Portugal
Golden Visa (ARI — Autorizacao de Residencia para Investimento)
Minimum investment
EUR 250,000
Processing time
12-36 months (application backlog has historically extended timelines beyond official targets)
Physical presence
7 days in Portugal in year 1, then 14 days in each subsequent 2-year period — one of the lowest physical presence requirements of any EU golden visa
- Investment route
- •Cultural heritage donation (250000 EUR, or 200000 EUR in low-density areas)
- •Capital transfer into a qualifying investment/venture capital fund (500000 EUR)
- •Job creation (10+ jobs)
- •Direct residential real estate purchase was removed from the program in 2023
- Investment breakdown
- •fund route requires the fund itself to be regulated by the CMVM and not directly or indirectly hold residential real estate
- •donation route is the lowest-cost entry point
- Additional fees
- NIF (tax number) registration, legal fees, and AIMA administrative/biometric fees are separate from the core investment, typically several thousand EUR total
- Eligibility
- •18+
- •Clean criminal record
- •Valid private health insurance
- •Verifiable source of funds
- Due diligence
- standard due diligence through AIMA (Portugal's immigration agency, formerly SEF)
- Family inclusion
- •Spouse or partner
- •Dependent children
- •Dependent parents of either spouse
- Path to citizenship
- •Portugal's Nationality Law was amended by Decree 48/XVII, signed 3 May 2026 and in force from 19 May 2026: the general naturalization period was extended from 5 years to 10 years of legal residence for most applicants, and to 7 years for nationals of EU and CPLP (Portuguese-speaking) countries
- •the residence clock now runs from the date the first residence card is issued rather than the application date
- •a new A2-level Portuguese language test, a civic/historical knowledge test, and a formal declaration of commitment to democratic principles are also required
- •citizenship applications formally submitted before 19 May 2026 continue to be assessed under the previous 5-year rule
- Renewal
- residence permit renewed every 2 years, contingent on maintaining the qualifying investment and minimum presence
- Dual citizenship
- Fully permitted — Portugal imposes no restriction on holding multiple nationalities and does not require renunciation of any prior citizenship
- Key benefits
- •Access to the Schengen Area for visa-free travel
- •One of the lowest physical presence requirements among EU programs
- •Non-habitual resident tax regime available separately for qualifying new tax residents
- Taxation
- non-habitual resident (NHR) regime, where still available to new applicants, offers reduced tax rates on qualifying foreign-source income for a fixed number of years
Application process
- 1.choose investment route
- 2.obtain a Portuguese NIF and bank account
- 3.submit the AIMA application online
- 4.attend biometrics appointment
- 5.receive the residence permit and renew every 2 years