Portugal sets a record for the number of simplified visas issued to major investors
Last year, 2,685 residence permits were issued, the highest figure since 2012. The minimum investment is 250,000 euros
The number of ‘golden visas’ – the preferential visas that Portugal grants to major foreign investors – reached a new record last year with the issue of 2,685 residence permits, the highest figure since 2012, when this programme was launched. In exchange for financial investments in the country, the programme allows individuals to reside and work in Portugal, travel within the Schengen area and obtain family reunification.
From 2023, this type of visa, technically known as an Ari (residence permits for investment), will no longer be granted to property buyers, but only to investors in non-property funds, scientific research, artistic and cultural production, and other activities that help to create or maintain jobs.
Since 2023, the number of residence permits granted in this area has exceeded the 2,000-a-year mark.
According to figures released by the Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA), the nationals who benefited most from the golden visa in 2025 came from the United States, which ranked first for the fourth consecutive year, followed by China, the United Kingdom, Turkey, India, Russia, Brazil and South Africa.
Russia had been excluded from the programme following the invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, but was reinstated in May 2024 by AIMA, “in accordance with the case law that has gradually become established in the national courts” with regard to “those Russian and Belarusian citizens not subject to sanctions”.
