The Portugal Golden Visa is a residence permit that non-EU nationals earn by making a qualifying investment in Portugal, with a very light requirement to actually live there. You keep your life abroad, spend only about a week a year in the country, and in return you hold European residency for yourself and your close family. Since a 2023 reform closed the real-estate route, most new applicants now enter through a regulated investment fund.
This guide is the complete, current map of the program: what the Golden Visa is, whether it still exists in 2026, the investment routes that qualify now, what it costs, how long it takes, and where it leads. It is the hub of a larger set of guides. Each step of the program, from eligibility to the fund rules to the path to citizenship, has its own dedicated deep guide, linked where it comes up here.
This hub is the overview and the map. For depth on any single step, follow the linked guide where it appears.
What is the Portugal Golden Visa?
It is a Portuguese residence permit for non-EU nationals who make a qualifying investment, and it lets you live, work, and study in Portugal and travel the Schengen area while barely having to be there. In plain terms, you put capital into an approved investment, and that investment supports a renewable residence permit for you and your family. The Portugal Golden Visa is a residence-by-investment permit that grants Portuguese residency to a non-EU national who makes and maintains a qualifying investment.
The official name is the ARI, the residence permit for investment activity. Holding it gives you the right to live, work, and study in Portugal, to travel freely across the Schengen area, and to include close family on the same application. What sets it apart from an ordinary residence visa is how little presence it demands: the minimum physical stay averages about seven days per year, roughly fourteen days across each two-year renewal cycle. That is why it appeals to people who want European residency as an option rather than an immediate move.
The program rests on the ARI regime under Lei 23/2007, as amended, and the residence-permit stage is run by AIMA, the Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum that replaced the former immigration service, SEF, in late 2023.
This section is the definition. What it costs, who qualifies, how you apply, and where it leads each have a dedicated guide, summarized and linked below.
Getting help with this Securing a Golden Visa means choosing a qualifying route, then running the ARI application end to end: obtaining a NIF, opening a Portuguese bank account, making and documenting the investment, giving biometrics, and clearing the AIMA residence-permit stage and its renewals. Applicants comfortable assembling a document file and managing AIMA scheduling can do it themselves. In practice, the advantage of the assisted route is running the investment and the application remotely from the US and managing the AIMA backlog and renewals over the years the permit runs. Roots Global prepares and files the application and handles the AIMA stage for clients, remotely where possible.
Is the Golden Visa still available in 2026?
Yes. The Portugal Golden Visa is open in 2026. What ended in 2023 was the real-estate route, not the program. You can still qualify today, just not by buying an apartment.
The confusion is understandable, because the 2023 reform was large and widely reported. Two things were removed: the direct real-estate purchase route and the EUR 1.5 million capital-transfer route. Everything else survived: the investment-fund route, the scientific-research contribution, the cultural and artistic donation, and the business and job-creation route. The full route map is the next section.
The honest part of the picture is the process, not the availability. The residence-permit stage at AIMA has been slow, and renewals and initial decisions have in many cases run beyond the legal maximum, which has drawn Ombudsman complaints and collective litigation from applicants stuck in the queue. That is a real backlog, and it is fair to plan around it, but it is a processing problem, not a sign the program is closing. The full picture on timing lives in processing timeline.
Search interest in the program has fallen sharply since the 2023 spike, when the reform news drove enormous volume. That drop reflects the news cycle normalizing, not the program dying. The specific "is it suspended or still available" question has its own evergreen answer at is the Golden Visa still available. This guide reflects the rules as they stand in 2026.
The investment routes: the 2026 route map
There are four main ways to qualify now: a EUR 500,000 fund, a EUR 500,000 research contribution, a EUR 250,000 cultural donation, or creating jobs through a business. Buying property no longer counts. Each route earns the same residence permit; they differ only in what you commit your capital to. The current qualifying set is the investment fund, scientific research, the cultural or artistic donation, and business and job creation.
The table below is the route map. It names each route, its minimum, its key condition, and where to go deep.
| Route | Minimum | Key condition | Go deep |
|---|---|---|---|
| Investment fund | EUR 500,000 | CMVM-registered fund and manager; at least 60% in Portugal-headquartered companies; at least five-year maturity; no real estate | Golden Visa investment funds |
| Scientific research | EUR 500,000 | Contribution to an accredited Portuguese research institution | Golden Visa news and changes |
| Cultural / artistic donation | EUR 250,000 (EUR 200,000 in low-density areas) | Donation to arts, heritage, or cultural production | full cost breakdown |
| Business + job creation | Company plus jobs | Incorporate or capitalize a Portuguese company that creates jobs | how to apply |
The removal was made by Lei 56/2023, the Mais Habitação law.
