Portugal Golden Visa

Portugal’s Golden Visa, officially the residence permit for investment activity, is still alive, but the old property-buying version is gone. Since Law 56/2023, real estate and simple capital transfers no longer qualify. The program now focuses on job creation, business investment, research, culture and qualifying investment funds.

It’s a residence route, not a tourist visa. That matters. A short-stay Schengen visa lets you visit Portugal for up to 90 days in any 180-day period. The Golden Visa gives eligible non-EU, non-EEA and non-Swiss nationals a renewable residence permit, plus the right to live, work and study in Portugal and move around the Schengen Area without separate short-stay visas.

The structure is fairly straightforward, even if the paperwork isn’t. You make and keep a qualifying investment, enter Portugal legally and maintain a clean criminal record. In return, you get a residence card that's typically valid for two years, then renewed for three-year periods as long as you still meet the rules.

• Who it’s for: Non-EU, non-EEA and non-Swiss adults making a qualifying investment in Portugal.
• What it gives you: Residence rights, work and study access and Schengen mobility.
• How it differs from a tourist visa: It creates residence rights. A Schengen visa doesn’t.
• Main current routes: Job creation, company investment, research, cultural support and qualifying funds.

The current eligible routes are narrower than they used to be and that’s the big catch. The program now centers on creating at least 10 jobs, investing in a company, putting at least €500,000 into research, donating at least €250,000 to cultural or heritage projects or investing at least €500,000 in qualifying Portuguese funds. The exact legal thresholds and fund rules should be checked carefully before you move money.

AIMA now handles residence permits, not the old SEF system. That’s the agency you’ll deal with once your application gets to the resident-permit stage. The official legal framework has also been updated several times, so don’t rely on old broker summaries or property-era marketing copy. A lot of that material is flat-out outdated.

Portugal’s Golden Visa is officially the ARI or "Autorização de Residência para Investimento." It’s still open to non-EU, non-EEA and non-Swiss adults who can make and keep a qualifying investment in Portugal, show the money came from a legal source and pass a criminal-record check.

The big change is what no longer counts. New applicants can’t use the old real-estate route or a simple capital-transfer route anymore. The live options are narrower and that’s made the program less flexible than it used to be.

Who can apply

• Nationality: third-country nationals only, meaning non-EU, non-EEA and non-Swiss citizens.
• Age: you need to be 18 or older.
• Background: a clean criminal record is required in Portugal and in the countries where you’ve lived.
• Funds: you must document that your investment money came from a lawful source.
• Presence: you need to be able to travel to Portugal for biometrics and meet the program’s low stay requirement.

There’s no official monthly income threshold for the Golden Visa. That’s a D7 or D8 issue, not an ARI issue. What you do need is proof of legal funds and enough basic financial means to support yourself and any family members you include.

Qualifying investment routes

• Investment funds: at least €500,000 ($540,000) in a qualifying venture capital or investment fund.
• Scientific research: at least €500,000 ($540,000).
• Arts or cultural heritage: at least €250,000 ($270,000), with some low-density area reductions reported in practice.
• Business and jobs: create at least 10 jobs or invest in a company that creates or keeps at least 5 jobs for 3 years.

The official portal still lists older examples, including real estate and a 1 million euro capital transfer, but those routes were abolished for new applications in 2023. If a provider says you can still buy property to qualify, walk away.

Family members can usually be included through Portugal’s general family reunification rules, but the exact paperwork depends on who you’re bringing. The official ARI page doesn’t give a simple family-income formula, so that part is handled case by case.

Portugal’s Golden Visa is officially the Residence Permit for Investment Activity or ARI. The paperwork is fairly specific and the official forms matter more than marketing copy. If you’re filing, use the latest AIMA or consular version, because the agency’s procedures are still being updated.

For the main investor, the core documents are straightforward but fussy:

• Passport: a valid travel document.
• Proof of legal entry and stay: this can be a Schengen entry stamp, boarding pass or visa, depending on how you entered Portugal.
• Health insurance: issued within the previous 3 months and valid for the full stay or proof of coverage by the Portuguese National Health Service.
• Criminal record certificate: from your country of origin or your country of residence if you’ve lived there for more than 1 year. It must be issued within the previous 3 months, translated into Portuguese and certified by a Portuguese consular post abroad.
• ARI application form: with authorization for AIMA to check Portuguese criminal records.
• Sworn statement: a declaration that you’ll maintain the qualifying investment for at least 5 years.
• Tax and Social Security certificates: up-to-date declarations, issued within the previous 45 days, showing no debts. If you’re not registered, you need a declaration saying so.

