Portugal’s Golden Visa Surges 72% as Government Mulls New Special Tax Incentive

Minister Amaro emphasized no plans to end the golden visa program while revealing discussions on enhanced tax incentives as applications surge.

Portugal issued a record 4,987 golden visas (main applicants and dependents) in 2024, marking a 72% increase from the previous year and surpassing the earlier peak of 4,029 approvals reached in 2017, according to data from the country’s immigration agency AIMA, cited by Bloomberg. The surge comes as Portugal’s center-right government considers enhancing the program’s incentives while promising to clear a substantial backlog of pending applications.

The timing of Portugal’s enhancement discussions follows Spain’s recent decision to eliminate its golden visa program in April amid housing market concerns. Minister of the Presidency Antonio Leitao Amaro indicated that Portugal is exploring ways to enhance both its golden visa program and expatriate tax incentives to strengthen the country’s competitive position.

Amaro outlined the government’s broader economic strategy, explaining that proposed measures would target foreign investment attraction and global talent recruitment. The minister characterized the initiative as an effort to burnish Portugal’s image as an “investment destination” but declined to provide specific details about what enhancements might include.

The government aims to organize the golden visa and tax programs in “a more effective and economically efficient way” while ensuring any changes remain “economically and socially fair.”

AIMA currently faces a backlog of nearly 45,000 golden visa applications awaiting review. Amaro expects that “by the end of the year, this process will be largely taken care of.”

The minister emphasized there were no plans to end the program, stating, “there’s no plan to end it. It’s not on the table.” This represents a reversal from Portugal’s previous socialist administration, which had threatened to eliminate the program entirely and removed real estate investment as an eligible pathway in 2023.

Portugal currently operates a modified Non-Habitual Resident (NHR) tax regime that offers a 20% flat rate on employment and self-employment income, excluding the dividends, capital gains, and pension benefits that characterized the original program that the government eliminated in 2024. Golden visa holders do not automatically qualify for this tax regime.

While Portugal seeks to enhance its investor attraction capabilities, several European countries are moving in the opposite direction:

• The Netherlands, Ireland, and the UK have all closed their investor residency programs.
• Spain eliminated its golden visa in April.
• Malta now faces uncertainty following the European Court of Justice’s ruling against its citizenship by investment program.

At the same time, the UK is considering reintroducing a different version of its investor visa.