The investment fund is the route most new applicants now take. To qualify, a fund and its manager must both be registered with the CMVM, Portugal's securities regulator, at least 60% of the fund's capital must go into companies headquartered in Portugal, the fund must run for at least five years, and it can hold no real estate, directly or indirectly. Those four rules are the whole test a fund passes or fails. The full treatment of how these funds work, what they cost, and how to evaluate one sits in Golden Visa investment funds, and the theory behind each fund category is in fund categories explained.
The diagram below shows how the routes converge on a single residence permit.
Real estate was the headline before 2023, and its removal is why the fund route now dominates. The donation and business routes remain valid but are minority paths in practice. Exact job counts and low-density thresholds vary, so treat the numbers above as the current framework and confirm the detail for your route before committing.
Who is eligible?
Almost any non-EU adult with a clean criminal record and the money for a qualifying investment can apply, and you can bring close family. There is no language test, no job offer, and no requirement to move. The eligibility bar is deliberately narrow and mostly about who you are not, a citizen of the EU, the EEA, or Switzerland, and whether your investment holds.
The core criteria, at a glance:
- You are a national of a country outside the EU, the EEA, and Switzerland.
- You are at least 18 years old.
- You have a clean criminal record.
- You make and maintain a qualifying investment for the required term.
- You hold valid health insurance in Portugal.
- You meet the minimum stay of about seven days per year.
The program also lets you include close family on one application, typically a spouse or partner, dependent children, and dependent parents. This is a summary; the full criteria, the exact definition of a dependent, and how the minimum stay is counted are covered in Golden Visa eligibility requirements, with the family rules in family members and dependents. If any of those points decides your case, read the dedicated guide rather than this overview.
How much does the Golden Visa cost?
Budget for three things on top of the investment itself: government and AIMA processing fees, legal fees, and a per-person charge for each family member you include. The investment is the largest number, but it is not the total cost of the visa, and the surrounding fees add up across a family and across the years the permit runs.
The headline figures are the qualifying investment, which ranges from EUR 250,000 for the cultural donation to EUR 500,000 for the fund or research routes, plus the application and AIMA fees and the per-dependent costs. Government fee schedules change periodically, and the exact processing charges are set by AIMA, so any specific euro figure should be checked against the current schedule rather than an old blog.
This section is the headline only. The full per-family-member math, the fee layers, and how legal and due-diligence costs stack on top of the investment are worked through in full cost breakdown. No figure there is invented; where a current fee cannot be confirmed, it is flagged rather than guessed.
How do you apply, step by step?
You get a Portuguese tax number and bank account, make the investment, submit the application to AIMA, give biometrics, and collect a residence card that you renew over time. The sequence is administrative rather than complicated, but each step gates the next, so the order matters and a missing document early stalls everything after it.
The compact sequence:
- Get a NIF, the Portuguese tax identification number that every later step depends on.
- Open a Portuguese bank account, since the investment is funded through it.
- Make the qualifying investment, for example subscribing the fund or completing the donation.
- Submit the ARI application to AIMA with your document file.
- Attend biometrics when AIMA schedules the appointment.
- Receive your residence card, valid for a fixed term.
- Renew on the standard cycle, currently two years, keeping the investment in place.
The detailed process, the online ARI portal, the exact document list, and the biometrics step are covered in depth in how to apply. How long each stage actually takes, and where the AIMA backlog bites, is the next section.
How long does it take?
Plan for a long wait. In practice the process has been running many months, and often in the range of one to two years, because of the AIMA backlog. This is the single most important expectation to set correctly: the Golden Visa is not a fast track, and anyone promising a fixed, short timeline is not describing the current reality.
The delays are a genuine, well-documented problem. AIMA inherited a large queue when it replaced SEF, and both initial decisions and renewals have in many cases exceeded the legal maximum, which is why applicants have filed Ombudsman complaints and joined collective lawsuits to force decisions. None of that means an application fails; it means it is slow, and you should plan your capital and your expectations around a multi-month, sometimes multi-year, horizon rather than weeks.
