Portugal golden visa in 2026
Portugal Golden Visa through investment funds
Portugal still grants the golden visa. Since October 2023 nearly every family gets it the same way, with a €500,000 subscription to a qualifying Portuguese investment fund, and the one investment brings your spouse, your children and dependent parents with you.
We help you choose the fund and meet its manager, our partner lawyers file your application with AIMA, and we stay with your family through the card and every renewal, from our office in Estoril.
- €500,000
- in units of a qualifying Portuguese fund, kept for five years from the day the permit is granted
- 7 days
- in Portugal in the first year, then 14 in each two-year period
- 5 years
- of the permit before you can apply for permanent residence, with basic Portuguese
- 10 years
- of legal residence before citizenship, under the law in force since 19 May 2026
What the golden visa gives you
The golden visa is a Portuguese residence permit for investment, the ARI in Portuguese law. It lets you and your family live, work and study in Portugal whenever you choose, and travel in the Schengen area without a visa, while you go on living where you live now.
The years on it count. After five you can apply for permanent residence, and after 10 years of legal residence for Portuguese citizenship, which is citizenship of the European Union.
Portugal golden visa requirements
Four things decide whether you qualify. What each asks of your own family is what the first consultation is for.
You
A citizen of a country outside the EU, the EEA and Switzerland, 18 or older, investing money that is yours and can be traced to where it came from. Your criminal record certificate comes from your country, less than three months old, apostilled and translated into Portuguese. In 2025 the most permits went to Americans, then to Chinese, British, Turkish and Indian investors, all on the same terms.
The investment
€500,000 in units of one or more Portuguese funds registered with the CMVM, Portugal's securities regulator. A fund qualifies when at least 60% of it goes into companies with their head office in Portugal, it holds no real estate, and it runs for at least five years from the day you invest. You keep the investment for five years counted from the day your permit is granted, so a long wait at AIMA adds to the time your money stays in.
The stay
Seven days in Portugal in the first year, then fourteen in each two-year period, in one visit or several. The first days are usually the biometrics appointment.
Your family
Your spouse or partner, your children under 18, adult children who are single, studying and dependent on you, and the parents of you or your spouse who depend on you can each hold a permit on your one investment. Each pays their own fees, and since October 2025 the law asks family members admitted this way to take Portuguese language and civics training, which their renewals check.
Why it goes through a fund
The Mais Habitação law of October 2023 closed the property routes and the plain capital transfer. The fund route survived, and with it a handful of rarer ones: €500,000 into Portuguese research, €250,000 into arts and heritage, or a company that creates jobs. For a family that wants a permit without running a business in Portugal, a fund is the route.
A fund is also an investment. Your money is at risk and locked for the fund's term, and the funds differ in what they own, what they charge and when they pay back. That is where most of the work is, and our Portugal golden visa funds page sets the open funds side by side on the facts that decide the choice.
How it works, and how long it takes
Most of the path is paperwork done from home. You come to Portugal for the biometrics appointment, then for your seven days.
- Weeks 1 to 4 Tax number and bank account A Portuguese tax number (NIF) and a bank account, opened for you by power of attorney.
- Weeks 3 to 8 The fund subscription You choose the fund, pass its checks and transfer. The manager issues your units.
- Month 2 The application Our partner lawyers file it on AIMA's portal and you pay the analysis fee.
- The long wait Biometrics AIMA calls you to Portugal for fingerprints and photos, your first visit.
- After approval The card You pay the permit fee and the card is posted to your Portuguese address.
- Every 2 years Renewals Filed online with the fund's statement that your investment still stands.
AIMA sets the pace. From filing to the card has been taking one to two years, and some families who filed in 2021 to 2023 were still waiting in 2026. The government promised to clear the golden visa backlog during 2026, and since 11 September 2026 the law gives AIMA 90 days to decide, extendable by 30. Your five years of investment and your ten years toward citizenship both start when the permit is granted, so the wait adds to both.
What it costs
Beyond the €500,000, each person in the family pays AIMA for their own permit. At the rates in force since 1 March 2026:
| AIMA's fees, per person | 2026 |
|---|---|
| First card: the analysis of the application and the permit | €6,946.30 |
| Each renewal, every two years | €3,789.90 |
| Five years: the first card and two renewals | €14,526.10 |
A family of four pays AIMA €58,104.40 over five years. The lawyers come on top, and so do the fund's own fees for as long as you hold the units. What the Portugal golden visa costs puts the whole budget for one applicant and for a family in one place.
Citizenship is ten years now
Since 19 May 2026, a citizen of a country outside the EU and the Portuguese-speaking world needs 10 years of legal residence to apply for Portuguese citizenship, where it used to be five, and a test of Portuguese language and culture. The years count from your residence permit, and the months your application waits at AIMA no longer count. Only a request for citizenship already filed before 19 May 2026 is decided under the old law.
A family that files for the golden visa now can expect to apply for citizenship in the late 2030s. Portugal citizenship by investment explains what the law asks and how the golden visa years add up.
If you want to buy a home
Property stopped counting for the golden visa on 7 October 2023, and no fund that owns property qualifies either. Many families still want a home here, on the coast at Cascais and Estoril or in Lisbon, and buy it beside the fund. We help you find it and see the purchase through with a lawyer.
Who the golden visa still suits
It suits you if
- you want the right to live in the European Union without moving yet, and seven days a year are enough to keep it;
- you want your spouse, children and parents covered on one investment;
- you can leave €500,000 in a fund for its whole term and see the years as a road to permanent residence and, later, a passport.
Look at another route if
- you want a passport soon, since ten years and a language test now stand in the way;
- you are moving to Portugal full time next year, when a D7 or a digital nomad visa costs a fraction of €500,000 and its years count toward citizenship the same way;
- you may need the money back before the fund's term ends.
Americans have one more thing to weigh, US tax on foreign funds, which the golden visa for US citizens covers.
How we work
Absolut Visa is Nataliya Dobromyslova's practice in Estoril. You deal with her from the first call: she takes you through the funds, introduces you to the manager of the one you choose and keeps you informed while AIMA decides. Portuguese partner lawyers prepare and file your application and represent you, and she handles every renewal after the card arrives.
She speaks English, Ukrainian, Russian and Portuguese, and the first consultation is free.
Questions investors ask
Is the Portugal golden visa suspended?
No. It is open to new applicants. What ended in October 2023 were the property routes and the plain capital transfer, and the immigration law amended in September 2026 left the golden visa as it was.
What is the official website?
AIMA, the agency that decides residence permits, at aima.gov.pt. Golden visa applications are filed through its ARI portal and renewals through its renewals portal.
How long does the golden visa take?
One to two years from filing to card at AIMA's recent pace, and longer for some families. Since 11 September 2026 the law gives AIMA 90 days to decide, which it can extend by 30.
Do I have to live in Portugal?
No. Seven days in the first year and fourteen in each two-year period after it keep the permit alive, and the days do not have to be in a row.
Does the golden visa make me a Portuguese tax resident?
Not by itself. Portugal taxes you as a resident if you spend more than 183 days a year here or keep a home here as your habitual residence. If you live abroad, outside Portugal's list of tax havens, the fund's income and your gain when the units are redeemed are not taxed in Portugal, once you show the fund you are resident elsewhere.
Can I get the golden visa by buying a house?
Not since 7 October 2023. You can still buy a home in Portugal, and many families do, but the permit comes from the fund.
Book a free consultation
Tell us your nationality, who would apply with you and what you want to know. Or call +351 920 150 062, Monday to Friday, 9:00 to 18:00 Lisbon time.