OREANDA-NEWS. The Assembly of the Portuguese Republic approved the tightening of the procedure for issuing visas to investors in real estate. So called golden visas will not be given to those who invest in large cities, such as Lisbon or Porto. The rules will apply only to less populous regions.

Since 2012, the Portuguese authorities were issuing a residence permit in exchange for investment in real estate of at least 500 thousand euros. Prime Minister Antonio Costa explained the tightening by the fact that nowadays investments are needed in sparsely populated areas. So, to obtain a residence permit, a person can invest in the Azores, Madeira Island and in other remote municipalities. However, golden visas can still be obtained in large cities in the cases of developing a business there with the creation of new jobs.