There are a number of countries that offer citizenship by investment, including by purchasing real estate. And there are some countries that require you to own property in that country in order to obtain citizenship. Portugal is not one of them.
According to No. You do not need to purchase real estate in Portugal in order to acquire Portuguese citizenship. However, purchasing property in Portugal could be a way that you show ties to Portugal.
According to Sandra Gomes Pinto of Sandra Gomes Pinto & Associados in Lisbon, “you do not need to purchase real estate in Portugal in order to acquire Portuguese citizenship. However, purchasing property in Portugal could be a way that you show ties to Portugal.”
In the past, it was possible to purchase property in Portugal and obtain residency here through Portugal’s golden visa program. Although most people in the golden visa program would go on to apply for Portuguese citizenship, it should be noted that the golden visa program only allowed you to qualify for residency this way. Citizenship is a separate application.
The golden visa program still exists, but the option to qualify by purchasing property has been removed. However, you can still qualify by investing in other ways, for example by investing in qualifying funds.