Portugal Golden Visa 2026: Investment Routes, Costs and Permanent Residency

The ARI was created in 2012 and is set out in Article 90.º-A of the Foreigners Law (Lei n.º 23/2007), with the qualifying investments defined in Article 3(1)(d)^[1]. It is granted to non-EU nationals who make one of the listed investments, keep it for at least five years and meet the general conditions for residence: a clean criminal record, valid entry into Portugal and no Schengen entry ban^[1]. Applications are decided by AIMA, which replaced the old border service SEF in October 2023. Investment funds used for the programme are supervised by the securities regulator CMVM^[12].

The Mais Habitação housing package (Lei n.º 56/2023, of 6 October 2023) removed the purchase of real estate, the renovation of property and the €1.5 million capital-transfer route. It also wrote into the law that the remaining routes may not be directed, "directly or indirectly", to real estate investment^[1]. Permits granted under the old routes can still be renewed. The amendments of 2025 (Lei 61/2025) and September 2026 (Lei 62/2026) tightened immigration generally but left the ARI investment routes unchanged^[1][2][3].

Status on 2 October 2026: open. Five routes are live, and a 20% discount applies to the jobs, research and culture routes in low-density territories. Eligible territories are those listed in Portaria 208/2017, which names mainland interior municipalities and parishes^[22]. The Azores are not listed in Portaria 208/2017^[22]. Some advisers nonetheless market them as eligible, but no official confirmation exists, so budget for the full amounts unless the recipient entity or AIMA confirms the reduction in writing, and see our guide to investing through the Azores.

Most applicants use the fund route. The law requires €500,000 or more in units of collective investment undertakings that are set up under Portuguese law, are not real estate funds, have a maturity of at least five years when you invest, and place at least 60% of their investments in companies with their head office in Portugal^[1]. You can split the €500,000 across several qualifying funds. The capital has to be transferred from abroad, and the subscription is proved with a declaration from the fund manager and a declaration from the custodian bank^[18].

Choosing a Portugal golden visa fund

The funds are mostly venture-capital, private-equity or credit vehicles with lock-ups of 6–8 years and a thin secondary market^[13]. Look at the manager's track record, the fee load (subscription fees of 0–2% plus annual management fees of around 1.5–2% are typical^[13]), the exit mechanism, and whether the strategy has real Portuguese company exposure or only meets the 60% test on paper. If the fund performs badly, your permit is not affected. If the fund stops qualifying, or you redeem before five years, your renewal is at risk. US persons should check custodian access and PFIC reporting before subscribing, because several Portuguese retail banks will not hold units for US clients^[18].

Two ARI routes suit entrepreneurs. The first is to put €500,000 into a new or existing Portuguese commercial company and create five permanent jobs, or keep ten jobs of which five are permanent, for at least three years^[1]. The second needs no minimum capital: you create ten jobs (eight in a low-density territory), registered with Social Security, in a business you run^[1]. Both routes are reviewed at each renewal, so payroll records, Social Security contributions and accounts must stay clean for the whole period. The investment cannot be used, directly or indirectly, for real estate^[1].

These routes take more work than a fund, but the capital stays in a business you control. Founders who want to live in Portugal rather than visit should also look at the D2 entrepreneur visa, which has no fixed minimum but requires real residence. Similar business-led residence schemes include the Italian investor visa, with its €250,000 start-up option and the French Talent Passport for investors.

A €250,000 transfer supporting artistic production or the recovery and maintenance of national cultural heritage is the lowest-capital route. It falls to €200,000 in low-density territories. The money must go to one of the public or public-utility entities listed in the law^[1]. A €500,000 transfer to research institutions in the national scientific and technological system (€400,000 in low-density territories) also qualifies^[1]. Both are donations, so the money does not come back. Compare the donation with the expected net return on €500,000 in a fund over 6–8 years before deciding which is cheaper for you. Choose a project that has a written eligibility confirmation from the receiving entity.

Under Article 90.º-A you must be a non-EU national, enter Portugal legally (with a Schengen visa or visa-free), make and keep a qualifying investment for at least five years, and meet the general conditions of Article 77: no Schengen entry ban, no conviction carrying more than a year's imprisonment, and no security objection^[1]. There is no language test or minimum age at the residency stage, and you are not required to live in Portugal.

• Valid passport and proof of legal entry
• Criminal record certificates from your country of nationality and of residence (usually valid for 90 days, so order them last)
• Health insurance valid in Portugal
• Portuguese tax number (NIF) and bank account
• Proof of the investment and that the funds came from abroad, plus declarations from the fund manager or recipient entity
• Declarations of no debt to the Portuguese tax and Social Security authorities
• For family members: apostilled and translated birth and marriage certificates and proof of dependency

Since April 2025 AIMA has rejected incomplete submissions outright and asked for them to be filed again, so complete documentation matters more than before^[14].

One investment covers the family. The following family members can be included under Article 99 of the Foreigners Law^[1]:

• Spouse or registered partner
• Minor or incapacitated children of the couple or of either spouse, including adopted children
• Adult children who are single, financially dependent and studying (anywhere, for ARI holders specifically)
• Dependent parents of the investor or the spouse
• Minor siblings under the investor's legal guardianship

Lei 61/2025 (in force since 23 October 2025) introduced a two-year waiting period before most residents can apply for family reunification. Family members of ARI holders are expressly exempt under Article 98(3)(c), so they do not have to wait two years^[1][2]. AIMA has signalled that it may apply the law more strictly by approving the main investor before adding dependants, so plan for family files to follow the investor's approval^[15]. Each family member pays the same AIMA fees as the main applicant. The amended Article 101 also requires reunified family members to complete Portuguese language and civic-values training, set out in a regulatory decree. How AIMA will apply this to non-resident investor families is not yet clear^[1].

