Portugal golden visa (ARI residence by investment)

Lei 56/2023 removed real estate and plain capital transfers. AIMA now lists five options: creating at least 10 jobs; transferring at least EUR 500,000 into research by public or private scientific institutions in the national scientific system; at least EUR 250,000 into artistic production or the recovery or upkeep of national cultural heritage through public or recognised entities; at least EUR 500,000 into units of Portuguese non-real-estate collective investment funds with a maturity of at least five years and at least 60% invested in companies based in Portugal; or at least EUR 500,000 to set up a Portuguese company with five permanent jobs, or to increase the capital of an existing one while creating five permanent jobs or keeping ten (five permanent) for at least three years.

The investment may not go, directly or indirectly, into real estate. In low-density territories, the job and research requirements are reduced by 20% (8 jobs; EUR 400,000).

General documents: valid passport, proof of legal entry and stay in Portugal, health cover (NHS or internationally recognised insurance), a criminal record from your country of origin and from countries where you lived over a year, issued within three months, translated into Portuguese and apostilled or certified; your tax identification number, the application form authorising a check of the Portuguese criminal record, a sworn declaration that you will meet the quantitative and time requirements (5 years), no-debt certificates from the Tax Authority and Social Security issued within 45 days, and the receipt for the analysis fee.

Investment documents depend on the option: a declaration from a bank registered with the Banco de Portugal confirming the transfer, employment contracts for job creation, declarations from the research or cultural entity, fund-manager declarations on maturity and the 60% rule, or company registry certificates.

The AIMA fee table (updated 26 February 2026) sets, for in-person service: EUR 842.80 to receive and analyse an ARI application or renewal, including reunited family members; EUR 8,418.90 to grant the ARI; EUR 4,210.30 for each renewal; and the same grant and renewal fees for each family member. Digital filing reduces fees by 25%.

Applications are registered on AIMA’s ARI Portal, where the investor, family members or a mandated legal representative upload the documents as PDF files of up to 4 MB each and generate the payment slip (DUC) for the analysis fee. Biometric data are then collected in person. Renewals of ARI permits that expired between 22 February 2020 and 31 December 2026 are made through AIMA’s Renewals Portal.

The temporary ARI permit is valid for two years from issue. You renew it while maintaining the investment for the five-year minimum. ARI holders and their family members who meet article 80 receive a permanent ARI permit, and the general rule that long absences cancel the right does not apply to them.

The family reunification request can be filed together with the investor’s ARI application but depends on its approval. Eligible relatives include the spouse, children up to 17, dependent unmarried children aged 18 to 25 who are studying, dependent first-degree ascendants, and siblings up to 17 under the investor’s guardianship. Lei 61/2025 exempts family members of ARI holders from the two-year waiting period.

You can enter Portugal without a residence visa, live and work there, travel in the Schengen area without a visa, bring family members, apply for permanent residence under the Foreigners Law, and apply for naturalisation if you meet the Nationality Law. The minimum presence is at least 7 days in the first year and at least 14 days in each following year. The ARI is not open to Portuguese, EU, EEA, Andorran or Swiss nationals.