NewsTracker Answers for week of Oct. 01, 2018

Q: Portugal said last week that Chinese are leading the way among non-Europeans in its “golden visa” scheme that gives wealthy immigrants legal residency if they spend at least $578,000 buying Portuguese property. Where is Portugal?

Circle the area on this map


Q: Portugal’s new residents also gain visa-free travel through 26 European countries. At least 50 nations also have “golden visa” programs including Portugal’s neighbor on the Iberian Peninsula . . .

A. Cyprus

B. Ireland

C. Malta

D. Spain


D. Spain also allows an immigrant family to gain residency by buying at least $578,000 in real estate, and it too is part of the Schengen agreement that allows citizens and legal residents to travel through much of Europe without a visa. Cyprus, Ireland and Malta also have “golden visa” schemes.


Q: “Golden visa” schemes allow wealthy immigrants to gain legal residency or even citizenship by investing in real estate, businesses, government bonds or “donating” money to governments. Which of these nations require the most money from “golden” immigrants?

A. Australia

B. Bahamas

C. Ireland

D. United States


A. Australia requires a business investment of more than $1 million, while immigrants can gain legal status in the other nations for less than half that. The United States grants legal residency to people who invest at least $500,000 in business that creates at least 10 jobs in higher unemployment areas. That investment minimum can go up to $1 million in other U.S. areas.


Q: In Portugal, some politicians want to scrap the “golden visa” plan, saying it has done little more than raise property prices in the nation’s capital. What is the capital of Portugal?

A. Barcelona

B. Lisbon

C. Madrid

D. Rome


B. Portugal’s Left Bloc party complains that only 11 of the 6,416 people who have gained “golden visas” went for the option where they create a business that employs more than 10 people. The rest invested in real estate mostly in Lisbon and Portugal’s second largest city Porto.


Q: Chinese are spending billions on new passports and visas to move their families and/or money away from their homeland. Which nation has attracted the most money from Chinese investors seeking “golden visas”?

A. Australia

B. Canada

C. United States

D. United Kingdom


C. The United States gained an estimated $7.7 billion in investments in the last decade from Chinese participants in its “golden visa” scheme, according to an Associated Press analysis. That compares with $6 billion for Australia, $4.3 billion for Canada and $1.96 billion for the United Kingdom.