Off the wire
• Spain's consumer prices rise 0.1 pct in June  • Slovenia hails nuclear deal with Iran  • French stock market index up 0.69 pct on Tuesday  • EU prolongs suspension of sanctions against Iran until Jan. 2016  • EU invests 150 mln euros in energy infrastructure  • Spanish stock market rises 0.3 pct, closes at 11,258 points  • 10,500 refugees arrive in Yemen by sea since start of conflict: UNHCR  • Iran nuclear deal represents breakthrough, says EC President Tusk  • Official data shows British house prices rise 5.7 pct in May  • Ireland to top euro zone GDP growth table again: stockbrokers  
You are here: 　 Home

Portugal's golden visa scheme suspended due to lack of regulation

Xinhua, July 15, 2015 Adjust font size:

Portugal's golden visa scheme has been suspended by the country's Foreigners and Frontiers Services (SEF) due to lack of regulation.

"As requested, the Foreigners and Frontiers Services confirms the suspension, from July 1 of 2015, of the issuing of application requests of residency for investment activity," SEF spokesperson Marilia Neres said in a note sent to Xinhua on Tuesday, adding that the suspension would only end when the regulating diploma for that kind of authorization is published.

The golden visa scheme was launched in 2012 during the debt crisis and aims to attract investment, giving wealthy investors the chance to reside in Portugal as well as visa-free travel in the Schengen zone if they meet certain requirements, for example by investing 1 million euros (1.1 million U.S. dollars) in capital.

The new law came into effect on July 1 after a recent investigation led to the detention of 11 officials on suspicion of corruption, money-laundering and embezzlement.

Portugal issued 2,420 golden visas up until June 30 this year and the country has seen inflows of foreign direct investment amounting to around 1.47 billion euros.

The Chinese continue to lead the gold visa scheme, with 1,947 Chinese investors acquiring golden visas since 2012 while 87 Brazilian investors and 79 Russian investors also acquired golden visas since then, according to a recent report. Endit