Since its launch in 2012, the Golden Visa – designed to help fuel Portugal’s economic recovery - has attracted more than €9 billion in direct investment.

But a report by the World Digital Foundation, in collaboration with Portugal Pathways and the Portugal Investment Owners Club, reveals that for every euro invested, it generates an additional €6 in wider economic value.

As a consequence, the programme has also supported up to 30,000 jobs in Portugal.

Explains Danielle Moxey from the World Digital Foundation (WDF): “Up to 20% of Golden Visa investors go on to bring additional capital, business ventures, and job-creating enterprises, amplifying Portugal’s productivity base, innovation capacity, and fiscal revenues through VAT, income tax, and social contributions.

“This multiplier effect also supports Portugal’s position as one of the EU’s stronger post-pandemic economies - the IMF and European Commission both forecast Portugal to outperform average EU GDP growth rates - driven in part by sustained private investment confidence and consistent Golden Visa inflows.

“Portugal’s programme has therefore become a catalyst for long-term economic value creation, not merely a capital inflow mechanism.”

Key time

The revelations come at a key time in the programme’s history.

In October, Portugal’s parliament voted to extend the Golden Visa’s long-established timeline to achieving citizenship from five years to 10.

However, in a turn of events, the Socialist Party (PS) has intervened to refer it to the Constitutional Court.

It effectively slams the brakes on the proposals becoming law – at least for now.

Meanwhile, the Golden Visa programme continues to be hugely popular.

It requires a €500,000 payment into regulated alternative investment funds approved for the Golden Visa.

Opens doors

Open to non-EU/EEA/Swiss citizens with a clean criminal record, it opens the door to many seeking access to the 29 European countries in the Schengen area.

The WDF report analysed secondary data, investor patterns, and sector performance to shed light on how each euro invested in Golden Visas pays a handsome dividend for the country’s economy.

Adds Paul Stannard, founder and CEO of Portugal Pathways, which helps high-net-worth individuals navigate their Golden Visa journey, and the Portugal Investment Owners Club, said: “The Golden Visa was introduced to stimulate foreign investment and attract globally mobile talent.

“More than a decade later, its evolution shows that the programme’s real success lies in the ecosystem it has built: a globally trusted residency framework within the EU and Schengen zone, a magnet for internationally mobile professionals, and a generator of investment into productive sectors.

“The programme’s credibility has also enhanced Portugal’s global reputation as a ‘Switzerland South’ — a stable, transparent, and lifestyle-driven hub for high-net-worth individuals and family offices.

“Maintaining this trust is essential: around the world, investor confidence can quickly erode when governments fail to uphold their principles or reverse established programmes.

“We are hopeful that families who, through no fault of their own, have seen their applications delayed being processed, will be allowed to continue to support Portugal’s upward trajectory as part of the changes to the Nationality Law.”

Concludes Moxey for the World Digital Foundation: “Each €500,000 investment deployed through Golden Visa routes supports between two and four direct jobs and up to two indirect jobs. Across the programme’s lifetime, this equates to 25,000–30,000 jobs.

“This combination of capital inflow, employment, and innovation contributes materially to Portugal’s above-EU-average GDP growth forecasts and bolsters its resilience against external economic shocks. It also demonstrates investor confidence in Portugal’s ability to provide policy continuity and predictable frameworks - critical components of sustainable growth.”

To download a copy of the World Digital Foundation report, click here.