Portugal rejects nationality claims in golden visa row

Portugal’s government has pushed back against criticism over recent nationality law changes, telling ECO that the country’s golden visa regime “was never intended” to grant Portuguese nationality, after asset managers said the new rules could weaken demand for investment products linked to the programme and trigger legal action against the state.

The government said investors’ expectations of gaining citizenship after five years were not created by the state, but were instead “commercial expectations created in the market”. In comments to ECO, an official source from the prime minister’s office said Portugal had legislated for residence permits tied to investment, “not automatic guarantees of nationality”.

While the government did not change the golden visa regime itself, the new nationality law doubled the required period of legal residence to apply for a Portuguese passport to 10 years, from five. That change has angered investors who committed €500,000 or more through the ARI investment residence programme and now say the rules have shifted mid-process.

Asset managers and advisers active in the market say clients are considering collective and individual lawsuits against the state, including claims for a transitional regime and compensation. They also warn that the change, combined with delays at AIMA, the Portuguese agency for Migration, in processing visa applications, could deter future investment and hurt funding flows into Portuguese companies and other parts of the economy.

Originally published at Eco.pt