"Portugal ended the golden visa" is one of those half-truths that refuses to die. What ended, in late 2023, were the real estate and simple capital-transfer routes. The programme itself — residence by investment, with one of the lightest physical-presence requirements in Europe — is very much alive.
The routes that remain
- Investment funds — a subscription of at least €500,000 in qualifying Portuguese investment funds (not backed by real estate). This is now the dominant route for private clients.
- Company and job creation — incorporating or capitalising a Portuguese business that creates a defined number of jobs.
- Research and culture — contributions to scientific research (€500,000) or to cultural heritage (€250,000), the quiet philanthropic corner of the programme.
Why people still choose it
The golden visa's defining feature is the stay requirement: on the order of seven days a year on average, versus the substantial physical presence other permits expect. It is the route for families who want a European foothold and no obligation to relocate their lives now. Family members are included in the application and are exempt from the newer family-reunification waiting period that now applies to most other permits (more on that in a separate note). Time under the permit still counts toward the five-year horizon for permanent residence — for citizenship specifically, Portugal's 2026 nationality law reform now requires 7 years (EU/CPLP nationals) or 10 years (everyone else), counted from the date your first residence permit is issued rather than five years from application. See the details in the citizenship note.
What to scrutinise before wiring anything
Fund selection deserves the same rigour as any half-million-euro investment: regulator registration, the manager's track record, fees, and — crucially — whether the fund's maturity actually matches the multi-year golden visa timeline. American applicants add a tax layer: many Portuguese funds are PFICs from a US perspective, which changes the after-tax mathematics entirely. And processing backlogs have been real for years; the calendar you should plan around is the realistic one, not the statutory one.
Legislative risk is the honest caveat — this programme has been reshaped before, and the nationality-law changes above show the rules around it keep moving too. That is an argument for structuring properly and moving deliberately, with current, primary-source advice — not for waiting indefinitely.
Written September 2026. Rules, thresholds, and fees change; always confirm the current position before acting. This note is general information, not legal or tax advice.