Family members usually need their own passports and criminal record certificates too, plus civil-status documents that prove the relationship, such as marriage or birth certificates. Those records normally need translation and legalization, often by apostille or consular legalization. AIMA doesn’t publish one clean family checklist for every case, so the exact upload set can vary.

If you’re using the investment-fund route, the official documents get even more specific. The SEF factsheet still used by AIMA asks for proof of the transfer, proof that the fund units are yours and a declaration from the fund manager that the fund meets the legal criteria.

• Bank declaration: confirming an international transfer of at least €350,000 into your Portuguese bank account.
• Ownership certificate: showing the fund units are free of liens.
• Fund manager declaration: confirming the fund’s capitalization plan and that it meets the legal requirements, including the 60% Portugal investment rule.
• Commercial Register excerpt: needed if the investment is made through a single-member company.

The official portal still lists the €350,000 threshold for this category, but some investment routes and figures have changed in practice, so don’t rely on old brochures. Check the current route-specific requirements before you move money. That part isn’t optional.

Portugal’s Golden Visa isn't cheap. The government fees alone can run into the thousands and for families the bill stacks up fast because each dependent is charged separately for most stages of the process.

Government fees for the ARI

The official AIMA fee table treats the Golden Visa as an ARI or residence permit for investment. The main charges are the application review, the initial residence card and later renewals. There’s also a separate category for permanent residence if you stay in the program long enough to qualify.

• Application review: €806.80 ($879) per person or €618.60 ($674) if handled through the digital channel.
• Initial ARI residence card: €8,060.20 ($8,786) per person or €6,179.40 ($6,935) digitally.
• ARI renewal: €4,030.90 ($4,393) per person or €3,090.40 ($3,368) digitally.
• Family members: spouses and dependents pay the same government fees as the main applicant for both issuance and renewal.
• Permanent residence: €11,284.60 ($12,300) for the initial grant or €8,463.40 ($9,233) digitally. Renewal is €5,643 ($6,151) or €4,326.30 ($4,716) digitally.

That digital discount matters. AIMA’s fee table gives a 25% reduction for digital submissions, which is why the online rates are noticeably lower. There can still be a separate card-production charge on some invoices, so don’t assume the first number you see is the full story.

Other official charges

AIMA also lists a residence-card printing fee of €75.70 ($82) in the standard column or €58.10 ($63) digitally. An urgent issuance option exists too, with an extra fee of about €46 ($50). These aren’t the headline costs, but they can show up.

Typical extra costs

Portugal doesn’t publish fixed prices for the outside costs that usually come with a Golden Visa application. Legal fees are set by each firm and private health insurance prices depend on your age, coverage and provider. The official rules require valid health coverage, but they don’t give a minimum premium.

• Health insurance: commonly cited around €300 to €600 ($327 to $654) per person per year, though quotes vary a lot.
• Legal and advisory fees: often €5,000 to €10,000 ($5,450 to $10,900) for the initial application package.

So the cheap part is never the visa itself. The fee bill gets serious before you’ve even made the qualifying investment and if you’re bringing family, it gets expensive quickly.

Portugal’s Golden Visa, officially called the Autorização de Residência para Investimento, is still open in 2026, but the old real-estate route is gone. The qualifying options now center on funds, company investment and job creation, plus research and cultural projects under the amended foreigners law.

How the application works

The process starts online through AIMA’s ARI portal, then finishes with an in-person appointment in Portugal for document checks and biometrics. There isn’t a separate Golden Visa consular visa you apply for first, so don’t expect a neat one-stop process at your local embassy.

You also need to respect normal Schengen entry rules until your residence card is issued. In practice, that means you can’t just stay in Portugal and wait it out unless you’re legally allowed to be there already.

Typical application steps

• Choose your qualifying route: Most applicants use a fund investment, company capitalisation or job-creation route. The law also keeps research and cultural options open.
• Set up your Portuguese tax and banking details: You’ll usually need a NIF and a Portuguese bank account before you can invest cleanly and show the required proof of transfer.
• Make and document the investment: The portal asks for evidence that the money was invested on time and that it still meets the legal requirement.
• Upload the personal documents: That includes your passport, police clearances, tax and social security status, plus sworn statements and tax ID details.
• Attend the AIMA appointment: After your file is accepted, you’ll go to an AIMA service center in Portugal for verification and biometrics.