We publish our own observed timing and a stage-by-stage breakdown, rather than a marketing estimate, in processing timeline. There is no guaranteed duration, and this guide does not offer one.
What has changed (2023 to 2026)?
Two big changes define today's program: real estate was dropped in 2023, and the citizenship timeline was extended in 2026. If you are reading older material, those are the two updates most likely to be out of date on the page in front of you.
The first change came in October 2023, when the Mais Habitação reform removed the real-estate purchase route and the EUR 1.5 million capital-transfer route, leaving the investment fund as the main way in. The second came in May 2026, when a nationality reform lengthened the road to citizenship, a change covered in the citizenship section below. Between them, they reshaped both how you get in and how long the journey to a passport takes.
This is the short version. The living changelog, with dates and a one-line impact for each change, is maintained in Golden Visa news and changes. Treat that guide as the up-to-date record if you are checking whether a specific rule has moved since this page was last updated.
What are the benefits?
The draw is mobility and optionality: Schengen travel, a foothold in the EU for your family, and a path to permanent residence and citizenship, all with barely any requirement to live in Portugal. For most holders the Golden Visa is a Plan B they hope never to need urgently, kept alive by a small annual presence and a committed investment.
The benefits at a glance:
- Schengen travel. Move freely across the Schengen area on your Portuguese residence.
- A very light stay. About seven days per year keeps the permit alive, so you can stay based elsewhere.
- Family included. Add a spouse or partner, dependent children, and dependent parents on one application.
- Live, work, and study rights in Portugal whenever you choose to use them.
- Permanent residence eligibility at five years.
- A path to EU citizenship, on a longer clock, without a language test until that later stage.
The honest counterweight is real: the capital lock-up, the total cost, and the slow process are genuine trade-offs, and whether the visa is worth it is a real decision rather than a foregone conclusion. That decision, with the case for and against and a comparison to alternatives, is the subject of is the Golden Visa worth it. This section is the overview; the full argument lives there.
Does it lead to citizenship?
It leads to permanent residency at five years, and to citizenship later, but not in five years. Citizenship now generally takes about ten years. This is the single point that older pages get wrong most often, and getting it right matters, because planning a five-year route to a passport will leave you years short.
Here is the correct clock. The five-year hold makes you eligible for permanent residency; Portuguese citizenship now generally takes about ten years of residence, seven for EU and CPLP nationals, counted from the date your residence card is issued. The change was made by Lei Orgânica 1/2026, the nationality reform that took effect in 2026 and roughly doubled the residence period for naturalization.
The correction we make most often with clients is exactly this one: do not plan a five-year route to a passport. Five years is the permanent-residency milestone, a valuable one, but citizenship is a separate, longer step. When people ask "five years to a Portuguese passport?", the accurate answer is that five years gets you the right to stay indefinitely, and citizenship comes years after that.
At the citizenship stage there is also an A2-level Portuguese language requirement, and the counting rules have nuances worth understanding before you rely on them. The full year-by-year path, the language test, and exactly how the clock is counted are in path to citizenship.
How is it taxed? (NHR and IFICI)
Holding the Golden Visa does not by itself make you a Portuguese tax resident. Tax only bites if you actually move your tax home to Portugal, which the light stay requirement means most holders never do. The permit is a residence right, not a tax status, and the two are decided by different rules.
Tax residency in Portugal turns on physical presence and habitual residence, not on holding a permit. If you do become a Portuguese tax resident, a favorable regime may apply to certain income, currently the IFICI regime that succeeded the older NHR framework. And if you are American, one point overrides everything: the United States taxes its citizens on worldwide income wherever they live, so a US passport holder's tax picture does not simply switch off by moving.
This is the compact framing, not a tax module. The Portuguese-side detail, including how IFICI works and who qualifies, is in tax implications. The US-side detail, including how a Portuguese fund is treated for US investors, is in Golden Visa funds for US citizens.
The Golden Visa for US citizens
Yes, Americans can and do get the Portugal Golden Visa, on the same terms as any non-EU applicant. There is no US-specific barrier to eligibility; the two wrinkles that matter for Americans are tax and fund access, not whether they qualify.