The ARI is applied for online from inside or outside Portugal. Biometrics must be given in person in Portugal^[12].

ARI holders must spend at least 7 days in Portugal in the first year and at least 14 days in each following two-year period. The days do not have to be consecutive. The rule is set in Article 65.º-C of Decreto Regulamentar 84/2007, which checks it at each renewal^[20]. It applies instead of the general rule in Article 85 of the Foreigners Law, which allows cancellation after six consecutive months or eight months in total of absence^[1]. Keep boarding passes and passport stamps. A stay this short will not make you tax-resident, but it also gives you no real integration record, which matters later if you apply to naturalise.

The golden visa does not make you tax-resident on its own. Under Portuguese rules you become tax-resident if you spend more than 183 days in Portugal in any 12-month period, or if you have a home there that you intend to use as your habitual residence. Most ARI holders who visit for 7–14 days therefore stay non-resident and are taxed only on Portuguese-source income. Residents pay progressive income tax on worldwide income, with a top rate of 48% plus a solidarity surcharge on very high incomes, and generally 28% on investment income.

NHR has closed; IFICI ("NHR 2.0") replaced it

The original Non-Habitual Resident regime closed to new entrants from 1 January 2024. It was replaced by the IFICI (Incentivo Fiscal à Investigação Científica e Inovação, Article 58.º-A of the Tax Benefits Statute), regulated by Portaria 352/2024/1^[8][9]. IFICI taxes qualifying Portuguese employment and self-employment income at a flat 20% for 10 consecutive years. Most foreign-source income is exempt, but foreign pensions are not covered. To qualify you must not have been tax-resident in Portugal in the previous five years, must not have used NHR, and must work in a listed qualifying activity, such as research, a highly qualified profession in an eligible company, or a certified start-up. You must register by 15 January of the year after you become resident^[9]. A passive investor with no Portuguese job does not qualify.

Wealth, inheritance and property taxes

Portugal has no general wealth tax. Inheritance and gift tax takes the form of a 10% stamp duty, and transfers between spouses, descendants and ascendants are exempt. The AIMI surcharge applies only to Portuguese residential property above €600,000 per owner. How fund-route returns are taxed depends on the fund's legal form and your residence, so get the fund's tax memo and local advice before investing.

After five years of temporary residence, an ARI holder can apply for permanent residence under Article 80 of the Foreigners Law. The conditions are five years of temporary residence, no prison sentence over one year in that period, means of subsistence, accommodation and basic Portuguese (A2 in practice)^[1][12]. In a 2025 meeting with investor-migration lawyers, AIMA indicated that the investment does not have to be maintained once permanent residence is granted. It also said guidance on the minimum stay for these permanent residents would follow^[15]. Lei Orgânica 1/2026 amended the Nationality Law only, so it did not change this five-year permanent residency stage, which sits in the Foreigners Law^[1][4]. The ARI-holder fee for permanent residence is about €8,840 at the reduced rate (€11,786.70 standard) in 2026^[7][11].

Permanent residence has its own absence rule. The permit can be cancelled after 24 consecutive months, or 30 months in any three years, outside Portugal without good reason^[1]. The EU long-term resident status is a separate option and requires genuine residence. Naturalisation is now a much longer process. Non-EU, non-CPLP nationals need 10 years of legal residence, and EU and Portuguese-speaking (CPLP) nationals need 7. The period counts from the issue of the first residence permit, plus civic and language requirements^[4][5][17]. Naturalisation applications already pending on 19 May 2026 (filed on or before 18 May) are decided under the old five-year rule; people who had not yet applied are not protected^[4][17]. For the full rules, see our guide on how to get Portugal citizenship.

It suits families who want an EU residence card as a plan B with a light stay requirement, investors comfortable with a 6–8-year private-markets fund, entrepreneurs building a Portuguese business with real payroll, and people who expect to settle in Portugal eventually and want permanent residency after five years.

Look elsewhere if you want to buy a home as your qualifying investment, need a residence card within months, are investing mainly for a passport in under a decade, or want a tax regime as a passive investor. In these cases Greece, Italy or a non-EU programme may fit better.

• Greece's residence-by-investment programme still accepts real estate, from €250,000 for conversions to €800,000 in Attica and the islands, and has no minimum stay.
• Italy's investor visa starts at €250,000 in an innovative start-up and is issued as a two-year permit, renewable while the investment is kept.
• Malta Permanent Residence Programme (MPRP) grants permanent status immediately in exchange for government contributions plus property.
• Cyprus permanent residence for investors requires €300,000 plus proof of income and gives permanent status from the start.
• Hungary's guest-investor residence uses a €250,000 property fund, though it carries political risk.
• Spain's former golden visa closed in April 2025. Our overview of programmes that have shut down shows what happens to existing holders.

For a side-by-side view, see our European golden visa comparison, the ranking of lowest-cost residence-by-investment options, and our analysis of which residence programmes lead to a passport fastest. Every programme is also listed in our golden visa directory.