Can I still get a Portugal Golden Visa by buying property?

No. Residential real-estate acquisition was removed as a qualifying investment by Portugal's 2023 housing legislation, along with the pure capital-transfer option. Anyone in this market still offering a property pathway is working from outdated material.

How long do I need to stay in Portugal each year?

The presence requirement is deliberately light — an average of roughly seven days a year across the residence period — which is why it suits people who intend to remain based in the Gulf.

How much do I need to invest now?

It depends which remaining route you use: €500,000 for a qualifying fund, research or company investment, or €250,000 for cultural production. Thresholds have been revised more than once since the reform, so confirm the current figure before you commit funds.

Does it lead to an EU passport?

It leads to permanent residence after five years. Since 19 May 2026, naturalisation requires ten years of legal residence for Indian nationals and seven for nationals of EU member states and Portuguese-speaking countries, subject to language and other statutory conditions. Eligibility is not a grant, so the residency should be worth having on its own terms.

Portugal · Residency by investment

Portugal Golden Visa from Dubai, after the rules changed

The route everybody in this market still quotes no longer exists. What replaced it needs much better diligence.

9 min readUpdated 2026-09-14

What changed, and why old advice is dangerous here

Portugal's 2023 housing legislation removed residential real-estate acquisition as a qualifying investment, along with the pure capital-transfer option. That was the route the overwhelming majority of applicants used and the one nearly every brochure in this market still describes.

The programme was not abolished. Qualifying routes continue — centred on investment funds, scientific research, cultural production, job creation and business capitalisation — each with its own threshold and conditions.

So if somebody in Dubai offers you Portuguese residency through buying an apartment, they have not read the law since 2023. Treat that as a competence test and stop there.

Property no longer qualifies. Anyone still selling it is telling you what worked three years ago.

What remains, and what to verify

The investment-fund route is the main path in practice — a subscription into a qualifying Portuguese fund, held for a minimum period, with the fund subject to regulatory conditions including limits on real-estate exposure.

Alongside it sit research funding, support for artistic or cultural output, direct job creation, and capitalising a Portuguese company while creating positions. These are genuinely used but suit narrower circumstances.

Thresholds and conditions have been revised more than once, so XIPHIAS confirms the current routes, amounts and holding periods for each file before you commit funds.

What to establish before committing
Qualifying routes currently open	Investment funds, research, cultural production and business investment
Minimum investment per route	€500,000 for funds, research or a company; €250,000 for cultural production
Minimum holding period	Five years for most routes
Physical presence required	Very light — an average of about seven days a year
Years to citizenship eligibility	Ten for Indian nationals since 19 May 2026 (seven for EU and Portuguese-speaking countries); permanent residence after five
Family included	Spouse, dependent children, dependent parents
Right to reside in the EU	Yes, unlike a Caribbean passport

Why it still suits a Dubai-based investor

The presence requirement remains among the lightest in Europe. For someone running a business from the Emirates who does not intend to relocate, an average of roughly a week a year is the entire proposition.

It carries Schengen mobility, family members are included on the same application rather than as separate cases, and it leads to permanent residence after five years and a citizenship pathway — subject to meeting the statutory conditions at that point.

Moving capital from the UAE is also considerably simpler than from many other jurisdictions, which removes a step that complicates these applications elsewhere. The compliance question is not whether you may move the money, but whether you can evidence where it came from.

The fund diligence nobody does properly

The old property route failed safely in one respect: you owned an identifiable apartment. A fund subscription does not work that way. Your capital sits in an instrument whose value depends on management you have not met, in a market you cannot observe from Dubai.

So ask: who manages this fund, and what is their record outside this programme? What does it actually hold? What are the fees, in total, over the holding period? What happens if you need to exit early? What has it returned to investors who were not immigration clients?

And separately — who is advising you, and are they paid by you or by the fund? This is the question that most changes the quality of what you have been told, and almost nobody asks it.

You are making an investment decision that carries residency, not a residency decision that involves money. Diligence it as an investment.

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Common questions

Can I still get a Portugal Golden Visa by buying property?: No. Residential real-estate acquisition was removed as a qualifying investment by Portugal's 2023 housing legislation, along with the pure capital-transfer option. Anyone in this market still offering a property pathway is working from outdated material.
How long do I need to stay in Portugal each year?: The presence requirement is deliberately light — an average of roughly seven days a year across the residence period — which is why it suits people who intend to remain based in the Gulf.
How much do I need to invest now?: It depends which remaining route you use: €500,000 for a qualifying fund, research or company investment, or €250,000 for cultural production. Thresholds have been revised more than once since the reform, so confirm the current figure before you commit funds.
Does it lead to an EU passport?: It leads to permanent residence after five years. Since 19 May 2026, naturalisation requires ten years of legal residence for Indian nationals and seven for nationals of EU member states and Portuguese-speaking countries, subject to language and other statutory conditions. Eligibility is not a grant, so the residency should be worth having on its own terms.

Work it out yourself

Portugal Golden Visa — in detail

Golden Visa

The “Golden Visa” is a Portuguese residency permit that, unlike others, depends specifically of the applicant’s investment in Portugal.

