Portugal Golden Visa in 2026: What Still Exists, and What Doesn't
A house is no longer a visa.
For a decade, the Portugal Golden Visa was tied in the public mind to property: buy a flat in Lisbon or a quinta in the Alentejo, and a residence permit followed. That link was cut in October 2023. In 2026 the scheme still exists, in a narrower form, and the tax regime that often travelled with it, the non-habitual resident status (NHR), has been replaced by a far more selective incentive known as IFICI. Since May 2026, a new nationality law has also changed the long view. This is what remains, read from the texts in force in October 2026.
How property left the Golden Visa
The residence permit for investment activity, known in Portugal as ARI and abroad as the Golden Visa, was created in 2012 by an amendment to the foreigners' law, Lei 23/2007. For most of its life, its best-known routes were the purchase of property worth €500,000 or more, the purchase of older buildings or buildings in urban regeneration areas with works, and large transfers of capital. The Mais Habitação housing package, Lei 56/2023 of 6 October, ended all three. Since 7 October 2023, no new applications are accepted on those grounds, and the law adds that the remaining investment routes cannot be directed, directly or indirectly, to real estate.
The point bears repeating, because it still circulates in brochures: buying a house in Portugal, whatever its price, age or location, no longer qualifies for a Golden Visa. It may be an excellent reason to live here. It is not a residence permit.
The routes that remain in 2026
The current text of article 3 of Lei 23/2007 keeps five investment routes, each to be maintained for at least five years. The first is a transfer of €500,000 or more into units of Portuguese investment funds that are not real estate funds, with a maturity of at least five years at the time of investment and at least 60% of the money invested in companies headquartered in Portugal.
The others are a transfer of €500,000 or more to scientific research by institutions of the national scientific system; €250,000 or more for artistic production or for the recovery and maintenance of the national cultural heritage, through public bodies, public foundations, private foundations of public utility, intermunicipal entities and similar institutions; the creation of at least ten jobs; and €500,000 to found or recapitalise a Portuguese company that creates five permanent jobs, or keeps ten, for three years. For research, culture and job creation, the thresholds are 20% lower in low-density territories, as defined by Portaria 208/2017.
The cultural route is the one with an architectural echo. It funds the heritage that public institutions look after: monuments, museums, theatres. Part of Portugal's heritage is also in private hands, from manor houses in the Alentejo to the Art Nouveau tiles of Janelas Verdes 1905 in Lisbon, but the Golden Visa does not reach it. The cultural route does not buy, restore or furnish a private house.
The cultural route funds heritage. It does not buy a house.
If you already hold a Golden Visa
Permits granted under the old rules were not cancelled. Applications pending in October 2023 remained valid, and existing permits can be renewed, with family reunification and permanent residence still possible. On renewal, the law treats them as residence permits for entrepreneur immigrants, with the same minimum stay as before: seven days in the first year and fourteen days in each following two-year period. The 2025 reform of the foreigners' law, Lei 61/2025, which now generally requires two years of residence before family reunification, kept Golden Visa holders exempt from that waiting period.
The long view: the 2026 nationality law
Many investors saw the Golden Visa as a path to a Portuguese, and therefore European, passport. That path has lengthened. Lei Orgânica 1/2026, in force since 19 May 2026, raises the period of legal residence required for naturalisation to seven years for nationals of Portuguese-speaking countries and of EU member states, and to ten years for everyone else. It also asks for knowledge of Portuguese culture, history and national symbols, and of the rights and duties of citizenship. Applications filed before 19 May 2026 follow the previous law. For a Golden Visa holder, who by definition comes from outside the EU, the horizon is now ten years, or seven for a national of a Portuguese-speaking country.
From NHR to IFICI
The non-habitual resident regime, created in 2009, was revoked from 1 January 2024 by the State Budget for that year. A transitional regime allowed some people with ties to Portugal before the end of 2023 to register for 2024. Those already registered keep the status until the end of their ten years. No one else can join.
Its successor, the Incentivo Fiscal à Investigação Científica e Inovação, or IFICI, sometimes called NHR 2.0, is set out in article 58.º-A of the Tax Benefits Statute and regulated by Portaria 352/2024. It is not a regime for the wealthy at large. It applies to people who have not been tax resident in Portugal in the previous five years and who work in specific activities: higher education and scientific research, qualified posts in companies with contractual investment benefits or recognised by AICEP or IAPMEI, highly qualified professions in certain investing or exporting companies, research and development, and certified start-ups. Highly qualified professions require a doctorate, or a degree and three years of experience.
For ten years, income from the eligible activity is taxed at a flat 20%. Most foreign-source income is exempt, with two important exceptions: pensions are excluded, and income paid from jurisdictions on the Portuguese blacklist is taxed at 35%. Registration is made on the Portal das Finanças by 15 January of the year after one becomes resident, and registering late shortens the benefit. The Tax Authority's questions and answers on IFICI are the reference.
Other ways to live here
For many people, a Golden Visa was never the right instrument. Citizens of the EU need no visa at all. Retirees and people living on their own income from outside the EU usually apply for the D7 visa, which asks for regular income measured against the Portuguese minimum wage: €920 a month in 2026 for the main applicant, plus 50% for a second adult and 30% for each child. Remote workers can apply for a residence visa for remote work, which asks for average earnings over the last three months of at least four times the minimum wage, €3,680 a month in 2026. We look at these routes in our guide to living and retiring in Portugal.
None of this changes how a house is bought. A foreign buyer follows the same steps as a Portuguese one, from tax number to deed: see buying property in Portugal, step by step, buying a home as a foreigner and our guide to property taxes in Portugal.
Wiseguys Properties advises buyers on historic and architectural houses across Portugal, from an Art Nouveau apartment in Lapa to a villa in Restelo and a palace in Elvas. Residence and tax questions belong with a lawyer and a tax adviser. For the house itself, contact us.
Frequently asked questions
Can I still get a Golden Visa by buying property in Portugal?
No. Since 7 October 2023, property purchases no longer qualify, and the remaining investment routes cannot be directed, directly or indirectly, to real estate.
What is the minimum investment for the Portugal Golden Visa in 2026?
€250,000 for artistic production or the national cultural heritage, or €200,000 in low-density territories. The fund, research and company routes start at €500,000.
Does the Golden Visa still lead to citizenship?
Legal residence counts towards naturalisation, but since 19 May 2026 most non-EU nationals need ten years. Nationals of EU member states and Portuguese-speaking countries need seven.
Can I still apply for NHR in Portugal?
No. The regime closed to new entrants in 2024, apart from a transitional regime. Current holders keep it until the end of their ten years.
Does IFICI cover pensions?
No. Pensions are excluded from IFICI's exemption on foreign income and are taxed under the general rules. IFICI is aimed at people working in eligible activities.
What income do I need for a D7 visa?
The reference is the Portuguese minimum wage: €920 a month in 2026 for the main applicant, plus 50% for a second adult and 30% for each child.
This article is general information on the law in force in October 2026. It does not replace legal, immigration or tax advice, and rules in this area change often. Sources: Lei 23/2007, article 3 (consolidated text, as amended up to Lei 62/2026); Lei 56/2023, articles 42 to 44; Lei 61/2025; Lei Orgânica 1/2026 and Ministério da Justiça; Estatuto dos Benefícios Fiscais, article 58.º-A, and Portaria 352/2024/1; Autoridade Tributária, questions and answers on IFICI and NHR; Portaria 1563/2007; Decreto Regulamentar 4/2022; Decreto-Lei 139/2025. Photographs: Wiseguys Properties.
Comments