The application for the Gold Visa/ARI must be made online at the website of the Foreigners and Borders Service, through their website. If you prefer, you may be represented by a lawyer. In this case, the application may be made by the legal representative. This representative must have a Power of Attorney, and after the registration, submit it to SEF. The application must be formalized by the applicant, by submitting a declaration. In this declaration, under a promise of honour, he must certify the compliance with the minimum quantitative and temporal requirement of the investment activity. This statement and all the necessary documentation shall be submitted at the time of the application for granting of the Residence Permit and/or of its renewal. The submission is made in person at the competent SEF regional directorate. The decision to grant the Gold Visa/ARI falls under the competence of the SEF National Director, through proposal of the Regional Director of the same body. The scheduling of the date and time for submission of the ARI application at the SEF office is done through the SEF website, through pre-registration. Yes, applicants can still acquire the property and apply for the golden visa. The government has no legislative competence to make changes to the Golden Visa programme. The Parliament is responsible for approving any proposed changes. It will have to receive a proposal outlining the measures for voting. The process involves a month-long public hearing, followed by a proposal sent to Parliament on 16 March. Approval should take 15-20 days. The President will then react in one of three ways: ratify the proposal; return it to Parliament for amendment; or ask the Constitutional Court to assess it. The governing party can approve the measures without amendment because it holds the majority. However, other parties can propose alternative wording during public hearings. These proposals may influence the final wording of the law. The Government intends to renew existing Golden Visa cases, but add additional requirements for the use of Golden Visas to address the housing issue. Some assumptions in line with the above points: the current law is expected to remain unchanged for at least the next 45 days from 16 February 2023. The exact content of the final amendments to the law remains unknown to both the Government and Parliament yet. There is a high risk of complete termination of the programme in the short-to-medium term. The timing of the implementation of the amendments has not yet been announced. There was room for interpretation that the residency programme may still exist in some form.
