Portugal Golden Visa: Residency by Investment

The Portugal Golden Visa offers several eligible investment routes:

• Fund investment: from €500,000 (currently the most common route).
• Scientific research: from €500,000.
• Arts and cultural heritage: a non-refundable donation from €250,000.
• Forming or investing in a company: from €500,000, with job creation requirements.
• The real estate route has been closed since October 2023. Amounts and conditions are those in force at the time you apply. (Updated: June 2026.)

Golden Visa vs. permanent residence

• The Portugal Golden Visa is a renewable residence permit for investors that can be held over the long term. In practical terms, it offers rights comparable to permanent residence: your whole family can live, work, start a business, and send your children to school in Portugal.
• The difference: the Golden Visa is issued for a fixed term and must be renewed periodically. After 10 years of residence, you may be eligible to apply for citizenship if you meet the requirements.

Short stays within Schengen — not yet the right to live or work across the EU.

• The Golden Visa allows travel within the Schengen Area under the short-stay rule of 90 days in any 180-day period.
• Travel to EU countries outside the Schengen Area still requires a visitor visa.
• The right to live, work, and study in any EU country comes only with Portuguese citizenship.

The European Union (EU) is a political and economic union of 27 member countries.

• The Schengen Area is a zone of free movement across its 29 member countries.
• Some EU countries are not part of Schengen, and some Schengen countries are not in the EU. Portugal is a member of both.
• So with a Golden Visa, you can already make short trips within the Schengen Area; the right to live and work anywhere in the EU comes only with citizenship.

Free schooling for your children

• While your family holds a valid Golden Visa, your children can attend Portugal's public schools free of charge, from primary school through the end of upper secondary school.
• At university level, tuition fees and support policies depend on the institution and on your child's residence status at the time of enrollment.

Tax on income earned outside Portugal

• Portuguese income tax on your worldwide income applies only once you become a Portuguese tax resident — generally by spending more than 183 days a year in Portugal.
• Investors who travel to Portugal only as needed to maintain or renew the card usually do not fall into this category.
• Tax rules can change; your specific tax obligations should be confirmed with a tax advisor at the time you apply. (Updated: June 2026.)

Your options after 5 years

• After 5 years of holding the Golden Visa, you have 3 options, including continuing to renew your residence permit or applying for permanent residence.
• If you continue renewing, you must maintain the investment. If you apply for permanent residence or citizenship (once eligible), you are no longer required to maintain the investment.

To be considered for Portuguese citizenship, investors must:

• Be at least 18 years old;
• Have held a valid Golden Visa for at least 10 years (meeting the minimum stay requirement of 14 days in each 2-year period);
• Have Portuguese language proficiency at level A2;
• And have no criminal record in Portugal or elsewhere.
• Applications are assessed under the rules in force at the time of filing.

The language requirement is a Portuguese language certificate at level A2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).

• The test may be administered by an accredited school in Portugal (or in another Portuguese-speaking country), by Portugal's Institute for Employment and Vocational Training (IEFP), or by an accredited testing center.
• A2 is a basic level; any comparison with IELTS is indicative only.

Online certificates

• Under the regulations, the investor and family members must hold a certificate of completion of a Portuguese language course from a public school in Portugal or from a licensed center in Portugal.
• Whether online courses are accepted depends on the rules in force; investors should confirm this before enrolling in a course.

Citizenship benefits

• Full Portuguese citizenship rights, including the right to live, work, and study in any EU country.
• A strong passport, with visa-free or eVisa access to many countries (the number changes over time).
• Once you hold Portuguese citizenship and have been continuously domiciled in Portugal for at least 3 years, you may explore the U.S. E-2 visa pathway under the E-2 rules in force at the time.

Investment risk

• There are 2 main risks: choosing a project or fund that is not reputable or does not qualify under the program; and investment capital from an unlawful source, which leads to the application being refused.
• IMM Group reviews your file and carries out due diligence on the project before any contract is signed, to help reduce these risks.

Note: a fund investment carries risk; returns and the recovery of your capital depend on the fund's performance.

Proving your source of funds

• Source-of-funds documentation for the Portugal Golden Visa is generally less extensive than for programs in the United States, Australia, or Canada — you need to show a lawful source of funds at a basic level of detail (for example, proceeds from a property sale, income, or a business).
• Each family documents this differently depending on its circumstances; contact IMM Group for advice specific to your situation.

Validity and renewal

• The Golden Visa is first issued for 2 years and can be renewed (typically for a further 3 years in the next cycle), provided you maintain the investment and keep a clean criminal record.
• After 5 years, if you meet the requirements, you may apply for permanent residence. Validity periods and renewal cycles follow the rules in force at the time of renewal.

The Portugal Golden Visa has no maximum age limit for the main applicant.

• You only need to be 18 or older and meet the background check and lawful source-of-funds requirements.

Education and language requirements

• At the investment stage, the program does not require academic qualifications, management experience, proof of language proficiency, or an interview.
• The A2 Portuguese language requirement applies only later, when you apply for citizenship.

The Golden Visa allows several generations of a family to be included in a single application:

• Legal spouse;
• Children (including adopted children) who are unmarried and financially dependent;
• Parents of both spouses (those under 65 must show financial dependence);
• And siblings under 18 who are financially dependent on the main applicant.

The program allows adopted children and stepchildren to be included in their parents' application.

• Adopted children require a legal adoption certificate.
• Stepchildren require legal documents together with a certified letter of consent from the spouse allowing the child to be included in the application.
• IMM Group helps investors prepare these documents.

Age limit for dependent children

• The program sets no hard maximum age for dependent children — they may be included if they are unmarried and financially dependent on the main applicant (this is typically tied to being in full-time education).
• This is one of the Portugal Golden Visa's advantages over many other programs. Specific conditions follow the rules in force.

Including parents

• Parents of both the investor and the investor's spouse can be included in the application. Parents aged 65 or older can be included.
• Those under 65 must demonstrate financial dependence on the main applicant.
• Specific conditions follow the rules in force at the time of filing.

The Portugal Golden Visa does not require continuous residence.

• To maintain and renew the permit, investors need only meet the minimum stay requirement — an average of about 7 days a year (14 days in each 2-year period).
• If you plan to apply for citizenship later, you will also need to meet additional residence, language, and integration requirements under the law.

Selling or exiting after 5 years

• The real estate route has been closed since October 2023; investors now participate mainly through funds.
• Investors must hold the fund investment continuously for at least 5 years.

Switching your fund investment

• Investors must maintain a qualifying investment continuously throughout the required period.
• Any switch between funds (where permitted) must not interrupt the investment holding requirement and must comply with the program rules.
• Questions about buying or selling real estate no longer apply, as the real estate route has closed.