The first wrinkle is tax. Because the US taxes citizens on worldwide income, an American keeps filing US returns after moving, and a Portuguese investment fund is almost always a PFIC, a passive foreign investment company, which carries its own reporting rules and can be costly if handled without a plan. The second is fund access: only some qualifying funds accept US persons, which narrows the shortlist before any other criterion. Both points are real, both are manageable, and both are handled in depth elsewhere rather than here.
The broad US relocation journey, including banking, Social Security, and the practical side of a move, is covered in Golden Visa for Americans. The US-tax and PFIC treatment, and how to select a fund that accepts US investors, is covered in Golden Visa funds for US citizens. This section only flags the two wrinkles; the depth is in those two guides.
Who gets a Golden Visa, and why
Most people who pursue the Golden Visa are not chasing a tax break. They want a Plan B: a secure second residency and EU mobility for their family, held in reserve. That pattern shows up clearly in who applies and, more tellingly, in why they say they apply.
Official approval volumes and the demographic breakdown of applicants, the government-published side of the picture, are covered in Golden Visa statistics. The data centerpiece here is different: it is our own client evidence on motivation, which no official dataset captures.
Why our clients actually pursue the Golden Visa
In Roots Global's client base of 2,200+ relocations to Spain and Portugal, a "Plan B" residency option is the single most common reason Golden Visa investors apply, named by 39.5% of them, ahead of EU mobility for the family (22.9%) and portfolio diversification (21.4%). Tax comes last, named by fewer than 3%. In other words, this is a group buying optionality and family security, not a tax scheme, which is consistent with a high-net-worth client base that is roughly three-quarters US , so these figures describe our Golden Visa clients as a group, not a US-only cut.
Source: Roots Global internal client data: aggregated and anonymized from more than 2,200 client engagements (completed visa and residency applications plus consultation records, 2019 to June 2026). These figures describe Roots Global's clients, not all applicants, and are not official government statistics.
The pattern also shifted after 2023. Before the reform, the client conversation was often about which apartment to buy; since real estate was removed, it has moved almost entirely to which fund to subscribe, and the questions we field now are about fund term, liquidity, and compliance rather than location and rental yield.
Golden Visa vs D7 and other routes
If you have investable capital and want optionality, the Golden Visa fits. If you have steady passive income and plan to actually live in Portugal, the D7 is usually cheaper and simpler. The two are not competitors so much as answers to different situations, and the right choice turns on whether you are moving your life or holding an option.
| Dimension | Golden Visa | D7 visa |
|---|---|---|
| What you need | Investable capital (from EUR 250,000) | Steady passive income |
| Minimum outlay | Large qualifying investment | No investment; proof of income |
| Stay requirement | About 7 days per year | Substantial residence in Portugal |
| Timeline | Long, driven by the AIMA backlog | Consular processing, then AIMA |
| Who it suits | Investors wanting EU optionality | Retirees and remote earners relocating |
The Golden Visa's advantage is the light stay; the D7's advantage is cost and simplicity for someone genuinely moving. Other routes exist too, including the D8 digital-nomad visa for remote workers with qualifying income, and residency-by-investment programs in other countries. The full comparison with the passive-income route is in Portugal D7 visa. Cross-country comparisons of "best golden visa" programs sit at a broader layer than this Portugal-specific hub and are not covered here.
The complete guide map (all the deep guides)
This guide is the overview. Here is where to go deep on each part of the program. Each row routes a sub-topic to its dedicated guide, so you can move from the map straight to the detail you need.
| Topic | In one line | Guide |
|---|---|---|
| Eligibility | Who qualifies, dependents, the stay rule | Golden Visa eligibility requirements |
| How to apply | The step-by-step ARI process and documents | how to apply |
| Investment funds | How qualifying funds work and how to evaluate one | Golden Visa investment funds |
| Fund categories | The theory behind each fund type | fund categories explained |
| Cost | The full per-family-member breakdown | full cost breakdown |
| Timeline | Observed processing times and the backlog | processing timeline |
| News and changes | The living changelog of rule changes | Golden Visa news and changes |
| Citizenship | The correct path from residency to a passport | path to citizenship |
| Tax | Portuguese tax residency, NHR and IFICI | tax implications |
| For US citizens (funds) | PFIC treatment and fund selection | Golden Visa funds for US citizens |
| For Americans | The broad US relocation journey | Golden Visa for Americans |
| Statistics | Official approval volumes and demographics | Golden Visa statistics |
| Is it worth it | The decision, with the case for and against | is the Golden Visa worth it |
| Still available | Whether the program is open or suspended | is the Golden Visa still available |
| Vs the D7 | The passive-income alternative compared | Portugal D7 visa |
The bottom line: the program is alive in 2026, the fund route is the way in for most applicants, five years earns permanent residency, and citizenship is a longer road that now runs to about ten years. Start with the route that fits your capital and situation, then go deep via the guide for your next question.
