Residency & Golden Visas / Portugal / Route
Portugal · Residency route
Build or extend a business in Portugal — no minimum investment, but a business plan that has to stand up.
Last updated: 2026-10-01
Programme overviewنظرة عامة
Advising UAE residents on Portuguese residency from our Dubai office.
A visa decided on judgement, not a number
Most residence routes have a threshold. You meet it or you do not. The D2 does not work that way, and applicants who treat it as a cheaper Golden Visa tend to be refused.
What the consulate is deciding is whether your business will actually exist. That means a plan with a defensible market, costings that add up, funding visibly in place, and a founder whose background makes the venture plausible. A template plan for a consultancy with no clients is refused; a modest but concrete venture with signed agreements and money in a Portuguese account is not.
What it costs to be credible
Nothing in Portuguese law states a figure. In practice, plans funded below roughly €50,000 attract scrutiny about whether the business can survive its first year, and that scrutiny is what sinks applications.
Separately from the business, you must show personal means of subsistence — €11,040 a year for the main applicant in 2026, with the usual uplifts of 50% for a spouse and 30% for each child. The business funding does not substitute for this.
After approval
The initial permit runs two years and renews for three-year periods. You will deal with AIMA, not SEF — SEF was abolished in October 2023 and its residence functions moved across. Permanent residence becomes available after five years of lawful residence.
The citizenship timeline
Portugal changed its nationality law on 19 May 2026 (Lei Orgânica 1/2026). Naturalisation now requires seven years of legal residence for nationals of EU member states and Portuguese-speaking countries, and ten years for everyone else — including Indian nationals. It was five years for everyone before that date. Applications already pending on 19 May 2026 keep the old five-year rule.
Permanent residence is unaffected and remains five years (Lei 23/2007, art. 80.º).
If Portuguese citizenship on a five-year horizon is the reason you are considering this, plan on ten years instead, and weigh that before you commit.
Note also that India does not permit dual citizenship: acquiring Portuguese citizenship would end your Indian citizenship under Section 9(1) of the Citizenship Act 1955. Portuguese residency does not.
Talk to a Portugal immigration consultant in Dubai
XIPHIAS Immigration has guided families into Portugal since 2009, and our Dubai team works with UAE residents applying from the Emirates. We were named Best Immigration Consultant by The Times of India in 2022. Our immigration consultants in Dubai will take you through the full timeline to permanent residence and citizenship in Portugal.
Sources
- Portaria 1563/2007 — meios de subsistência
- DGERT — retribuição mínima mensal garantida para 2026 (Decreto-Lei 139/2025)
- Lei Orgânica n.º 1/2026 — Diário da República
Verified against Diário da República and DGERT on 30 September 2026.
What you getالمزايا
Establish and run your business in Portugal as a resident.
Family reunification for spouse and dependent children.
Schengen mobility and access to Portuguese healthcare and education.
No capital placed with a third party — the money goes into the venture you run.
Permanent residence after five years.
Eligibilityالأهلية
Requirements
Non-EU/EEA/Swiss nationality.
A detailed business plan demonstrating financial viability.
Evidence of funds sufficient to execute the plan.
A registered business address in Portugal.
Portuguese tax number (NIF) and a Portuguese bank account.
Personal means of subsistence at or above the annual threshold.
Clean criminal record certificate.
Proof of funds
Who cannot apply
A business plan that is generic, unfunded, or shows no real economic activity.
Funding that cannot be traced to a lawful source.
No genuine Portuguese presence or business address.
Serious criminal convictions or ongoing proceedings.
The processكيف نعمل
Develop the business plan and evidence the funding behind it.
Obtain a NIF, open a Portuguese bank account and secure a business address.
Incorporate the Portuguese entity, or document the branch structure.
File the D2 application at the Portuguese consulate for your jurisdiction.
Enter Portugal and attend the AIMA appointment for the two-year residence permit.
Risk notes
The D2 carries genuine refusal risk because approval turns on an assessment of your business plan rather than on meeting a fixed figure.
Subsistence thresholds move each January with the Portuguese minimum wage.
This page is general information and not immigration, tax or investment advice.
Compliance
Business funding has no figure set in law; it must be proportionate to the plan and fully evidenced.
Consular visa fees and AIMA residence-permit fees are charged at the official rates in force; XIPHIAS confirms the current amounts with the consulate and AIMA before filing.
Questionsأسئلة شائعة
This route, answered.
Portuguese law sets no minimum for the D2. What matters is that the funding is proportionate to the plan and fully evidenced. Funding of €50,000–€100,000 is commonly the level at which a plan reads as substantial, but that is market practice, not a legal threshold.
Start the Portugal route.
A senior advisor will confirm the exact costs, timeline and documents for your case — privately, and entirely off the record.