Portugal’s SEF approved 80 golden visas to main applicants in July, statistics released by the agency this week reveal. The approvals were the result of investments totaling EUR 44 million, a sharp reduction from the EUR raised in June but nearly a doubling compared to the same month last year.

The program has raised a total of EUR 6.46 billion for Portugal since the law took effect on October 8th, 2012, only 0.03% of which stems from 2012. Counting from 2013, the year in which the program began in earnest, Portugal’s golden visa has raised an average of EUR 1.67 million per day for what will soon be ten straight years.

In the first seven months of 2022, the SEF has approved 729 main applicants, indicating approval volume for 2022 should exceed last year’s total (865) already by mid-September.

As has been the case for every month in 2022 except January, Americans were the top investor nationality also in July, accounting for 11 approvals. 10 approvals went to Chinese investors, nine to Brazilians, seven to South Africans, and five to Turks.

American golden visa investors, who broke into the all-time top five applicant nationality ranking in June, now number 456 overall and are poised to overtake South Africans to become the 4th largest applicant group overall before Q3 is over and to wrest 3rd place from the Turks by year-end, at least if American appetites for golden visas continues unabated.

For 2022 considered in isolation, Americans are the top recipients of golden visas, accounting for 18.5% of the aggregate, while Chinese investors make up 16% of approvals so far this year.

The popularity of the investment fund option continues to grow sharply: The share applicants choosing this qualifying route doubled between 2020 and 2021 and has doubled again this year. One in five approved investors this year have qualified through fund investment, while 41% have opted to acquire renovation-designated properties.

In absolute terms, the numbers of investors opting for fund investment has grown prodigiously this year and is on track to account for nearly three times as many main applicants as last year.

Source: Investment Migration Insider