The head of Portugal’s immigration and border service is among 11 people detained in a corruption inquiry surrounding the country’s granting of so-called ‘Golden Visas’ to wealthy foreign investors.<br /><br />Manuel Palos is being investigated alongside other officials, including Antonio Figueiredo, the head of the National Notary and Registry Institute, amid claims of money-laundering and influence peddling surrounding the scheme.<br /><br />Palos’s SEF immigration service as well as government ministries have been searched by police.<br /><br />Opposition politicians have long argued that Golden Visas could open the way to criminals and stoke corruption.<br /><br />The programme allows non-EU citizens to obtain residency permits in Portugal in return for investing a million euros in capital, at least half a million euros on a property there or creating 10 jobs in the country. Chinese buyers in particular have embraced the opportunity.<br /><br />Neighbouring Spain and some other EU countries have similar schemes. The Portuguese permits allow foreigners to travel freely within Europe’s 26-country Schengen zone without restriction.
