The Portuguese government is listening to recommendations regarding proposed changes to the golden visa program.

Marina Gonçalves, the Minister of Infrastructure and Housing of Portugal, said that the government’s proposal is under discussion in parliament, within a stage of listening to all proposals.

She added that more than 90% of golden visa investments are in real estate, Schengen Visa Info reports, highlighting an indirect impact on the country’s housing market after housing costs rise.\

“With this, we do not want to discourage investment in the country; on the contrary, we already have a general visa policy, a general regime for granting visas that are also based on investment,” the Minister stated.

Furthermore, Canadian authorities said earlier this year they would ban foreign investors wanting to purchase homes after house prices rose. In relation to such measures, coupled with the impact of digital nomads on housing prices, Gonçalves said this would have only a minor indirect effect. 

“(The impact of digital nomads) does not have a dimension per se, seen individually, an indirect dimension in the price of housing,” she stated, yet this doesn’t mean that “this debate should not be held in the future”, Portugal News reports.

Portugal scrapped the golden visa program in February, which allowed foreigners to obtain residency in the country through investment. According to authorities, the decision was made to tackle housing problems. 

Abandoning the golden visa scheme resulted in the cancellation of a residential tourism project worth around €800 million, according to an earlier Portugal News report.

Moreover, due to the program coming to an end, a significant number of expats are leaving Portugal, particularly US citizens, according to a Bloomberg report. It was also found that in the first half of 2023, there was an 18% decline in demand for Portuguese residency by internationals under the golden visa program.