I've had lots of people over the years ask me why I don't recommend Portugal for consideration in their Plan-B; why I'm always talking people out of even considering Portugal and their Golden Visa.

I don't have having any ties or investments there whatsoever and don't plan on changing that anytime soon.

Why? Due to nonsensical ideas generated by the government of Portugal such as the one that appeared on my online newsfeed the other day.

Portugal's government has proposed a significant change to its immigration policy, which would double the residency requirement for citizenship from five years to ten years and also add more regulations.

And for those of you wondering, yes, this will impact their Golden Visa program. If you have already gone through the process and qualified for citizenship after five years, you may now be required to accept the ten-year timeline.

You want my take? This is why if you have Portugal on your list, just strike it off with a bold marker now.

This proposal isn't just stupid; it doesn't make any sense.

Why would they allow you to do a residency by investment, only visit the country seven days a year for five years, and then give you a passport at the end of it? 

It makes no sense.

You're telling me A) you don't need to live there, B) you don't have to speak the language at a decent level, C) you don't have to have cultural ties or need to know the history or anything like that...

...and you think that they're just going to welcome you in?

Yeah, like the government was going to honour this deal!

Now look, all the people from five, six years ago, they were going through this program telling themselves "No, no, no, everything will be fine, everything will be fine..." and now that they should qualify for their passports, what does the government do?

They delay the process, they cancel the residency, and they destroy the Golden Visa itself so new people can't come.

Portugal has already abolished the non-habitual tax residency. And they basically make themselves as unattractive as possible to stop foreigners from buying real estate.

They're just kicking the can down the road so they don't have to do what they said they were going to do.

Does this sound familiar?

I looked at this whole situation years and years ago and knew it wasn't going to happen.

It's a complete scam by the government, and I absolutely told you so.

This is unbelievable what they've done and what they continue to do, but no one can say I haven't sounded the alarm bell on this.

Speak soon,

Mikkel

PS. Since the smart people have crossed off Portugal from their list of potential places to invest, maybe you'll consider joining us in Brazil this August 2-9. This 7-day long journey includes visiting the Amazon on a once-in-a-lifetime adventure, flying to the Northeast coast of Brazil to view investment opportunities, and so much more! Secure your tickets now.

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