What are the requirement’s for Portugal’s Golden Visa program?

Since its inception in 2012, Portugal’s residency-by-investment program has become one of the most popular in the world, bringing some €4 billion into the Portuguese economy. It is open to all non-EU nationals.

The country’s “Golden Visa” scheme grants qualifying investors and their family members the right to live, work and study in Portugal and permits free movement in Europe’s Schengen area for five years. 

After these five years, Golden Visa holders can apply for full Portuguese citizenship, provided that the qualifying investment has been kept for the same duration, and that the applicants have obeyed all Portuguese immigration laws.

Successful applicants need to:

• NOT be a citizen of an EU, Swiss, or European Economic Area (EEA) country

• Make a qualifying investment of €250,000-€500,000, depending on the investment type chosen

• Hold that investment for a minimum of 5 years

• Have a clean criminal record

• Spend a minimum of seven days in Portugal for the first year, then no less than 14 days in each subsequent two-year period