Madeira stay with Golden Visa ? Miguel Albuquerque wants to maintain it in Madeira

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According to recent reports, Miguel Albuquerque, the President of the Government of Madeira, has stated that the autonomous region is interested in retaining both golden visas and licenses for local accommodation (AL). He criticized the More Housing program for being centralized and having a Lisbon-centric approach.

The President of the Government of Madeira, Miguel Albuquerque, has stated that it would be “ridiculous” to revoke the golden visas and licenses for local accommodation (AL) in the autonomous region. He also criticized the More Housing program, stating that it had a “centralized and Lisbon perspective” that did not take into account the needs and realities of other regions. Albuquerque argued that Madeira should not be subject to measures aimed primarily at Lisbon and Porto, as it would be detrimental to the national economy.

Miguel Albuquerque made these comments while visiting a food company in Funchal. His statements were in response to the More Housing program, which was approved by the Council of Ministers and will be open to public discussion for a month. Albuquerque leads the PSD/CDS-PP regional executive.

Madeira stay with Golden Visa ? Miguel Albuquerque wants to maintain it in Madeira

Miguel Albuquerque expressed his view that there is nothing positive in the More Housing program for those who believe in private property and free markets. He criticized the government for using golden visas and local accommodations as a scapegoat and pointed out that the Socialist government has failed to address the issue of housing for the past seven years.

The governor expressed his criticism towards what he perceives as the national executive’s “centralised and Lisbon perspective”, stating that they assess the country only through the lens of the capital’s problems, while neglecting the needs of municipalities and regions that require investment to attract foreign capital, renew their housing stock, and rehabilitate historic centres.

Miguel Albuquerque emphasized that the national government needs to listen to the needs of the regions and municipalities outside of Lisbon and determine measures accordingly. He emphasized that “the real country is not Lisbon” and that the More Housing program needs to take into account the investment, foreign capital, and housing renewal and rehabilitation needs of these areas.

Miguel Albuquerque expressed his support for maintaining golden visas in Madeira as he believes it is good for the growth of high-income real estate. He also stated that the Regional Government has used funds from the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR) to construct affordable housing for the middle class and young couples, to counterbalance the pressure in the sector.

The President of the Government of Madeira, Miguel Albuquerque, stated that local accommodation “has not affected in any way” traditional tourism and instead contributed to a historical maximum of 9.6 million overnight stays in 2022. He also mentioned that his executive will legally analyze the possibility of “guaranteeing autonomy” in local accommodation. On Thursday, the Council of Ministers decided to prohibit the issuance of new local accommodation licenses, except for rural accommodations in municipalities in the interior of the country. Current licenses will be subject to re-evaluation in 2030, and the program includes measures aimed at stimulating the rental market and ending ‘gold’ visas. The More Housing program has five axes that will be under public discussion for a month, and the proposals will return to the Council of Ministers for final approval on March 16. Some measures will still have to go through Parliament, according to the Prime Minister.

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