I do think that a state should exist primarily for the benefit of its citizens but this view had long been decried xenophobic at best.
However, you can't have it both ways. If
> countless stories of flats left uninhabited by some rich person who arrived at the building, bought two flats so that he could get a visa, and doesn’t even live there
then clearly not
> wealthy foreigners from all over the world, to whom we offer a paradise where they enjoy the same services but where they don’t pay or pay less tax than the general population
Yeah, the article wants to argue both sides of every issue.
However,
> countless stories of flats left uninhabited by some rich person who arrived at the building, bought two flats so that he could get a visa, and doesn’t even live there
So, the way it works is, as a golden visa applicant, you have to spend 7 days in the first year. The next 2 years, a combined 15 days (which can be spread whichever way you like). Subsequent renewals are different (21 days / 3 years). You can already live there when you apply, but you are not _required_ to.
You have to maintain your investment for at least 5 years (or until you become a permanent resident) and renew the golden visa twice. Then you can apply for permanent residency (or citizenship if you qualify), if you want to.
It's entirely conceivable that people would buy property and only vacation there. Which, if we are honest, is not a problem, given that large cities are excluded from the program. And cheaper housing does not qualify, either. So you would be taking property that's pretty expensive already (€500,000, €400,000 for low density areas) - OR requires the property to be older than 30 years old, and a minimum of €350,000 (or €280,000 in low density areas).
1) The investment doesn't need to be in a single property; you could buy up multiple smaller properties that sum to the amount you need, and rent them out or leave them empty.
2) There are also hotel investment options rather than buying up existing real estate, and those are still available in the big cities as they are considered 'commercial'
No mention of the vast holdings the church or bombeiros have in Lisbon and the insane amount of empty un-renovated buildings that are essentially just place-holders until the right CML-connected developers show-up with lots of money?
However, you can't have it both ways. If
> countless stories of flats left uninhabited by some rich person who arrived at the building, bought two flats so that he could get a visa, and doesn’t even live there
then clearly not
> wealthy foreigners from all over the world, to whom we offer a paradise where they enjoy the same services but where they don’t pay or pay less tax than the general population
Either they live there and use services or not.