A visa programme for residence in Portugal has undergone changes and faces proposals to scrap it entirely.

It comes nearly a year after a lawyer familiar with the Golden Visa programme highlighted increasing interest from Bermudians looking at European residency options.

Judith Teodoro, a commercial lawyer dealing in succession, family law and real estate law, said the programme granting residency in Portugal to people from overseas who invest in properties worth at least €500,000 (about $545,000), or who create ten jobs in the country, had drawn more interest with the 2021 launch of direct summer flights between Bermuda and the Azores — an autonomous region of Portugal.

However, Andrea Moniz DeSouza, Honorary Consul of Portugal in Bermuda, told The Royal Gazette this week that there had been “decisive changes made to the Golden Visa programme under Portuguese law”.

She explained: “The Golden Visa, or residence permit for foreigners through direct real estate investment, ended in October 2023.

“If there is no change in the law with the next Government of Portugal, all that remains as another option for residency is by investing in real estate through a company, with the nuance that you have to create five jobs over a three-year period.”

The Portuguese Government has the programme under consultation.

The programme was launched in 2012 but has undergone tweaks, including a move last year to rule out buying properties in popular and crowded coastal hotspots as well as the capital, Lisbon, where it drove up real-estate costs.

Marla Barrett, who advises on real estate and immigration, said the latest round of changes to the programme caused “a great deal of confusion and concern among potential investors”.

The possible scrapping of the scheme has yet to go before Portugal’s parliament.