Menu
Foreign investor can obtain residence in Portugal, for investment purposes, through the Authorization for Investment Purposes program or Autorizaçao de Residência para fins de Investimento (ARI), commonly known as Golden Visa.
• All third country nationals (non-EU or Schengen Area citizens).
• Family members of the foreign citizen investor: spouse, minor or adult dependents (up to 26 years of age) and dependent ascendants.
It is important that applicants have no criminal record and reside in Portugal for 7 days for the first year and 14 days in the following years.
• Right of free access to the countries of the EU and the Schengen Area, without the need for a visa.
• Right to reside, work and study in Portugal together with family members.
• Maintenance of residence without obligation to stay in Portuguese territory. You must only stay for a minimum period of 7 days during the first year and then 14 days after the second year.
• Right to apply for Portuguese nationality by residence.
• Possibility to carry out the investment personally or through a company incorporated in Portugal or in another EU State and permanently based in Portugal.
• Invest in any of the options provided for in the Law: real estate, bank deposits, participation in regulated funds, shares in companies, job creation, among others.
• Not being a EU, EEA, Switzerland citizen or a family member of citizens of these countries to whom the Community regime applies.
• Legal entry into Portuguese territory.
• Health insurance recognised in Portugal for the period of residence.
• Certificate of criminal records.
• Documents accrediting compliance with the investor’s tax and social security obligations.
Since of the publication of Decree-Law 14/2021, February 12, since January 2022, the minimum investment amounts are modified. The applicant will be eligible for the following investments:
|
TYPE OF INVESTMENT |
Amount |
Details |
|---|---|---|
|
Transfer of capital |
€1.500.000 |
Bank deposit in Portugal |
|
Acquisition of real estate for residential purposes |
€500.000 |
Except Lisbon, Porto and Algarve coastal area |
|
Acquisition of real estate for housing purposes with more than 30 years for rehabilitation |
€350.000 |
Except Lisbon, Porto and Algarve coastal area |
|
Investment in units of funds regulated in Portugal dedicated to the capitalisation of companies |
€500.000 |
Provided that the fund invests at least 60% in companies registered in Portugal, and that the maturity of such units is not less than 5 years from the date of purchase |
|
Investment in the incorporation or capital increase in a Portuguese commercial company with the creation or maintenance of 5 permanent jobs |
€500.000 |
Maintenance for a minimum period or 3 years |
|
Acquisition of non-housing real estate |
€500.000 |
Such as commercial premises and tourism projects |
|
Acquisition of non-housing real estate more than 30 years old or undergoing renovation |
€350.000 |
|
|
Creation of at least 10 permanent jobs |
No significant investment |
|
|
Capital investment in activities in support of public or private scientific or technological investment |
€500.000 |
|
|
Investment in support for artistic production, recovery or maintenance of national cultural heritage |
€250.000 |
|
From January 2022 the investment in properties for habitational purposes is directed through the Golden Visa Program only to investment in areas of low population density, such as the interior of the country and in the Azores and Madeira islands, in order to promote investments in inland territories.
For this reason, from 2022, the Golden Visa Portugal program no longer applies to Oporto, Lisbon and the Algarve coastal area, and the minimum investment values set out above are increased for the remaining investments.
However, there are several areas of potential investment in Central Alentejo, Alentejo Litoral, part of Algarve (Alcoutim, Aljezur, Castro Marim, Monchique and Vila do Bispo), Baixo Alentejo, Beira Baixa, Douro, Lezíria do Tejo, Região de Coimbra and many others, according to the territorial areas benefiting from measures of the National Programme for Territorial Cohesion (PNCT), implemented in Portaria n.º 208/2017, July 13.
Online application: the initial application can be made telematically through the SEF (Serviço de Estrangeiros e Fronteiras).
In-person application: at the regional or local SEF office, in person or through the legal representative.
Validity: the initial validity will be for 1 year, extendable for successive periods of 2 years.
Processing: approximately 3 to 6 months.
Investors may also apply for the Non-Habitual Tax Regime, establishing their tax residence in Portugal.
This special regime grants a significant reduction in income tax for a period of 10 years, with a fixed rate of 20%, as well as benefits in inheritances and donations in the transfer of wealth to family members.
