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It’s Getting Harder to Obtain a ‘Golden Visa’ in Europe

Portugal is joining other countries in scrapping its residency-by-investment program, which has been a draw for wealthy foreigners.

Residential buildings in the Alfama district of Lisbon, Portugal.

Residential buildings in the Alfama district of Lisbon, Portugal.

Photographer: Goncalo Fonseca/Bloomberg

Europe’s golden age of golden visas appears to be ending.

For wealthy foreign investors, they offered easier travel, better lives and even breezier retirements. But the pathway to the so-called golden visas  grew narrower this week as two countries popular with the jet-set crowd scrapped their programs.