Golden Visa dropping a gear
A small decline has been recorded in new applications for residence permits through the Golden Visa program in the first quarter.
Department of Immigration data show that 1,964 new applications were submitted in January-March, which is 51 fewer than the 2,015 submitted in the same period last year. Market conditions were similar to the current ones, as in both periods the changes to the program were announced, with a window of a few months before implementation.
However, the effect of the new measures is also evident, as the sense of “urgency” they create has the effect of multiplying investment interest. Therefore, in last year’s Q1 11,038 initial permanent investor permits had been granted and an additional 4,842 permits were pending approval, i.e. the total number of permits was 16,035. One year later, the corresponding number has jumped by 52%, since if the pending applications (8,422) are approved, the total number of residence permit holders will increase to 24,397.
This entails a minimum investment of over 6 billion euros in the nearly 10 years the Golden Visa program has been in place. However, never in the past (even before the pandemic) have the relevant numbers been this high, as typically 1,500-2,000 new licenses were approved per year.
