Portugal citizenship by investment: how it really works.

Not directly. Portugal does not sell passports: no investment grants citizenship immediately. What exists is residency by investment — the Golden Visa — which counts towards naturalisation once the legal residence period is met: 7 or 10 years under Organic Law no. 1/2026, depending on nationality.

Five statutory routes are available under Portuguese law: creation of at least 10 jobs, reduced to eight in low-density territories; investment in scientific research from €500,000, reduced to €400,000 in low-density territories; support for artistic production or the recovery or maintenance of national cultural heritage from €250,000, reduced to €200,000 in low-density territories; acquisition of units in eligible non-real-estate collective investment undertakings from €500,000; and incorporation of a Portuguese company, or reinforcement of the share capital of an existing Portuguese company, from €500,000, combined with the applicable statutory job-creation or job-maintenance requirement. None of these routes may be used, directly or indirectly, for real-estate investment. For individual investors who do not intend to operate a business or research project in Portugal, the fund and cultural-support routes are often the most directly relevant options. Government fees and legal costs apply in addition to the investment.

The naturalisation clock depends on legal residence, not on the investment: 7 years for nationals of Portuguese-speaking countries and the EU, 10 years for other nationals, under the 2026 law. Applications already pending on 19 May 2026 remain governed by the previous wording of the Nationality Law. Nationality also depends on the applicable language, culture, civic, subsistence, criminal and security requirements.

The Golden Visa requires only seven days in the first year and fourteen days in each subsequent two-year period. The residence periods relevant to naturalisation are counted and aggregated under the statutory rules; the Golden Visa minimum-stay regime does not by itself remove legal residence.

Eligible family members may submit related family-reunification applications. Family members of ARI holders benefit from the statutory exemptions relating to the prior-residence requirement, while the family relationship, any dependency, the documentation, the means of subsistence and the administrative decision remain subject to the applicable requirements. Residence and any later nationality application are assessed individually for each person.

Any non-EU/EEA/Swiss national may apply, including citizens of the United States, United Kingdom and Canada. EU citizens do not need the programme, as they already hold free-movement rights.