Golden Visa — Investment Fund
Invest in a qualifying Portuguese non-real-estate fund while keeping the flexibility of the Golden Visa’s limited-stay residence rules.
Benefits
See the eight key advantages above.
Requirements
The qualifying fund investment
- Subscribe at least €500,000 to eligible non-real-estate collective investment undertakings established under Portuguese law and intended to capitalise companies.
- At the time of investment, the fund must have a maturity of at least five years and at least 60% of the investments must be in commercial companies with a registered office in Portugal.
- Obtain the bank transfer evidence, unit-ownership records and required fund/management declarations. Check the fund’s regulatory position and immigration eligibility independently; CMVM supervision alone is not a guarantee that a particular fund qualifies.
- The investment must not be directed, directly or indirectly, into real estate. A residential or commercial property purchase is not an alternative within this route.
Fund value, distributions and liquidity are not guaranteed. Review the investment strategy, fees, lock-up, redemption and winding-up terms independently of the residence application.
Initial application essentials
- ARI is intended for eligible third-country nationals. Portuguese, EU, EEA, Andorran and Swiss nationals are excluded from this investment-permit regime.
- Prepare a valid passport, lawful-entry evidence, tax-identification records, recognised health cover and the required application forms and declarations.
- Provide recent, appropriately authenticated police certificates from the relevant country or countries, with Portuguese translations as required. Pass the applicable character and security checks.
- Document the lawful source of funds, complete the qualifying transfer and retain bank and investment evidence. Keep Portuguese tax and social-security obligations regularised, with the required certificates.
- Meet the five-year minimum investment commitment and continue to satisfy the conditions while relying on that investment for residence renewals. No initial Portuguese-language examination is imposed by ARI; later permanent-residence and nationality applications have their own tests.
- The investment amount is separate from government application/card charges, professional services, travel, insurance and document costs. Obtain a current quotation for the whole household.
Who can be included?
Spouse or qualifying partner
Provide marriage or legally recognised partnership evidence. Eligibility and documentation depend on the applicable family-reunification provisions.
Children
Minor or qualifying dependent children may join. For ARI, adult children must meet the dependency, unmarried-status and study conditions; AIMA’s published checklist describes an age limit of 25. Confirm the exact age and evidence requirements for your case.
Dependent parents
First-degree parents of the applicant or spouse may qualify where dependency is established. Financial support and the family relationship must be documented.
Other family circumstances
Adopted children and minor siblings under recognised legal guardianship may be covered where the statutory conditions are met. Family applications can be linked to the investor’s application but depend on its approval.
Process and Procedure
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Assess your route and household
Review nationality, finances, immigration history and the eligibility of each proposed family member. Confirm the investment category and full budget before committing funds.
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Prepare the financial and personal records
Obtain the Portuguese NIF, arrange the appropriate bank and payment facilities, and gather passports, police, civil-status, health-cover and source-of-funds evidence.
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Complete the qualifying fund subscription
Review the fund and its eligibility evidence, complete the €500,000 subscription and obtain the bank, unit-ownership and management records required by AIMA.
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Submit the ARI applications
File through the official ARI portal with the required evidence and linked family requests. Pay the analysis charges and respond to any correction or document-update requests.
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Attend the AIMA appointment
Travel lawfully to Portugal when scheduled for original-document checks and biometric collection. Appointment availability and processing times vary; there is no guaranteed approval date.
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Receive and maintain the residence cards
Following approval and the required payments, receive the titles. Track expiry dates, retain the investment evidence, complete the required visits and prepare renewal documents for every family member.
Long-Term Residence and Citizenship
Maintain and renew your residence
Residence validity
Plan for an initial two-year ARI permit followed by a three-year renewal, subject to approval and the title issued.
Required visits
For the two-plus-three-year planning cycle, allow fourteen days in the first two years and twenty-one in the next three. Confirm each card’s applicable requirements with AIMA and keep presence records.
Investment and exit planning
Keep the qualifying investment and updated evidence while renewing under ARI. Do not assume that five years automatically allows withdrawal: first confirm a valid alternative status and the legal effect of a sale, redemption or change.
Housing, resources and compliance
Renewal can require accommodation, sufficient means, health cover and regular tax and social-security records. Limited required visits do not remove those obligations or automatically determine tax residence.
Citizenship: the current residence periods
Seven or ten years
For new applications under the law effective from 19 May 2026, the normal minimum is seven years for Portuguese-speaking nationals and ten years for most other nationalities. EU nationals also fall within the seven-year category, although they do not use ARI.
More than a residence period
Applicants must meet the applicable Portuguese-language, culture, history, civic-knowledge and democratic-principles requirements, together with subsistence, character, sanctions and security conditions. Confirm the current tests and exemptions.
Earlier nationality applications
The previous nationality law continues to apply to nationality proceedings already pending when the May 2026 law took effect. An earlier Golden Visa application alone does not establish protection under that transitional rule.
Separate nationality assessment
A residence permit, investment or minimum-stay record does not guarantee naturalisation. Check the qualifying legal-residence calculation and evidence for your own application rather than relying on a fixed passport countdown.
Permanent residence and future plans
Permanent residence may be available after holding temporary residence for at least five years, subject to the applicable conditions, including basic Portuguese, resources, accommodation, compliant tax/social-security records and character checks. AIMA provides for a permanent ARI category for eligible investors and family members. Permanent residence is distinct from citizenship, and the residence document still requires periodic renewal.
Portugal permits multiple nationality. EU citizenship rights arise only if Portuguese nationality is granted. Portuguese residence does not automatically end tax obligations elsewhere; review your personal position before relocating or changing investments.
