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

Age & nationality

The main applicant must be 18+. Portugal’s Golden Visa is aimed at non-EU/EEA/Swiss citizens—if you’re already an EU national you don’t need it and aren’t eligible. (If a family member is an EU/EEA/Swiss citizen, you may be able to join them via a family route without needing the Golden Visa.)

Clean criminal record

Minor offenses are usually fine. Anything that carries more than one year in prison under Portuguese law will likely disqualify you. More on applying with a criminal record.

Most applicants need a criminal record certificate from their country of nationality, plus one from any country where they’ve lived for a year or more. US applicants are usually asked for an FBI report. These need to be apostilled (Hague Convention countries) or legalized by a Portuguese consulate (non-Hague countries), sometimes translated into Portuguese, and recent, typically issued within the last 90 days.

Authorize a Portuguese criminal record check

Separate from your foreign police certificate, you’ll sign a form authorizing the Portuguese authorities to check for any Portuguese criminal record. For most people this is a formality, since you’ve likely never lived here.

Good standing with Finanças & Segurança Social

You’ll typically need certificates showing no outstanding issues with the Portuguese Tax Authority (Finanças) and Portuguese Social Security (Segurança Social). These have a short validity period (often 45 days), so they need to be recent when you submit.

No Schengen entry bans or serious immigration issues

This is separate from your criminal record. You can’t have serious past visa or immigration problems, an active entry ban for Portugal or the Schengen Area, or an alert in the Schengen Information System (SIS).

Power of attorney for your lawyer

Not strictly mandatory, but standard practice. A notarized power of attorney lets your lawyer open the bank account, submit documents, and manage the process without you needing to be in Portugal for every step.

Valid passport

Make sure it has plenty of validity left. The process can take well over a year, and renewing your passport partway through means updating your file with AIMA. If it expires within the next two years, renew it before you apply.

Passport photos

Two EU-sized passport-style photos per applicant.

Government fees

AIMA’s rates as of 2026:

• Application fee (at submission): €632.10 per person
• Residence permit fee (after approval): €6,314.20 per person
• Renewal fees (at years 2 and 4): €3,157.80 per person, plus the €632.10 application fee each time

That’s roughly €14,500 per person over the first five years. For a family of four, government fees alone come to more than €58,000. Plan your cash flow accordingly.

A qualifying investment, completed before you apply

One of the five routes covered above. Each has its own rules. For example, qualifying funds must be regulated by the CMVM and at least 60% invested in companies headquartered in Portugal.

You also have to keep the investment for at least five years, counted from when your residence permit is granted, not from when you invested. With AIMA’s waits, that can mean six or seven years after the money leaves your account.

Source of funds: the most important requirement

Problems here are a common reason Golden Visa applications get held up. The rule is simple: you must show where the money came from, and it must be legal, traceable, and acceptable under anti-money-laundering rules. In practice, the Portuguese bank, the fund manager, and the authorities all want a clear, documented paper trail.

Common documents depending on how the money was earned:

• Bank statements showing accumulation of savings
• Employment contracts, payslips, tax returns
• Company accounts, dividend statements
• Share sale agreements, business sale completion docs
• Inheritance paperwork, gift deeds
• Proof supporting older transfers between accounts

Banks and compliance teams are trying to build a story: a clean chain from the original source, to your accounts, to the Portuguese investment. If the paperwork is messy or spread across several countries, it gets much harder.

NIF (Portuguese tax number)

One of the first things you’ll need. You’ll use it to open a bank account, invest in a fund, sign documents, and get through the process. Most people get it as part of their fund manager’s or lawyer’s package, but you can also get it yourself online or in person.

Fiscal representative

For Golden Visa holders, your fiscal representative is usually your lawyer or relocation firm. They receive Finanças correspondence, help keep deadlines, and forward tax notices.

Portuguese bank account

Most Golden Visa applicants get a Portuguese bank account, even though it’s technically possible to use a non-Portuguese account in some cases. Opening one isn’t trivial—banks want a lot of paperwork:

• ID + passport
• Proof of address
• Tax documentation
• Evidence of wealth
• Company documentation (if relevant)
• Apostilled foreign documents
• Explanation of transfers

Expect 2–4 weeks remotely, and longer if you’re from a country that gets extra scrutiny. Americans often find it slower, because FATCA reporting makes US customers more work for Portuguese banks. Established Golden Visa law firms have relationships with bank managers that make this much easier.

Health coverage

For the application and biometrics stage, you’ll need health or travel insurance that covers you in Portugal. Policies with at least €30,000 of medical coverage, including repatriation (the standard Schengen minimum) are the safe choice; check AIMA’s current checklist for your route. Once you have residency, you can switch to Portuguese private health insurance or register with the public health service, the SNS (free, but with waiting lists and less English spoken).

Portuguese private insurance from providers like Médis, Multicare or Fidelidade typically runs €100–€150/month per person for a healthy adult, rising steeply with age—far cheaper than US equivalents. If you’re over 70 or have pre-existing conditions, most insurers will be difficult. MGEN is one provider that accepts all ages.

The rule, in plain terms

The law asks for at least 7 days in Portugal in your first year, then at least 14 days in each 2-year period after that. The days don’t have to be consecutive. That works out to an average of 7 days a year, and after the first year you can split each 14 however suits you.

Worked examples

• Annual visits: 7 days every year → ✓ meets the requirement
• One long trip every two years: 7 days in year 1, then a 14-day trip in year 2 and another in year 4 → ✓ meets the requirement
• Uneven trips: 7 days in year 1, then 10 days in year 2 and 4 days in year 3 → ✓ meets the requirement (14 in that two-year period)
• Slow start: nothing in year 1, then 14 days in year 2 → ✗ misses the first-year minimum of 7 days
• Not enough: 10 days across a two-year period → ✗ falls short of 14

What counts as “time in Portugal”

Days you’re physically present in Portugal. The rules don’t spell out how partial days are treated, so don’t cut it fine: plan a few days more than the minimum. A day trip to Spain or another Schengen country during your stay counts as a day out of Portugal unless you sleep in Portugal that night.

What you’ll need as proof

AIMA checks at renewal. Keep a thorough record:

• Flight confirmations and boarding passes (especially the ones into and out of Portugal)
• Hotel or vacation-rental receipts showing your nights in Portugal
• Card transactions in Portugal: restaurants, supermarkets, transportation
• Any other paper trail, such as a gym pass, taxi receipts, or ferry tickets

The richer the file, the easier the renewal. Don’t rely on a single proof type.

What happens if you miss the requirement

Your next renewal may be refused. AIMA does check. If it is, you lose your Portuguese residence, and with it the time you’ve built up toward permanent residency and citizenship, unless you qualify for another permit. If you’ve fallen short, talk to your lawyer well before your renewal date.

Stay requirements vs. tax residency

They’re different rules. Under Portuguese law, you become a tax resident if you spend more than 183 days here in any 12-month period, or if you have a home here that you appear to be keeping as your habitual residence, even if you spend less time than that. Most Golden Visa holders spend a week or two a year here and stay non-resident comfortably. The one to watch is buying or renting a home you use regularly. Speak to a tax advisor about your situation.