Such rights are extended to family members and its attractiveness is related to the fact that it does not depend on the effective stay of the applicant in Portugal.

It should be noted that the investor and family members will always have to be present at the Service of Foreigners and Boarders of Portugal for fingerprinting, signature and other formalities.

Such residence license isn’t given upon the sole condition of investment, depending also on the applicant’s visa capacity, in case of non EU citizens.

Acquisition of a Real Estate property in the minimum amount of € 500.000,00 (five hundred thousand Euros)

Applicants will have to meet the following general requirements:

Funds for investment should come from abroad;
Entry in Portugal with a valid Schengen visa;
Absence of references in the Portuguese Immigration and the Schengen services;
Absence of conviction of relevant crime;

Applicants will also have the following specific rights:

Possibility to purchase one or more of multiple properties;
All property types qualify;
Possibility of co-ownership;
Freedom to use, rent or lease.

Schengen Space

The Schengen Space includes the following countries: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.

Investor’s Family

Under the GV programme, the investor’s family members may also apply and obtain a resident permit from Portugal by applying for “family reunion”. The GV will be extended to family members, namely children, spouse and dependent family members.

Permanent Residency

The investor and family members will have to meet the following criteria in order to be able to apply for Permanent Residency in Portugal:

Absence of conviction of relevant crime during the last 5 (five years);
Proof of income / financial independence;
Proof of accommodation in Portugal.

Portuguese Citizenship

The Portuguese legislation sets out that any person who has been validly resident in Portugal for at least 6 (years (either under a temporary or permanent residency title), is eligible for obtaining Portuguese Citizenship.

In order to be able to obtain Portuguese Citizenship, the investor and family members will also have to comply with the following requirements:

Absence of conviction of any relevant crime;
Pass a simple Portuguese language test, which will serve to show sufficient knowledge of the language.

Expenses

Apart from the legal fees charged by our Law Firm (to be requested directly), the GV involves the payment of the following fees, which are payable directly to the Services of Foreigners and Borders (“SEF”):

Our Services

Our services include legal assistance and representation in:

Signature of documentation

Sign power of attorney for property acquisition;
Sign power of attorney for immigration services.

Diligences regarding the property selected

Represent and assist the client and safeguard its rights and interests;
Ensure that there are no mortgages or pending claims regarding the real estate to be purchased;
Represent and assist the client to complete whole process of real estate transaction (transaction, notarization, payment of property acquired, payment transfer, payment of taxes, obtaining all the legal documents concerning the estate before the estate registry services and tax authorities, etc);
Draft and signature of the promissory purchase agreement and the house purchase deed;
Sign the deed/contract of purchase and sale;
Complete the payment of the house price.

Other services concerning the property, after purchase

Sign utilities contracts (water, electricity, gas, internet);
Sign and negotiate contracts with real estate agents (in case rentals or leases are considered);
Sign and negotiate contracts with tenants (in case private rentals are preferred);
Sign contracts with other services connected with the property acquired (e.g. house cleaners, gardeners or pool maintenance companies).

Acquire tax number of buyer (and spouse, if applicable);
Open bank account.

GV application procedure

Assistance in meeting all the requirements and gathering all documents needed for the application, including those within the scope of “family reunion”;
Certified translations of all the necessary documents into Portuguese language;
Assistance in the renewal of the temporary permit and issuance of the permanent one;
Assistance in complying with all legal obligations concerning taxes over property or personal or corporate income;
Representation on behalf of the client before the Portuguese Authorities within the GV legal procedure;
Accompanying the client to the Portuguese Authorities when needed.

Permanent Residency

Foreign citizens (from outside the EU) may apply for residence in Portugal on on of the following grounds

Independent Employment
Dependent employment
Corporate activity
Family regrouping
Studies

The following criteria have to be met in order to be able to apply for Temporary or Permanent Residency in Portugal

Absence of conviction of relevant crime during the last 5 (five years);
Proof of income/financial independence;
Proof of accommodation in Portugal.

There are also specific criteria according to the grounds on which the application in submitted.

Our services include the gathering of all the forms and documents required for such purpose, establishing all the required communications as well as accompanying the client before the Portuguese Authorities, necessarily including the Services of Foreigners and Borders (“SEF”).

Temporary Residency

Foreign citizens (from outside the EU) may apply for residence in Portugal on on of the following grounds

Independent Employment
Dependent employment
Corporate activity
Family regrouping
Studies

The following criteria have to be met in order to be able to apply for Temporary or Permanent Residency in Portugal

Absence of conviction of relevant crime during the last 5 (five years);
Proof of income/financial independence;
Proof of accommodation in Portugal.

There are also specific criteria according to the grounds on which the application in submitted.

Capital: Lisbon

Native Language: Portuguese

Other Language: English, French

Government: Republic

Population: 10,500,000

Monetary Unit: Euro (EUR - EU's single currency)

Economy & Jobs: Agriculture, forestry, fishing, mining, manufacturing, construction, and tourism.

Main Attractions: Lisbon, Lagos beaches, Sintra town, and ï¿½vora walled town.

Immigration: Portuguese citizenship can be acquired in a number of ways. The most common are by descent, birth, marriage, extension of award, and business.