Portugal’s Golden Visa — formally the Autorização de Residência para Investimento (ARI) — is one of Europe’s longest-running residency-by-investment programs, in effect since October 2012. Real estate purchases stopped qualifying back in 2023, which surprises a lot of people still searching for “buy a house, get a visa.” Here’s what actually qualifies in 2026, what it costs, and how long AIMA — the agency that replaced Portugal’s SEF for immigration matters — realistically takes to process an application.
What qualifies as investment in 2026
Since the 2023 reform, real estate is off the table. The routes that remain open are:
- Investment fund subscription — €500,000 minimum. Capital into an eligible fund regulated by Portugal’s securities regulator (CMVM), typically venture capital or private equity vehicles with at least 60% of their portfolio invested in Portuguese companies. This is the most commonly used route today, largely because it doesn’t require running a business yourself.
- Cultural donation — €250,000 minimum (reduced to €200,000 in officially designated low-density areas). A one-time, non-refundable contribution to Portuguese arts, heritage, or national culture projects — the cheapest qualifying route, with no ongoing management required.
- Research or scientific donation — €500,000 minimum. Funding channelled to public or private research institutions supporting Portugal’s scientific infrastructure.
- Job-creation / company investment — €500,000 minimum, generally paired with creating at least five new full-time jobs (or a lower job count in low-density areas), or incorporating a new company that creates at least ten jobs outright.
Every route above has a reduced threshold in Portugal’s designated low-density interior and island regions — worth checking if your investment adviser is quoting you the standard-area figure by default.
Who’s eligible
The ARI regime is open to non-EU, non-EEA, and non-Swiss nationals. Beyond the investment itself, applicants need a clean criminal record, a Portuguese tax number (NIF), and proof the investment funds are held and will remain committed for the regulatory minimum period — five years from approval, based on AIMA’s published regime requirements.
Stay requirements — the part people underestimate least, and overestimate most
This is the Golden Visa’s signature selling point: minimal physical presence. AIMA’s regime requires an average of 7 days in Portugal during the first year and at least 14 days in each subsequent two-year permit period — nowhere close to the “half the year” commitment other European residency-by-investment routes impose. That said, it is a real minimum, not a suggestion; falling short of it is grounds for non-renewal, so track your days the same way you’d track a Schengen 90/180-day count even though the rule itself is different.
Costs beyond the investment
The investment amount is the headline number, but budget separately for:
- Government processing fees — an initial analysis fee per application, plus per-family-member processing and renewal fees at each permit stage (these are set by AIMA’s published fee schedule and revised periodically, so confirm the current figures before filing rather than relying on a number from last year).
- Legal and fund-structuring fees — most applicants use immigration counsel and, for the fund route, a financial adviser; this typically runs into five figures in EUR depending on complexity.
- NIF and banking setup — usually arranged through a fiscal representative before the first AIMA appointment, similar to the D7 visa’s NIF step.
Processing timeline in 2026
AIMA absorbed the Golden Visa caseload from Portugal’s former SEF during its 2023–2024 reorganisation, and backlog clearance has been the dominant factor in timelines since. Realistic current expectations:
- Initial application to biometrics appointment: roughly 6–24 months, the single biggest source of variance and the stage most affected by AIMA’s remaining backlog.
- Biometrics to residence card issuance: typically a further 3–6 months.
- End-to-end, application to first residence card: commonly cited around 12–18 months for a clean case, with total timelines stretching toward 36 months in slower cohorts.
The initial permit is valid for two years, renewable for a further three, after which permanent residence becomes available. Portugal’s nationality law was revised in mid-2026, extending the standard naturalisation residence requirement to ten years for most non-EU/non-CPLP nationals (seven years for EU and CPLP-country citizens) — a materially longer runway to citizenship than under the pre-2026 five-year rule, and worth factoring in if citizenship, not just an EU residence card, is your actual goal.
Golden Visa vs. D7: which one fits you?
They solve different problems. The Golden Visa is a capital-deployment route with a light physical presence requirement — ideal if you want EU residency rights without relocating. The D7 visa is a much cheaper route (a monthly passive-income threshold around €920, not a lump-sum investment) but expects you to actually live in Portugal for the bulk of the year. If your goal is a EU foothold while keeping your life elsewhere, Golden Visa is the fit; if you’re planning to genuinely relocate on pension or investment income, D7 is far less capital-intensive.
FAQ
Can I still qualify by buying Portuguese real estate? No — direct real estate purchase was removed as a qualifying route in the October 2023 reform and has not been reinstated.
Do I need to speak Portuguese? Not for the residency permit itself. Portuguese language proficiency (typically A2 level) is required later, at the citizenship application stage, not for the Golden Visa or its renewals.
Can my family be included? Yes — spouses/partners, dependent children, and in many cases dependent parents can be included as family members on the same application, each subject to the relevant processing fees.
Is the fund route safe if the fund underperforms? The investment must be maintained for the five-year minimum period to preserve visa eligibility, but fund performance itself isn’t guaranteed by the program — you carry normal investment risk on top of the immigration requirement, so vet any fund’s track record independently before committing.
This is preparation guidance, not investment or legal advice — fees, fund eligibility lists, and processing times change and AIMA is still working through historical backlog, so confirm current figures directly with AIMA’s official ARI portal or a licensed Portuguese immigration lawyer before committing capital. Join the VisaMet waitlist for early access to our document screening tools once we launch.
Sources: AIMA — Autorização de Residência para Investimento (ARI); Portugal Visas (MNE) — RPI: Residency Permit for Investors; Get Golden Visa — Portugal Golden Visa Program; Global Citizen Solutions — Portugal Golden Visa Guide.