the ARI residence permit: €500,000 in a qualifying fund, seven days a year, naturalisation after ten years
The Portugal golden visa gives residence for €500,000 in a CMVM-registered fund (or a €250,000 cultural donation), with seven days a year in the country and your spouse, children and parents on the same file. Real estate has not qualified since October 2023, AIMA takes 18–24 months, and since 19 May 2026 citizenship comes after ten years of residence, not five.
Figures verified 27 September 2026 · Licensed CICC consultant, Toronto
Government minimums under the 2023 amendments to Law 23/2007. Government fees, per applicant, come on top: about €605 analysis fee at filing and at each renewal, about €6,045 on issuance of each card. Full worked examples on the cost page.
€500,000
Units are held in a Portuguese custodian account. Returns are not guaranteed.
€500,000
Rarely chosen over the fund.
€250,000
Approved projects are limited; timing depends on project availability.
€500,000 + 5 jobs, or 10 jobs
Not a passive route; we rarely recommend it to a first-time investor.
Real estate, including real-estate funds, has not qualified since 7 October 2023. Capital transfers of €1.5 million and the old €350,000 rehabilitation route are gone too.
Jane Katkova has advised on citizenship and residence by investment since 1998. We confirm eligibility, the complete fee schedule and the realistic processing time before you pay anything, and we advise against a programme when it does not fit your circumstances.
About four to eight weeks of preparation, then AIMA processing. We prepare the file with Portuguese counsel; the investment is made in your name.
We screen nationality, criminal record, source of funds and family, and shortlist CMVM-registered funds by strategy, fees, track record and manager. You choose; we do not take fund commissions that change our advice.
Portuguese tax number and a bank account, both possible remotely through a fiscal representative. Bank compliance on source of funds is the slow part.
€500,000 transferred to your Portuguese account and subscribed into the fund. The custodian issues the declaration AIMA requires.
Application lodged on the ARI portal with the investment declaration, police certificates, health insurance, proof of accommodation and the analysis fee (about €605 per applicant).
The file waits for analysis. Once approved, AIMA schedules biometrics in Portugal.
You attend in person, pay the issuance fee (about €6,045 per applicant) and receive a two-year residence card. Residence for naturalisation is counted from this date.
Renew every two years with proof the investment is held and seven days a year spent in Portugal. Permanent residence is possible after five years; citizenship at ten years with A2 Portuguese.
The golden visa is the only Portuguese permit you can hold without moving. If you intend to relocate, the D7 and D8 require far less capital.
| Golden visa | D7 passive income | D8 digital nomad | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entry cost | €500,000 fund or €250,000 donation | €920 a month of passive income | €3,680 a month remote income + €11,040 savings |
| Must live in Portugal | No: 7 days a year | Yes: 16 months in any 24 | Yes: residence-permit route |
| Tax residence | Only if you move | Follows the move | Follows the move |
| First decision | AIMA, 18–24 months | Consulate, a few months | Consulate, a few months |
| Citizenship | 10 years from first card | 10 years from first card | 10 years from first card |
| Best for | Americans and Canadians keeping their life at home | Retirees moving to Portugal | Remote workers moving to Portugal |
To qualify you must be a non-EU, non-EEA, non-Swiss national aged 18 or over, with a clean criminal record in Portugal and in every country where you have lived, a lawful and documented source of the €500,000, health insurance valid in Portugal, and a Portuguese NIF and bank account. Dependants: spouse or partner, children under 18, adult children who are dependent and studying, and parents dependent on you. Everyone over 16 supplies police certificates; everyone attends biometrics.
The principal legal change this year concerns naturalisation rather than the golden visa itself: the Nationality Law revision passed Parliament on 1 April 2026, was signed on 3 May and took effect on 19 May. It sets ten years of legal residence (seven for EU and CPLP nationals) before naturalisation, counted from the first residence card, with A2 Portuguese and a clean record. It did not change the golden visa itself: the €500,000 fund route, seven-day stay and two-year cards stand. Our citizenship timeline shows what the ten years look like from filing to passport.
US citizens are the programme's typical applicants: Portugal is the EU golden visa Americans choose most, and Canadians apply for the same reasons. The permit grants the right to live in Portugal and travel the Schengen area, without having to move. Seven days a year keeps the card; it does not make you tax resident, so nothing changes at the IRS or the CRA until you actually relocate for 183 days or more or make Portugal your centre of vital interests. If you do move: Americans keep filing US returns, FBAR and FATCA, with the US–Portugal treaty and foreign tax credits removing most double tax; Canadians who become non-resident face departure tax on deemed dispositions and should plan it with their accountant before leaving.
The golden visa gives you a Schengen residence card and an EU contingency residence while you keep your H-1B, PR or work permit. It does not change that status, and it does not admit you to the UK, US or Canada. Naturalisation takes ten years (seven if you hold a CPLP passport) plus A2 Portuguese, and the fund route works for any nationality that can show a clean record and a documented source of funds. We check both before you subscribe.
For most of our US and Canadian clients, the golden visa remains a sound choice where the goal is an EU base they can hold without relocating. If the goal is citizenship within five years, we will say so and set out the alternatives. Thirty minutes with Jane Katkova, licensed CICC consultant, in Toronto; written recommendation and full cost after.
Video coming: choosing a fund, the AIMA queue, and what the May 2026 Nationality Law changes for investors.
A qualifying investment (most commonly €500,000 in a CMVM-registered fund, or a €250,000 cultural donation), a clean criminal record everywhere you have lived, documented source of funds, health insurance, a Portuguese NIF and bank account, and seven days a year in Portugal after the card issues. Real estate does not qualify.
No. Property and real-estate funds were removed on 7 October 2023 and have not returned. The fund route at €500,000 is now the mainstream choice, and funds may not hold real estate directly or indirectly.
Preparation takes four to eight weeks; AIMA then takes 18–24 months to approve and issue the first two-year card. Processing is improving, and stalled files have been forced through by court order, but we plan for the full range.
Yes, after ten years of legal residence counted from the first residence card, under the Nationality Law in force since 19 May 2026 (seven years for EU and CPLP nationals), with A2 Portuguese and a clean record. Time at seven days a year counts as legal residence. Applications lodged before 19 May 2026 keep the old five-year rule.
Yes. The programme is open to any non-EU nationality that can show a clean record and a lawful source of the funds. Gulf residents and US or Canadian residents on other passports are a large part of the applicant pool; we run a source-of-funds review first because it is the most common cause of delay.
The fund route returns capital at the fund's maturity, typically five to six years, if the fund performs; it can return less. The cultural donation and research routes are not refundable. Government fees are not refundable.
Not from the golden visa alone. Tax residence follows 183 days in Portugal or a centre of vital interests there. US citizens file US returns and FBAR regardless; Canadians who move and sever ties face departure tax. NHR is closed to new arrivals; IFICI is narrower.
Compare them side by side: investor residence options and European residency programmes compared. Looking for a passport rather than a permit? See Saint Lucian citizenship by investment or Antigua and Barbuda citizenship by investment.
This page is general information, not legal or tax advice. Programme rules change; we confirm every figure before you commit.
A confidential consultation with a licensed CICC consultant. We assess eligibility and total cost before you commit to any programme.