Portugal’s Golden Visa in 2026: What You Need to Know

If you’re thinking about applying for Portugal’s Golden Visa in 2026, it’s fair to say you’re joining at a complicated time.

The program is still open — and still one of the best in Europe — but it has changed. The fast-track path to an EU passport that once made it so famous has now become a much longer road.

Here’s a frank look at how the program stands in 2026, what’s changed, and whether it still makes sense.

The Big Picture

On October 28, 2025, Portugal’s Parliament approved legislation that would double the residency requirement for citizenship — from five to ten years for most applicants (seven years for EU and CPLP citizens).

It isn’t law yet, as it still awaits the President’s signature and may face Constitutional Court review. But the direction is clear: Portugal wants to slow down the path to citizenship and encourage stronger ties to the country. And despite being one of the few EU countries to continue offering a residency by investment program, it wants to discourage people from obtaining residency who primarily want an “EU passport.”

For Golden Visa investors, that means citizenship could realistically take 12–15 years, once you factor in processing delays and the new rule that the “clock” starts only when your residence card is issued.

Is the Golden Visa Still Worth It?

Surprisingly, yes — for many people.

While Spain scrapped its Golden Visa and Greece now requires full-time residence to qualify for citizenship, Portugal remains one of the only EU countries where you can gain residency with minimal time in the country — roughly seven days per year — and still apply for citizenship.

It’s likely that the number of ARI permits issued in 2026 will drop from the 2,081 granted in 2024 (according to AIMA’s Relatório de Migrações e Asilo 2024, but, given that most Golden Visa investors want residency with minimal ties, particularly tax residency, and the lack of alternative options, Portugal’s Golden Visa is likely to remain a popular option.

Who the Golden Visa Works For

• The Plan B Crowd
  If you want an EU residence permit you can activate if things ever go wrong at home, Portugal still offers that. You get legal EU residency, Schengen access, and the ability to move here later whenever you’re ready.
• Future Retirees
  For investors in their 40s or 50s who might want to retire in Portugal a decade from now, applying now still makes sense. By the time you’re ready to move, you could hold permanent residency or even citizenship.
• Parents
  If your goal was to help your children obtain the right to live and work in the EU, this may still be viable. The path to citizenship is now longer, however, it’s still worth it. It may also be possible for your children to study at universities in other EU countries once they obtain permanent residency (after five years), which could offer significant savings and opportunities.
• CPLP Citizens (especially Brazilians)
  Citizens of Portuguese-speaking countries still benefit from the shorter seven-year route to citizenship. It remains one of the most accessible paths within the Lusophone world.

Who Might Want to Look Elsewhere

• If you actually plan to move to Portugal full-time.
  The D7 visa (for passive income) or Digital Nomad visa (for remote workers) are usually cheaper, faster, and simpler — and they make more sense if you’re happy to become a tax resident.
• If your goal is a quick EU passport.
  Portugal still offers one of the best EU Golden Visas for obtaining citizenship, as you only need to spend 7 days per year here. However, if you want an “EU passport” faster than 12-15 years, you may want to consider moving to a country where citizenship is attainable faster. Prospective investors will need to weigh up the pros and cons of waiting longer for Portugal’s non-commital Golden Visa or physically moving to another EU country where citizenship can be obtained faster through naturalization.
• If you’re allergic to bureaucracy.
  AIMA’s delays have improved, but Portugal’s immigration system is still inconsistent. Patience is a prerequisite.

What Are the Investment Options?

As of October 2023, Portugal officially removed the two most popular routes — buying property and transferring funds into a Portuguese bank account.

That means real estate is no longer eligible for the Golden Visa, and you can’t simply deposit money and qualify. Instead, the program now focuses on investments that are meant to create value, employment, or cultural benefit.

Here’s what remains available in 2026:

1. Investment Funds (€500,000 or more)

This is now the most common route. You can invest in one or more qualifying venture capital or private equity funds, provided they are:

• Regulated by Portugal’s CMVM (Securities Market Commission)
• At least 60% invested in Portuguese companies
• Not directly or indirectly involved in real estate

Funds can focus on everything from renewable energy and tech startups to healthcare, manufacturing, or even film and media. For Americans, many firms advertise the ability to invest through an IRA.

Some offer fixed annual returns; others are performance-based. A few operate more like hybrid funds, balancing income and growth. Transparency varies — you’ll find some with full audited statements and investor reports, while others provide only limited information.

