en 
Both opinions conclude that if such a law be approved and published that it will be unconstitutional, for violating the principle of safeguarding trust and the legitimate expectations of citizens among other concerns. This echoes President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa’s concerns that besides being ‘inoperable’ that the proposed bill does not meet the high standards stipulated by the Portuguese Constitution.
The Professors state that citizens have the right to the protection of trust and in the trust they can place in acts of political powers that conflict with their legal expectations. The State has a duty of good faith and although the law can change there must also be provided in any case a reasonable period of 'vacatio legis’”, I.e., a grace period. This is in contrast to the retroactive application currently being presented by the Government.
They also consider that the proposal of the Government affects the legitimate expectations of citizens, and the legislator should adopt a transitional regime that ensures that the implementation of the new measures is done gradually and deferred over time. This is in line with the general view of lawyers in Portugal actively involved in working daily with this law.
If the law is published in the terms intended by the Government, it is my opinion that Portugal is at significant risk of having to compensate these investors an unbearable amount. Since the program was launched in 2012, around €7 Billion of investment has come into the country as a result. This law was created precisely for that: to attract foreign investment to the country. It cannot be revoked with retroactive effects and without ensuring a transitional and adaptation period. This would irreversibly affect acquired rights, without any regard for the legitimate interests of those who invested in the national territory and shall consequently damage the country's international image. Commercially, Portugal’s future aspirations may suffer because of this tarnished image.
Thankfully, Portugal remains a Constitutional Democracy. There is much road still to travel with this matter and we, like the rest of the legal community in Portugal, are here to support.
English
Nederlands
Deutsch
Français
Español
Italiano
Svenska
Pусский
Română
中文
Türkçe
हिन्दी
Português
Українська
اردو
Polski
عربي
Suomi
עִברִית
Afrikaans
Português (Brasil)
The only people who have benefitted from the Golden Visa scheme are those with expensive properties.. As for legal opinions, these are done by university lecturers who are basically paid, thousands of Euros, to present an argument in support of whoever is paying them. The best thing this government has done to date is the abolish the Golden Visa scheme. Obviously estate agents and some lawyers are not happy because they made a lot of money from it. They are not concerned about how constitutional the move is. They just don't want to lose a source of money.
By Martyn Williams from Beiras on 07 Apr 2023, 10:28
What most foreigners don’t understand is that the Portuguese Courts are not functional and any case presented could take years, yes years to be heard and years to be concluded! Perhaps the two legal contributors can confirm this?
By George Thomas from UK on 07 Apr 2023, 11:14
The issue here is the retroactive cancellation. Whilst the country has the right to stop the program for the future, it cannot alter acquired rights of investors who invested on the conditions set out in the Golden Visa program. Aside from the large number of class actions the country will face and regardless of how long these would take to be decided, the country's reputation will towards foreign investors be forever tarnished. The last thing investors would want is legislative instability. Today it is the Golden Visa being cancelled but who knows what would be decided tomorrow. With neighbouring countries putting additional programs in place to attract FDIs and residents, it will be extremely difficult for Portugal to continue to attract or even maintain its current investors.
By Ntani Kampani from Other on 08 Apr 2023, 20:00