Goncalo Roxo, of Portugal-based Your Property Advisor, said he had warned his clients against trying to speed up the process due to the risk from bureaucratic delays. ($1 = 0.9310 euros) (Reporting by Catarina Demony; Additional reporting by Patricia Rua; Editing by Andrei Khalip and Alison Williams)

In January, 93 golden visas were issued, a 45% drop compared to December, but the number went up again in February, when 130 were handed out, mainly to Chinese, U.S. and Turkish investors, according to border agency data.

"As soon as you put a deadline on something, it gets people rushing," Nuri Katz from another advisers, Apex Capital Partners, told Reuters. "There's absolutely nothing as good as a deadline in this business."

While the data shows a jump in applications, the process can take months so it is not immediately clear whether the numbers are a reflection of the government's announcement, which was first floated in November.

"When the state of emergency ends people will face an economic crisis," they said. "How will those who are unemployed start to pay rent again?" Rents have skyrocketed in Portugal in recent years due to the rise of holiday apartments and controversial schemes such as the "golden visa" - granting residence to non-EU property buyers - while salaries remained almost unchanged.

LISBON, March 14 (Reuters) - Portugal's plan to end its golden visa scheme for investors, yet to be officially approved, has led to a rush in applications according to advisory firms who have criticized the plan as populist.

The state of emergency was declared on March 18 and extended on Thursday by 15 days. It was not clear how much longer it will last, but Prime Minister Antonio Costa said on Wednesday restrictive measures could be in place for months as the country approaches an expected plateau of coronavirus cases at the end of May.

As part of a package to address the housing crisis as rents also soar, Portugal's premier Antonio Costa announced last month the intention to scrap the scheme. The measure is under public consultation until next Friday.

His office did not immediately reply to a request for comment. Costa has previously said there was no justification to keep the scheme because it had fulfilled the role it had been intended to fulfill, without elaborating.

The scheme, aimed at non-EU nationals ready to invest in Portugal, has attracted 6.8 billion euros ($7.30 billion) since its launch in 2012, with the bulk of the money going into real estate. Successful applicants are then given residency rights.

A quarter of the population is on the lowest minimum wage in Western Europe of just 635 euros a month, with household savings at approximately 4.9%, according to Eurostat - one of the lowest rates in Europe.

LISBON, April 2 (Reuters) - Portugal's parliament approved on Thursday the suspension of rents for vulnerable households and cash-strapped small firms during the coronavirus outbreak, but rights groups warned that the measure might only delay a looming housing crisis.

Activists deemed the measure "insufficient". Though rental prices may fall after the outbreak as demand for holiday lets dissipates, housing groups argue incomes are unlikely to recover fast enough for people to repay the debt.

"This pandemic crisis puts people's right to work and housing at risk. We expect a housing crisis," said Vasco Barata, from the Plataforma Solidaria group. "That's what worries us." (Reporting by Victoria Waldersee, Catarina Demony, editing by Andrei Khalip)