It’s a more complex investment than buying a house, but it has become a more mature market since the real estate route ended.

2. Company Investment (€500,000 or more)

You can also qualify by investing €500,000 or more into a Portuguese company, provided it creates five new jobs or maintains ten existing jobs for at least three years.

In practice, this route tends to appeal to entrepreneurs or investors who already have business operations in Portugal or want to establish one. It can be riskier and more hands-on than the fund route but allows for direct involvement in Portugal’s economy.

If you’re establishing a company in Portugal, and will need to spend considerable time in the country to manage it, it’s worth noting that the D2 visa (entrepreneur visa) has considerably lower fees and does not have investment or job creation criteria. The Golden Visa would be more appealing if you want to start or invest in a company, but have minimal stay requirements.

3. Scientific Research (€500,000 or more)

Another option is transferring €500,000 or more into public or private scientific research institutions in Portugal. These projects typically involve partnerships with universities or accredited research bodies, often in sectors such as renewable energy, medicine, or technology.

While this route can be attractive for those with philanthropic or academic interests, finding pre-approved and clearly structured research projects can be challenging.

4. Cultural or Artistic Donation (€250,000 or more)

This is the most affordable option. You can transfer €250,000 (or €200,000 in low-density areas) into projects that support:

• Artistic or cultural production
• Restoration or maintenance of national heritage sites

Examples include funding museum restorations, theatre productions, or heritage conservation projects. Although this route doesn’t offer a financial return, it does provide the satisfaction of contributing to Portuguese culture — and it can be a faster, simpler way to meet the Golden Visa requirement if you’re comfortable treating it as a donation.

5. The “Solidarity” Golden Visa (Proposed but Not Implemented)

In 2024, there was discussion of a “Solidarity Golden Visa” — a new route where applicants could make a social-impact donation (for example, to support housing or community projects).

However, this has not been implemented, and as of early 2026, no official framework or legislation exists for such a visa. It’s occasionally mentioned in political discussions, but it remains only a proposal.

In Summary

While the fund route dominates today, it’s not the only option — and if Portugal eventually introduces the “Solidarity” visa, we may see new opportunities for more socially minded investors in the coming years.

How the Golden Visa Works in 2026

Permanent Residency Could Become The New Milestone

After five years of legal residence, Golden Visa holders can apply for Permanent Residency (PR). There is also an EU permanent residency card, which potentially allows you to move to another EU country — although nowhere near as easily as you would with Portuguese citizenship.

For Golden Visa holders, the main benefit of Portuguese permanent residency is that it only needs to be renewed every five years. For other visa holders, there are other benefits, like less restrictive physical stay requirements. However, given that most Golden Visa investors continue to follow the requirements from the temporary residency period (average of 7 days per year), this is unlikely to affect most people.

Language and Integration

You’ll still need A2-level Portuguese to get PR or citizenship. The new law also mentions a civic-knowledge test, though details are still unclear.

There’s now a growing industry of online Portuguese courses offering 150-hour “PLA” certificates accepted by AIMA. These can be done remotely, but they’re expensive — often €1,000 or more. By contrast, taking the CIPLE A2 exam at an accredited test centre usually costs around €70–€120 and is a much cheaper way to demonstrate proficiency.

The government’s recent language-school boom reflects a wider political shift: a push for deeper integration and stronger “ties to Portugal.” In the past, a simple language certificate was enough. Going forward, expect more emphasis on real connections — spending time in the country, participating in community or business activities, or contributing culturally. It’s unclear how this will affect Golden Visa permit holders given that they were told they only need to spend seven days in Portugal (and a path to citizenship has been heavily implied by law firms and even the Portuguese government).

Investor Backlash

The Golden Visa has long been one of Portugal’s biggest success stories — but over the past few years, frustration among investors has been growing.

Processing delays, shifting rules, and now the proposed ten-year citizenship timeline have all contributed to a sense of uncertainty and mistrust. Many investors have already been waiting years for appointments or residence cards, only to learn that the government may now move the goalposts again.

If existing applicants are not grandfathered into the old five-year rule, a significant backlash is expected. Comments across investor forums and social media already show widespread anger — particularly from those who invested in good faith, expecting the timeline promised at the time of their application. Legal challenges are likely, as investors seek compensation or clarification through the courts.

