Portugal´s Government and Parliament Elections – Right wing, more pro-business, parties win in a landslide, with a majority of seats in the Parliament.

Following eight years of ruling by the Socialist Party, supported most of the time by the far-left parties, Portugal´s political landscape has shifted to the right.

Although the coalition by PSD (social democrats) and two smaller parties have won without a majority of seats, if we add them with the Liberal Party (Center-Right) and Chega Party (far-right), they will have a clear majority of seats in the new Parliament. 

It´s not clear how and under what conditions, Chega Party will allow the new Government to be formed, but it would be very surprising if a new Government run by PSD with the support of the Liberal Party and the smaller parties could not be formed.

The right-wing parties are, as expected, much more pro-business, and both PSD and Chega previously announced they want to give a boost to the Golden Visa program.

Our expectation is that, with the Budget for 2025, new alternatives for investments funds eligible for the Golden Visa may be launched. However, it is important to note that the political and economic landscape is constantly evolving, and there are no guarantees that these changes will materialize.

The current investment options offer excellent opportunities, and with the recent update in the Nationality Law, the sooner you apply for the Golden Visa, the sooner you can start the countdown to eligibility for citizenship. 

Also, other area of focus of the new Government will be to significantly improve the efficiency of the new immigration bureau (AIMA and previously denominated SEF), which with the current Government has suffered a tremendous decline in its efficiency and levels of service.

Changes in the Nationality Law have already been published.

Following the approval by the President of Portugal on February 24, the 10^th set of changes in the Law of Nationality has been published.

Three main changes were made to the law:

1. The period between the application for a residency permit and the issuance of the residency card already counts for the five-year period until an application for citizenship and residency can be made. This is a significant progress that will partially compensate the processing delays by AIMA.
   
2. For the cases of descendants whose filiation happens after 18 years old of age, citizenship can also be granted provided that the filiation will be granted by court´s decision and application for citizenship is made until three years after the court´s decision. Before, the law would not accept citizenship to be given to cases where the filiation was established after 18 years old of age.
   
3. For the Jewish Sephardic citizenship process, we will after additionally restrictions, namely only accepting the ones with proven connection with Portugal and living in the country for at least three years.

Golden Visa, new funds coming to the market to meet the new demand coming from the elimination of the real estate route.

In 2023, a new law was published, introducing significant changes to the Portugal Golden Visa program framework.

Real estate investment has been excluded, but Eligible Investment Funds like Private Equity Funds (PEFs) are still a valid option.

Due to the significant interest from investors that seek to obtain the most desired Golden Visa in EU, new fund options have been coming to the market.

The funds investment scope varies from more well-known sectors like tourism, renewable energies, and IT to less usually explored areas like AI, sports and commodities.

Investors in those funds benefit from diversification, not just within one fund, but across multiple Eligible Investment Funds.

Funds are managed by experts who typically outperform the average individual investor.

Income from funds isn’t taxed, and income paid to non-resident investors remains untaxed (unless they reside in a “tax haven”).

The Blue Portugal team has unparalleled insights into the Eligible Investment Funds domain. Our founding members, with extensive international financial careers, have deep-rooted ties with the players in this sector.

For more information on the different options, please contact The Blue Portugal. Embark on a seamless and successful journey with us!