The Mais Habitação (More Housing) package was published in the Official Gazette on 6th October. As a result, since Saturday, new residence permits for investment activity - Vistos Gold - are no longer permitted.
According to law no. 56/2023, "new applications for residence permits for investment activity are not allowed". However, this does not inhibit the "possibility of renewing residence permits for investment activity when these permits have been granted under the legal regime applicable until the date of entry into force of this law".
Marina Gonçalves, Minister of Housing in Portugal, has 90 days to publish the ordinance regulating the terms and conditions of the 250 million euro financing line with mutual guarantee and interest subsidy, namely for affordable housing construction or rehabilitation projects, including the acquisition of property for this purpose, and subsequent rental, in accordance with the law.
It should be noted that the housing built with financing granted by this line "is subject to the parameters and values in force for controlled-cost housing, namely with regard to the development cost per square metre", the law reads.
It should be remembered that the investment raised through the Residence Permit for Investment Activity programme totalled more than 32.8 million euros in August, which represents a drop of 12.5%.
The measures in the Mais Habitação package, approved in Parliament only with the votes of the PS (Socialist party), come into force almost eight months after the government presented the legislative package on 16 February.