At a glance
Portugal's investment residence permit, ARI, is often called the Golden Visa. Eligible applicants must make and maintain an approved investment. It is for people who are not EU, EEA, Swiss, or Andorran citizens. New applications based on buying property or an unrestricted capital transfer closed in October 2023.
- Investment options
- Qualifying job creation, research, cultural support, non-real-estate funds, or business investment
- Requirements
- Qualifying investment, source of funds, and clean background checks
- Continuing commitment
- Maintain the qualifying investment and meet the program's stay and renewal requirements
Summary
Portugal's Golden Visa gives qualifying investors a way to obtain residence through an approved investment that they maintain under the program's rules. Current categories concern specified job creation, research, cultural support, non-real-estate funds or business investment. Each has its own financial and operating conditions rather than one universal amount.
New property and unrestricted capital-transfer applications closed in October 2023, with earlier cases requiring separate transitional review. Lawful source and transfer of funds and personal checks still apply. The permit is residence, not citizenship or a guarantee of tax treatment.
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Choose an eligible route Identify the accepted jobs, research, culture, fund, or company route.
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Verify and document Check investment restrictions, lawful funds, and the holding obligations.
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ARI application Complete the AIMA filing and biometric process.
New property-purchase and unrestricted capital-transfer applications closed in October 2023.
Eligibility
EEA means the EU countries plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway.
The current qualifying investments are:
- create at least 10 jobs, reduced to eight in a qualifying low-density territory;
- invest at least €500,000 in qualifying scientific research, reduced to €400,000 in a low-density territory;
- invest or donate at least €250,000 through the listed public or public-interest bodies for artistic production or national cultural heritage, reduced to €200,000 in a low-density territory;
- invest at least €500,000 in units of a Portuguese non-real-estate collective investment body with at least five years to maturity and at least 60% invested in Portugal-headquartered companies; or
- invest at least €500,000 to establish a Portuguese company and create five permanent jobs, or increase an existing company's capital while creating five permanent jobs or maintaining 10 jobs, at least five permanent, for at least three years.
You must maintain the investment as required, prove lawful source and transfer of funds, satisfy criminal-record and security checks, and complete AIMA biometrics.
More about this route
The current routes are job creation, research funding, cultural support, a qualifying non-real-estate collective investment vehicle, or a qualifying company capitalization and jobs project. None may be directed, directly or indirectly, to real-estate investment.
What This Route Allows
The permit allows residence and work in Portugal, short Schengen travel, and family reunification without the general two-year sponsor wait. The initial temporary ARI is valid for two years; the special renewal cycle is generally two years. The minimum stay is seven days in the first year and 14 days in each subsequent two-year period.
After five years, qualifying holders can seek the special permanent ARI. Legal residence can also support nationality, but the current ordinary naturalization period is seven years for EU/CPLP citizens and ten years for most other citizens, with additional language, civic, security, and support requirements.
What This Route Is Not
It is not citizenship by investment, an approval guarantee, or a promise of tax residence or non-residence. Purchasing a home, investing in a real-estate fund, or transferring money to a bank account is not a current new-application route. Existing pre-October-2023 cases have transitional renewal rules and should be reviewed separately.
Next Steps
- Select one legal route and obtain independent legal, financial, and regulatory due diligence.
- Confirm that the investment has no prohibited direct or indirect real-estate objective.
- Obtain a Portuguese tax number and complete any banking and entity setup actually needed for that route.
- Execute and document the investment, jobs, lawful source of funds, and required holding period.
- File through AIMA's ARI portal, attend biometrics, maintain the investment and minimum stays, and renew through AIMA's current channel.
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