According to the latest Portugal golden visa statistics as of Apr 20, 2018, about 6159 main residence permits were issued for investment activities and 10396 residence permits were issued for family members for unification bringing €3.7 billion total investment to Portugal under the Golden visa scheme.
The numbers show for each residence permit issued, approximately 1 main applicant brings 2 family members, in total 3 per family arrive in Portugal. From the data on residence permits issued, the ratio of 10,396 divided by 6159 brings a ratio of 1.68 family members per golden visa holder.
According to Econews, Immigrants who get to Portugal seeking a golden visa are people who purchase real estate for a minimum of 500 thousand euros and, on average, each golden visa corresponds to the investor and two other people, a sign that they are immigrating and not circulating in other EU countries, DN writes.
Most golden visa applicants chose to purchase a property costing €350,000 or more, one of the requirements to be eligible for the document. Chinese, Brazilians and South Africans lead the table in applying for residence permit in Portugal under the golden visa scheme.
According to data from the Portuguese Immigration and Borders Service (SEF), 1,351 residence permits were granted for those investing in Portugal (golden visas) last year, a slight decrease from the 1,414 visas granted in the previous year. Except now, according to SEF, investors are bringing more family members along, more exactly 2,678, a 14% increase, which means entries by means of golden visas increased.
The president of the Chinese League in Portugal told DN he believes these data are normal. “People come first and bring their families here second. They stay here, develop other investments and activities. Then, they bring their wives and children, and if things continue to go well, their parents and parents-in-law will also want to come to Portugal”, he stated.
Turkish interest is also growing since last year.
Lawyer Vasco Esteves, who works in immigration, told DN that while many Brazilians used to apply for Portuguese residency to then be allowed to travel elsewhere, such as the USA, now they are coming here to live permanently and obtain Portuguese nationality.
Sources:
http://www.sef.pt/documentos/56/Mapa_ARI_EN_april18.pdf
https://econews.pt/2018/01/25/3-in-1-each-golden-visa-corresponds-to-three-arrivals-in-portugal/
http://portugalresident.com/more-and-more-golden-visa-holders-are-bringing-their-families-to-portugal
