Portuguese citizenship by investment

Portugal citizenship by investment after the 2026 law

Portugal does not sell citizenship. Investment buys a residence permit, the golden visa, and since 19 May 2026 a citizen of a country outside the EU and the Portuguese-speaking world can apply for Portuguese citizenship after 10 years of legal residence and a test of Portuguese language and culture. It used to be five years.

What the new law asks

The nationality law as amended by Lei Orgânica n.º 1/2026, published on 18 May 2026, grants citizenship by naturalisation to an adult who, on the day of the application:

• has lived legally in Portugal for 10 years, or 7 for citizens of EU countries and of Portuguese-speaking countries;
• proves, by a test or a certificate, enough knowledge of the Portuguese language and culture, history and national symbols, in a form the Nationality Regulation sets;
• knows the basic rights and duties of a citizen and how the Portuguese state is organised, and declares adherence to the democratic rule of law;
• has no final sentence of more than three years in prison for terrorism, violent or organised crime, crimes against the state or aiding illegal immigration, is no threat to national security and is under no UN or EU sanctions;
• can support themselves.

How the ten years are counted

Legal residence means holding a residence permit or visa, and the golden visa is one. The periods add up even with a gap between them, as long as the ten years fall within twelve; the old law allowed fifteen. What changed most is the start: the rule of 2024 that counted the months an application waited at AIMA was repealed, so your years run from the permit itself, and a family that files for the golden visa now can expect to apply for citizenship in the late 2030s.

If you applied before the law changed

A citizenship application already pending when the law took effect on 19 May 2026 is decided under the old law and its five years. There is no such exception for residence: a golden visa holder who had not yet applied for citizenship by then needs ten years, however long ago the permit was issued.

Your family

Each adult in the family qualifies on their own years and their own test. Once you are Portuguese, two routes open for the others: your children under 18 can take Portuguese nationality by declaration, and a spouse married to you for more than three years can declare it too. After six years of marriage, the state can oppose a spouse's declaration only on criminal or security grounds.

Is the golden visa still the way to a passport?

For a family with no Portuguese parent, grandparent or spouse, no route gives a passport within five years any more, the golden visa included. For a family that wants the right to live in the European Union now and can see a passport as a ten-year plan, the golden visa still does the job: seven days a year keep it, the whole family is covered, and the 10 years run while you live where you live. The Portugal golden visa page sets out the rest of what it takes.

Questions investors ask