See also
- Golden Visa eligibility requirements for who can apply and family inclusion.
- how to apply for the full step-by-step process.
- Golden Visa investment funds for the dominant qualifying route.
- full cost breakdown for the total price of the visa.
- path to citizenship for the correct road to a passport.
- Portugal D7 visa for the passive-income alternative.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Portugal Golden Visa still available in 2026? Yes. The program is open in 2026; what ended in October 2023 was the real-estate route, not the Golden Visa itself. You can still qualify through an investment fund, a scientific-research contribution, a cultural or artistic donation, or business and job creation. The specific "suspended or open" question is answered in full at is the Golden Visa still available.
How much do I need to invest? The most common route is a EUR 500,000 qualifying investment fund. The cultural or artistic donation route is lower, at EUR 250,000, or EUR 200,000 in low-density areas, and scientific research is EUR 500,000. Those figures are the investment only, on top of which sit government, AIMA, and legal fees. The full math is in full cost breakdown.
Can I still buy real estate for the Golden Visa? No. The direct real-estate purchase route was removed in October 2023 under Lei 56/2023, the Mais Habitação law, along with the EUR 1.5 million capital-transfer route. Buying property no longer earns a Golden Visa. Qualifying funds are also barred from holding real estate, directly or indirectly.
How long does the Golden Visa take? Plan for a long process, often in the range of one to two years, because of the AIMA backlog. Both initial decisions and renewals have in many cases run beyond the legal maximum. No one can promise a fixed duration, and any guaranteed short timeline should be treated with skepticism. Our observed timing and a stage-by-stage view are in processing timeline.
Does the Golden Visa lead to citizenship? Yes, but not in five years. Five years of holding makes you eligible for permanent residency; Portuguese citizenship now generally takes about ten years of residence, seven for EU and CPLP nationals, counted from the date your residence card is issued, under Lei Orgânica 1/2026. There is also an A2 language requirement at the citizenship stage. The full clock is in path to citizenship.
How many days must I spend in Portugal? About seven days per year on average, roughly fourteen days across each two-year renewal cycle. That light presence requirement is a defining feature of the Golden Visa and the reason it suits people who do not want to relocate. The exact counting rules are covered in Golden Visa eligibility requirements.
Can US citizens get the Portugal Golden Visa? Yes, on the same terms as any non-EU applicant. The two US-specific considerations are tax, because the US taxes citizens on worldwide income and a Portuguese fund is usually a PFIC, and fund access, because only some funds accept US persons. The US journey is in Golden Visa for Americans, and the US-tax and fund detail is in Golden Visa funds for US citizens.
What is the difference between the Golden Visa and the D7? The Golden Visa is for people with investable capital who want EU optionality with a very light stay requirement. The D7 is for people with steady passive income who intend to actually live in Portugal, and it is usually cheaper and simpler. The full comparison is in Portugal D7 visa.
What is the Portugal Golden Visa official website? The residence-permit stage is administered by AIMA, the Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum, at aima.gov.pt. AIMA replaced the former immigration service, SEF, in late 2023 and handles the ARI application, biometrics, and residence card. Be cautious with unofficial sites that mimic government portals.
Can I include my family? Yes. You can include close family on one application, typically a spouse or partner, dependent children, and dependent parents, subject to the dependency rules. Family members receive residence permits tied to the main applicant's. The exact definitions and documentation are covered in family members and dependents.
Disclaimer
This article is for general information only and is not legal or tax advice. Visa, securities, and tax rules change frequently, so verify current requirements with the relevant authority, such as AIMA or the CMVM, or with a qualified professional before acting. Last updated: July 2026.
About the author
Vanessa Mororó is Head of Legal, Portugal at Roots Global, where she advises HNWI and US cross-border clients on Portuguese nationality, residency, and immigration matters, including the Golden Visa program and its investment-fund route. Connect on LinkedIn.
