Portugal granted residency permits to 168 investors under its so-called Golden Visa scheme in March, posting a monthly record, Portuguese newspaper Jornal de Negócios reported.

Citing figures from the Portuguese Real Estate Professionals and Brokers Association (APEMIP, in the Portuguese acronym), the news report said the number of residency permits granted in the first three months of this year is equivalent to half the number of such permits granted for the whole of 2015.

Since the scheme was launched in October 2012 – and based on data up to March 31 this year – Portuguese authorities have granted 3,165 residency permits under the programme. Of those, 2,991 were granted based on real estate investments, according to APEMIP.

The figures were released as the Association’s President, Luís Lima, joined a business delegation to the Chinese capital, Beijing. There, he met Portugal’s Ambassador to China, Jorge Torres Pereira.

“There is still a lot of interest from Chinese citizens [in Portugal’s Golden Visa scheme],” Mr Lima said, as quoted by the newspaper.

Chinese nationals have accounted for the majority of residency permits granted by Portuguese authorities. Between the launching of the scheme and the end of February, a total of 2,345 Chinese investors had been granted a Golden Visa, according to official figures previously released.

The scheme enables non-European Union passport holders that are willing to spend a minimum of 500,000 euros on real estate in Portugal to be granted a Golden Visa and thereafter apply for permanent residency. Other types of investment that give access to a Golden Visa include a capital transfer to Portugal of at least 1 million euros, or the creation of 10 jobs in the country.