[1] Despite being advertised as a fast route to a residence card, processing of Golden Visas is extremely slow with many investors left without a residency card despite waiting multiple years after applying.
[2] This has led investors to file lawsuits to hold the Portuguese Foreigners and Borders Service to the legally mandated 90 day processing time.
[3] As of 10 May 2024 there were 7,500 lawsuits pending in total, which Porto's mayor Rui Moreira described as "a scandal".
[8] In August 2019, according to SEF, Chinese investment in Portugal under the scheme was down during the first eight months of 2019 a decrease of 15.7 percent from the same period of 2018.
[11][12] The eligibility criteria to obtain a Portugal Golden Visa included: Portuguese, European Union and European Economic Area nationals are not eligible for the ARI / Golden Visa scheme.