One of the measures aimed at combating the crisis in the real estate market is the extinction of what are popularly known as visas. gold. These, or Residence Permits for Investment (ARI), are not limited to the real estate sector, it is necessary to separate, even within this, the housing real estate. The attribution of these authorizations is not limited to the acquisition and investment in this sector, the contribution it may have had to the scarcity of housing solutions being merely residual.
The objective was to attract private funds from abroad and during the program the possibility of investing in culture, research, employability, entrepreneurship and the real estate sector opened up.
Unlike investment in housing properties, the modality of granting visas for the acquisition of real estate with the carrying out of rehabilitation works brought the possibility of giving a second life to buildings in urban rehabilitation areas (ARU), allowing the creation of a business field that, together with the growing increase in tourism in Portugal, has leveraged the resuscitation of areas and emblematic buildings that, otherwise, would be waiting to fall.
The vision of some companies that own these projects resulted in the creation of jobs, the acquisition of products, goods and services due to the emerging needs of requalification and transformation into tourist enterprises and hotel units of those, until then, ill-fated buildings. It is easy to understand that, in order to carry out these works, labor is needed directly linked to the building, to which are added the goods and products that will decorate these projects, as well as professionals from the hospitality industry, and from other sectors, who allow their operation,
With the end of the program, there is a willingness to eliminate all the advantages and sources of income from the investment raised, also harming all those who have (or could have) a job, a job and an income resulting from the its execution.
The ARI program played an extremely important role in attracting foreign private investment and allowed our country to stand out, so far, for having one of the most attractive, agile and viable immigration and investment attraction programs in the European Union.
In view of all this, the question arises: is the option of terminating the entire program the most sensible? Shouldn’t we take advantage of the road mapped out, the markets opened up, the investors conquered, and channel that investment towards the investment needs the country faces?
Oscar Wilde, about the experience, said that “it was the name that men gave to their own mistakes”. And without forgetting what was committed, what kind of country would we be if we didn’t learn from our mistakes and build a future based on what we learned?
It is said that there is no beauty without a flaw, but it is possible to remove the flaw and take advantage of and replicate the beauty that the ARI program has brought to different and new areas of activity. Why not, even, in combating the shortage of rental properties?
The extinction will certainly be more applauded by those who do not know the valences of the ARI program, but it will certainly not be the most prudent, advantageous and courageous decision. An announced end, but it may not be.