# Portugal Golden Visa

The Portugal Golden Visa is an immigrant investor program by the government of Portugal that grants residency to individuals who make qualifying investments such as investment fund subscriptions, business and job creation, scientific research, or cultural heritage support.

## Golden Visa processing backlogs

Despite being advertised as a fast route to a residence card, processing of Golden Visas is extremely slow with many investors left without a residency card despite waiting multiple years after applying. As of 2023, the backlog would take an estimated 7 years, or until 2030, to be processed.
This has led investors to file lawsuits to hold the Portuguese Foreigners and Borders Service to the legally mandated 90 day processing time. However such lawsuits only move the winner to the front of the line and do not change the overall backlog. As of beginning of May 2024 around 50 lawsuits were filed per day. As of 10 May 2024 there were 7,500 lawsuits pending in total, which Porto's mayor Rui Moreira described as "a scandal".
As of February 2025 the Minister of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, António Leitão Amaro, confirmed that the backlog of immigration cases was approaching 900 thousand, of which residence permits for investment (Golden Visa) are considered by the government to be lowest priority and their processing postponed to a later date. "Our option was to give priority, first, to those who were in Portugal without any decision. Therefore, they were the expressions of interest. Next, the CPLP citizens, who had papers that were not cards and, therefore, did not give freedom of movement", he reveals.

## Golden Visa lawsuit backlogs

Despite lawsuits being advertised as a way to get the residence card within a reasonable time, there are now so many lawsuits that the courts themselves are paralyzed by a lawsuit backlog, and wait time for a lawsuit to be heard is steadily growing. As of end of May 2024 the courts were receiving around 100 new lawsuits per day. In November 2024 the average was 536 lawsuits per day. In December this decreased to 404 lawsuits per day. In January 2025 it decreased again to 335 lawsuits per day. As of end of January 2025, there were approximately 50,046 cases pending.

## History

The scheme began in 2012. By 2024, the country has received 7.3 billion euros of funds through the program.
In August 2019, according to SEF, Chinese investment in Portugal under the scheme was down during the first eight months of 2019, a decrease of 15.7 percent from the same period of 2018. Investment by Brazilian nationals under the same scheme was up by almost 42 percent in 2019. Spain and Greece have programs comparable to Portugal's Gold Visa program.
The terms and criteria for the Golden visa program have changed over time, and the country has tightened the rules to obtain the visa by simply buying a property in the country.

## Eligibility

As of 2025, the Portugal Golden Visa no longer includes real estate investment as an eligible option. Instead, applicants can qualify through the following investment categories:
Investment in Investment Funds – A minimum investment of €500,000 in qualified Portuguese investment or venture capital funds that support sectors such as technology, industry, or other areas of economic growth.
Job Creation – Establishing a business in Portugal that creates at least 10 full-time jobs, directly contributing to the local economy.
Scientific or Technological Research – A capital transfer of €500,000 or more into public or private research institutions, promoting scientific and technological advancement.
Cultural or Heritage Preservation – A minimum contribution of €250,000 towards projects aimed at preserving Portugal’s cultural heritage, such as maintaining or restoring national heritage sites.
These updates reflect Portugal’s efforts to redirect foreign investment into sectors that support long-term economic and cultural development.
Portuguese, European Union, and European Economic Area nationals are not eligible for the ARI / Golden Visa scheme.