The revelation that Golden Visa cases were deliberately delayed in favour of other immigration priorities has only deepened that frustration. For many, it reinforced the perception that the program — once marketed as stable and transparent — has been undermined by inconsistent management.

That said, the backlash may not kill the program entirely. While the tone in online communities has shifted from enthusiasm to disillusionment, many investors will still see Portugal’s Golden Visa as the least-worst option in Europe. Other programs have been shut down or require full-time residence, leaving Portugal — even with its longer timeline and bureaucracy — as one of the few viable paths to EU residency and eventual citizenship.

In other words, confidence has been shaken, but demand may persist. Investors are increasingly realistic: the “fast-track EU passport” era is over, and those joining in 2026 are doing so with their eyes wide open.

AIMA: Signs of Improvement (But Still Slow)

Since replacing SEF in 2023, AIMA — Portugal’s new migration and asylum agency — has spent much of its first two years trying to untangle the chaos it inherited. For Golden Visa investors, that has meant years of waiting, missed renewals, and complete uncertainty about when (or if) their process would move forward.

The good news: AIMA is finally starting to show progress.

In late 2025, the agency publicly acknowledged what many suspected — that Golden Visa applications had been deliberately deprioritised in favour of refugees, family reunifications, and humanitarian cases. That transparency, while frustrating to investors, was at least a sign that the government was beginning to address the issue head-on.

New Targets for 2026

AIMA has now set a target to process new applications within nine months and clear the existing backlog entirely. Several Golden Visa investors have reported receiving long-awaited pre-approvals or appointment dates in early 2026, suggesting that progress, while uneven, is happening.

The agency has also promised more digitalisation: online renewals, status tracking, and centralised scheduling for biometrics. These tools are meant to prevent the kind of bottlenecks that plagued the system for years.

A Reality Check

Still, optimism should be tempered. AIMA has made ambitious promises before, and implementation tends to move more slowly than press releases suggest. Clearing the backlog of tens of thousands of cases — some dating back to 2021 — will take time, even under the new nine-month goal. However, anecdotal reports from lawyers suggest this is being cleared as of late 2025 – something that couldn’t be said at the start of the year.

For 2026 applicants, this should translate into faster initial processing and clearer timelines, but it’s unlikely to feel “fast.” As ever in Portugal, patience remains part of the process.

Will The Golden Visa Be Phased Out?

Maybe eventually — but not yet. Even after the 2025 shock, Portugal’s government continues to promote the program as part of its investment-attraction strategy, particularly around innovation, green tech, and cultural funding.

The European Commission continues to scrutinise “residence-by-investment” schemes. 2026 may bring further EU-level recommendations on due diligence, AML compliance, and tax transparency. If this happens, Investors should expect stricter background checks, source-of-funds documentation, and perhaps longer compliance steps during onboarding with funds or banks.

However, as instability grows in the US and elsewhere, expect continued (though smaller) interest in Portugal’s Golden Visa — especially from those seeking stability in the EU.

The Bottom Line

If you’re applying for Portugal’s Golden Visa in 2026, go in with realistic expectations.

Citizenship now takes ten years — and with processing delays, possibly twelve or more. AIMA says it’s improving, and perhaps it is, but history suggests progress will be slow and uneven. The actual citizenship process is a separate process to obtaining a Golden Visa permit, handled by the Instituto dos Registos e do Notariado (IRN), and they are also backlogged. It’s better to assume the worst and be pleasantly surprised than to plan your life around best-case scenarios.

Even so, Portugal’s Golden Visa remains one of the best options in Europe. Few countries still offer a path to EU citizenship without requiring tax residency or full-time presence. For those who want a flexible foothold in Europe — a Plan B, a retirement option, or a long-term route for their children — it still delivers what others no longer can.

It’s also becoming clear that permanent residency will be the new milestone for many investors. After five years, you can secure a long-term right to live in Portugal without renewing every two years or waiting for a passport that may take a decade. For many, that’s enough.

Yes, the program will likely face more EU scrutiny in the years ahead. But paradoxically, by tightening its rules and extending the citizenship timeline, Portugal may have ensured the Golden Visa’s survival. Unlike Malta, which resisted EU pressure and lost its program entirely, Portugal seems to have found a way to keep Brussels satisfied while keeping the door — if only slightly — open.

The Golden Visa of 2026 is no longer a shortcut. It’s a long game. But for those willing to play it, it still offers something rare: a stable path into Europe at a time when that door is closing almost everywhere else.