Nationality law change hits Portugal golden visa funds

Portugal’s recent nationality law changes are slowing investment into funds eligible for the country’s golden visa programme and could trigger legal action from foreign investors, according to fund managers interviewed by ECO.

The golden visa rules themselves have not changed, but access to Portuguese citizenship has become harder under the new nationality law. According to the managers interviewed by ECO, many investors had expected to apply for nationality after five years. Under the new rules, the clock starts only when residence permits are issued, and the period rises to seven years for EU and CPLP nationals and 10 years for most other investors, which includes the majority of golden visa applicants.

IMGA, which says it has more than 1,000 international investors linked to golden visa structures and over €500 million in investment, told ECO it has been widely contacted by clients seeking to understand the impact of the changes. The asset manager said some investors, particularly from the US and other international markets, “are considering legal action”, and did not rule out claims against the manager itself. It also said the market had slowed significantly in recent weeks and estimated activity could fall by 30% to 40% in the coming months if uncertainty persists.

Other managers described a similar reaction. Optimize CEO Pedro Lino told ECO that investors are consulting lawyers and that demand for the firm’s golden visa fund had weakened after the changes, although he said interest has recently started to recover.

Industry figures from Indico Capital Partners, 3 Comma Capital and Pagani Capital also said the new rules had damaged legal predictability and investor confidence, especially for people who had already invested and were still waiting for their residency processes to move forward.

Originally published at Eco.pt