Portugal's 'golden visa' delays spark legal fight
After waiting years for their "golden visas," investors are taking Portugal to court. Tougher citizenship rules have added fuel to the growing dispute. Can a
After waiting years for their "golden visas," investors are taking Portugal to court. Tougher citizenship rules have added fuel to the growing dispute. Can a non-European simply buy their way into the Schengen Area? Or even pay to become a citizen of an EU country? That's exactly what so-called golden visas are for — and Portugal is one of the countries that offers them. Anyone who invests at least €250,000 ($285,000) can first obtain a residence permit and, later, if they choose, even apply for a Portuguese passport. The catch is that the government has recently changed the rules, and many people who have been waiting years for the residence permits they were promised are now planning to take legal action. Golden visas — much like those US President Donald Trump has proposed for $1 million — are available in several EU countries, including Greece, Italy, and Latvia. In exchange for investments ranging from €50,000 to €500,000, applicants are supposed to contribute to the host country's economy. At least that's the theory. However, these programs have long been controversial because they can attract people with questionable backgrounds — or even criminal ties — who many would rather not see living in their country and, by extension, gaining legal access to the European Union. A new home in Portugal Portugal has been issuing golden visas since 2012. According to reports, some wealthy members of the Russian mafia and Chinese organized crime figures managed to obtain them. On top of that, many investors poured their money into luxury real estate, helping drive housing prices in Portugal's major cities to dizzying levels. But there are other stories too. Take Luke Strzegowski, for example. Four years ago, the 55-year-old American sold his house and moved to Portugal with his wife, Kristin, and their two daughters, Emmy and Kira.
They invested €350,000 — "It was all we had," he says — in a home near the town of Sintra, just north of the capital Lisbon, and applied for a golden visa. "We wanted to get out of America. We wanted to give our girls the opportunity to live in a place less politically charged and safer. Just a better environment for them to grow up in." After five years, he expected to be eligible to apply for permanent residency — or even Portuguese citizenship — for himself and his family. "My 12-year-old daughter is already eying European universities that are in places that she might want to attend." Endless delays for residence permits But things turned out very differently. Strzegowski is still waiting for his initial, temporary residence permit — the one the law says should be issued within 90 days of applying. "I work in the solar industry. I still need to travel. There is a conference in Munich every year. I can’t go there because of our illegal status in Europe," Strzegowski explains. As a result, the permanent residence permit he had been promised — which can be granted five years after receiving the initial permit — has been pushed back as well. And the citizenship he had expected to be eligible for after five years will now take 10, after the current center-right government joined forces with the far-right Chega party to double the waiting period for naturalization for citizens of most non-EU countries. According to immigration lawyer Madalena Monteiro, around 12,000 other golden visa applicants are in the same situation as the American. Monteiro runs an agency that advises prospective immigrants and helps them navigate Portugal's notoriously slow bureaucracy. "Many people feel they've been cheated by the change in the law," she says. "They want to take legal action against the state.
The BriefWire