Documents AIMA asks for

• Passport: A valid passport and all passports if you hold more than one nationality.
• Criminal record certificates: From your country of origin and your country of residence, issued within the last 3 months, translated into Portuguese and certified or apostilled.
• Compliance proof: Evidence that you have no debts to Portuguese tax authorities or Social Security or proof that you’re not registered with them.
• Investment evidence: Bank and portfolio documents that show the qualifying investment and that it remains in place.

The official portal doesn’t publish one fixed processing time or a single fee list that’s easy to pin down in English, so expect to check the current AIMA rules before you file. That’s frustrating, but it’s better than guessing and getting bounced for missing paperwork.

How long the Golden Visa lasts

Portugal’s Golden Visa, officially the Residence Permit for Investment Activity, starts with a 2-year residence permit. After that, renewals are typically issued in 3-year blocks as long as you still hold the qualifying investment and meet the normal residence rules.

The program has changed a lot and the old property route is gone. Today, the investment has to fit one of the current categories, like funds, business, research, job creation or cultural support.

Renewal timing and where it happens

Renewal requests should be filed up to 30 days before expiry. Don’t leave it to the last minute. The renewal for an investment residence permit isn’t handled at an Institute of Registries and Notary desk, it has to go through AIMA.

The official renewal system still carries some SEF-era paperwork, which is annoying but normal. That older template is still the one people are being asked to follow for ARI renewals.

How much time you need to spend in Portugal

The stay requirement is light. In the first year, you need to show at least 7 days in Portugal, consecutive or not. In each subsequent 2-year period, the minimum goes up to 14 days.

There’s no official maximum cap on how much time you can spend in Portugal on a Golden Visa. You can live there full-time if you want, but you still have to keep the investment in place and meet the general residence conditions.

What you’ll need for renewal

• Valid passport: Your travel document has to be current.
• Health insurance: Either coverage through the National Health Service or private international insurance valid for your stay.
• Criminal record certificate: Needed when you don’t have habitual residence in Portugal, issued within the last 3 months, apostilled or legalized and translated into Portuguese.
• Tax and Social Security clearance: Certificates showing no outstanding debts, issued within the previous 45 days.
• Stay evidence: Proof that you met the 7-day or 14-day minimum, if AIMA asks for it.
• Investment proof: Documents showing you still hold the qualifying investment, based on the route you used.

What happens after 5 years

After 5 years of legal residence, Golden Visa holders can apply for permanent residence or Portuguese citizenship under the general rules. In practice, citizenship can take longer to clear because backlogs are common, so plenty of investors go for permanent residence first.

The Golden Visa, officially the ARI residence permit, doesn’t give you a tax break by itself. That part gets misunderstood a lot. If you become a Portuguese tax resident, you’re taxed under the normal IRS rules. If you stay non-resident, Portugal taxes only your Portuguese-source income.

Tax residency is the line that matters. The tax authority generally treats you as resident if you spend more than 183 days in Portugal in any 12-month period that starts or ends in the tax year or if you have a home here that points to habitual residence. Golden Visa status doesn’t change that test.

Once you’re resident, Portugal expects you to report worldwide income, including earnings, pensions, investment income and capital gains from abroad. Non-residents only report income tied to Portugal. The annual IRS return is filed online between 1 April and 30 June.

What happened to NHR

The old Non-Habitual Resident regime is closed to new applicants. That was the big tax draw for many newcomers, but it’s no longer open in the same way. Existing NHR holders can keep their treatment for the rest of their 10-year period if they already qualified.

There are newer, narrower incentives for specific profiles, including some research and innovation roles, plus the "Regressar" program for former residents who come back to Portugal and meet the rules. None of that's automatic with a Golden Visa. You’d still need to qualify under the separate tax rules.

What Golden Visa applicants should think about

• Residency days: The visa’s light stay requirement doesn’t stop you from becoming tax resident if you spend enough time in Portugal.
• Worldwide income: Residents report global income, so foreign salaries, dividends and pensions can all come into play.
• No special tax label: The ARI permit is a residence route, not a tax status.
• Filing duties: If you become resident, you’ll need to stay on top of Portuguese filings even if most of your money is earned abroad.

That’s the part investors sometimes miss. The Golden Visa can reduce your physical presence burden, but it doesn’t buy you out of tax residence rules. If your plan is to spend real time in Portugal, talk to a cross-border tax adviser before you move money or change your address with the tax authority.