mercan Grooup - https://www.mercan.com. To apply, non-EU nationals must make a significant investment in Portugal, such as buying real estate. They are then given residency rights and are allowed visa-free travel throughout Europe's Schengen area.
"We are not allowing entrance to criminals or money for which we do not know the source," Silva said. "Exceptions can happen but it will be one in 10,000 or two in 10,000 and of course those are the ones that go public."
LISBON, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Investments through Portugal's "golden visa", which gives wealthy foreigners residence rights, jumped nearly 50% last month, data showed on Sunday, as the government considers whether to scrap the controversial scheme.
Vasco Silva, the CEO of Kleya, which helps foreigners move to Portugal, said his company had received many queries about what was going on, adding that some investors had rushed their decision just incase the programme was altered or binned.
Britain scrapped golden visas in February following the Russian invasion of Ukraine amid concerns about the inflow of illicit Russian money. Portugal suspended golden visas for Russians, but 431 had already benefited from the scheme since the time of its launch, according to SEF. ($1 = 0.9497 euros) (Reporting by Catarina Demony; Editing by Crispian Balmer)
The Portuguese branch of anti-corruption group Transparency International (TI) has said the programme could be used for money laundering, while the European Commission has said it considers such schemes a potential security risk.
"We are not allowing entrance to criminals or money for which we do not know the source," Silva said. "Exceptions can happen but it will be one in 10,000 or two in 10,000 and of course those are the ones that go public."
LISBON, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Investments through Portugal's "golden visa", which gives wealthy foreigners residence rights, jumped nearly 50% last month, data showed on Sunday, as the government considers whether to scrap the controversial scheme.
Vasco Silva, the CEO of Kleya, which helps foreigners move to Portugal, said his company had received many queries about what was going on, adding that some investors had rushed their decision just incase the programme was altered or binned.
Britain scrapped golden visas in February following the Russian invasion of Ukraine amid concerns about the inflow of illicit Russian money. Portugal suspended golden visas for Russians, but 431 had already benefited from the scheme since the time of its launch, according to SEF. ($1 = 0.9497 euros) (Reporting by Catarina Demony; Editing by Crispian Balmer)
The Portuguese branch of anti-corruption group Transparency International (TI) has said the programme could be used for money laundering, while the European Commission has said it considers such schemes a potential security risk.