Source: https://schengen.news/portugal-urged-for-an-eco-friendly-affordable-golden-visa-program-clearer-nhr-tax-regime/
