Cape Verde's economic growth has been largely propelled by tourism. During the first three months of 2019, the country welcomed 215,000 tourists, a 10.3% increase from Q1 2018. And Cape Verde's government has recently made the country even more investor-friendly by approving laws that grant permanent residence permits to foreign nationals who purchase a second home in Cape Verde.
Permanent Residence Cards, known as the Green Card, will be issued to foreigners who acquire real estate properties worth minimum amounts of €80,000 or €120,000, depending on the GDP of the municipality where the property is situated. The permit will be granted for an indefinite period, and its benefits will be extended to the holder's spouse and children aged below 14.
The new bill also includes tax benefits such as:
- The exemption of Single Property Tax on the property involved, and a 50% tax reduction over the next ten years; and
- Personal Income Tax exemption for retired Green Card holders with incomes generated outside Cape Verde.
Tourism has grown rapidly, with tourist arrivals rising from 150,000 in 2003 to around 800,000 in 2019, bringing travel and tourism's direct contribution to 17.8% of Cape Verde's GDP, and its total contribution to 44.9% of GDP, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council's (WTTC) 2019 report. Cape Verde's government hopes to boost tourist arrivals to 3.15 million by 2030, creating more than 30,000 jobs and an estimated CVE 4.4 billion (US$ 47 million) tax revenues, according to Tourism Director-General Carlos Jorge Anjos.
In 2019, most tourists came from the United Kingdom (17.8%), Germany (11.2%), France (9.7%), and Portugal (9.5%). The island of Sal had the most visitors in 2019, with 48% of hotel stays, followed by Boa Vista (28.8%), and Santiago (10.9%).