PortugalGolden Visa.
EU residency for your whole family through a regulated fund investment, with almost no obligation to live there.
Minimum investment, regulated fund route
In Portugal every two years to keep the permit
To permanent residency
To citizenship eligibility, under the 2026 law
The programme in eight lines.
Figures last reviewed October 2026. Programme rules change; we confirm the current position before you commit.
- Minimum investment
- €500,000 (fund route)
- What you get
- Residence permit (ARI)
- Permit validity
- 2 years, then 3-year renewals
- Time in Portugal
- 7 days in year one, then 14 every two years
- Family included
- Spouse, dependent children and parents
- Permanent residency
- After 5 years
- Citizenship
- After 10 years’ legal residence
- Capital returned
- At fund maturity, not guaranteed
The property route closed in 2023. What remains is an investment that buys EU residency with almost no obligation to live there and, since May 2026, a much longer road to a passport.
EU residency, without having to move.
The Golden Visa, formally the Residence Permit for Investment Activity, gives you and your family the right to live in Portugal in return for a qualifying investment. Unlike most residence permits, it does not require you to actually live there.
For most Indian families it is an option held in reserve: a European base, a route for children’s education, and freedom of movement across the Schengen area.
- Live, work and study in Portugal
- Travel across the Schengen area without a visa
- Spouse, dependent children and dependent parents on one investment
- Permanent residency after five years
Five routes. One that almost everyone takes.
One qualifying investment covers the whole family. You do not invest more for each dependant.
Regulated investment fund
Units in a Portuguese venture capital or private equity fund. This is now the route nearly every applicant uses.
- Fund must be regulated by the CMVM, Portugal’s securities regulator
- No real-estate exposure, directly or indirectly
- At least 60% invested in companies headquartered in Portugal
- Minimum maturity of five years
Arts and cultural heritage
A contribution to artistic production or the preservation of national heritage. Not recoverable.
Scientific research
Funding for research by public or private institutions in the national scientific system. Not recoverable.
Business investment
Setting up or capitalising a Portuguese company that creates five permanent jobs.
Job creation
Creating ten full-time jobs in Portugal. No minimum capital, but a real operating business.
From investment to passport.
Residency is quick to secure and light to maintain. Citizenship is now a ten-year commitment.
Invest and apply
Fund subscription, application to AIMA, biometrics in Portugal. Your first card is issued.
Hold the permit
Valid two years, then renewed for three. Seven days in Portugal in year one, fourteen in each two-year period after.
Permanent residency
Apply for a permanent permit. Basic Portuguese (level A2) is required. The fund obligation ends here.
Citizenship
Eligible to apply for naturalisation under Lei Orgânica 1/2026, subject to language and integration tests.
The clock starts on the date your first residence card is issued, not the date you invest or apply. Processing at AIMA has historically been slow, so the real elapsed time is longer than the years shown.
Requirements, and the Indian side of it.
The Portuguese requirements are simple. Most of the planning for an Indian family sits on the Indian side: remitting the money correctly and documenting where it came from.
- Non-EU nationals, 18 or over, with a clean criminal record from India and any country of residence.
- A lawful, documented source of funds. Every rupee has to be traceable to income, a sale or an inheritance.
- A Portuguese tax number (NIF) and bank account, both of which can be opened through a representative.
- Family on the same application: spouse, dependent children, and dependent parents of you or your spouse.
- Remittance under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme. €500,000 is above one person’s annual limit of US$250,000, so families usually spread it across family members or two financial years.
- Tax collected at source on the remittance. It is adjustable against your income tax, but it ties up cash until you file.
From first call to residence card.
Route and fund
Confirm Portugal fits the family plan, then due diligence on the fund itself.
NIF and bank
Portuguese tax number and bank account, opened remotely through a representative.
Remit and invest
Funds sent under LRS with full source-of-funds documentation, then the fund subscription.
Apply to AIMA
Online application, then a biometrics appointment in Portugal for each family member.
Card and renewals
Residence cards issued. Renew on time, keep the investment, meet the stay requirement.
What nobody selling this will tell you.
Every programme has drawbacks. These are Portugal’s.
The passport is now ten years away
Since 19 May 2026, most applicants need ten years of legal residence for citizenship, up from five. Plenty of brochures still say five.
For an Indian, a passport means giving one up
India does not allow dual citizenship. Most Indian families stop at permanent residency, which delivers most of the practical benefit anyway.
You are buying a fund, not a flat
Venture and private equity carry real risk, real fees and at least five years of illiquidity. A “guaranteed buyback” is only as good as the manager promising it.
The immigration agency is slow
AIMA has carried large backlogs. Because the residence clock only starts when your card is issued, delays push every later milestone back.
Government fees are charged per person
Application and card fees apply to each family member, on top of legal and fund costs. A family of five pays considerably more than the headline figure.
Moving there changes your tax
Spend more than 183 days a year in Portugal and you become tax resident on worldwide income. The old NHR tax regime closed to new entrants in 2024.
- Population
- 10.7 million
- Capital
- Lisbon
- Language
- Portuguese
- Currency
- Euro
- Time zone
- UTC+0
Is Portugal right for your family?
Thirty minutes, no cost, no obligation. You will get an honest view either way.