Portugal Golden Visa: 2025 Statistics and 2026 Processing Update
AIMA recorded 6,652 Golden Visa-related residence permits in 2025: 2,685 for investors and 3,967 for family members. The combined total rose by 33.3% from 2024. US nationals received 535 investor permits, the largest national group. For a family evaluating Portugal in 2026, these figures support a practical discussion about application milestones, family coordination and capital allocation.
Published and reviewed: 2 October 2026. Statistical period: calendar year 2025. The cultural-sector figures below use a separate cutoff of 31 August 2026.
Portugal Golden Visa approvals in 2025
Measure | 2025 figure |
|---|---|
Investor residence permits (ARI) | 2,685 |
Associated family reunification permits | 3,967 |
Investors and family members combined | 6,652 |
Investor permits in 2024, for comparison | 2,081 |
Change in investor permits from 2024 | 29.0% |
The combined total of 6,652 counts residence permits for people. It is not a count of separate investments or newly investing families. Family members do not each represent an additional qualifying investment.
Cross-check of the 2024 comparison and reported 2025 figures: ECO, 25 September 2026
Combined totals and percentage changes are MFG calculations. The increase is (2,685 / 2,081 - 1) x 100 = 29.0%, rounded to one decimal place.
The family numbers: 59.6% of programme permits went to dependants
Investor permits increased from 2,081 to 2,685 between 2024 and 2025. Associated family permits increased from 2,909 to 3,967, a 36.4% rise. The combined total therefore grew from 4,990 to 6,652: 1,662 additional permits, or 33.3% growth.
Family planning KPI | 2025 result | How to read it |
Family members' share of combined permits | 59.6% | 3,967 divided by 6,652 |
Family permits per investor permit | 1.48 | Aggregate annual ratio; not average household size |
Combined permits per investor permit | 2.48 | Annual programme output includes investors and dependants |
Sources: AIMA's 2025 report and independent reporting of the 2024 and 2025 family figures. Ratios, shares and combined growth are MFG calculations. Permits issued in the same year need not relate to the same application cohorts.
For a couple with a child, eligible family members can be included without each making a separate €500,000 fund investment. Each person's eligibility, documents, appointment and applicable fees still need individual coordination. School plans, passport validity and evidence of family relationships belong in the initial brief, alongside the capital allocation. Review the complete Golden Visa family budget.
More approvals do not prove more new demand
A residence permit can be issued after the investment and application were made. AIMA cautions in its wider reporting that the date of issuance may differ from the date of entry into Portugal. That timing distinction matters when reading an annual approvals figure.
For example, an investment made in 2022 followed by a permit issued in 2025 contributes to the 2025 permit count. It does not represent capital newly committed in 2025. This is an illustration of the timing problem, not an estimate of the age of the approved ARI applications.
Our interpretation: the 29.0% increase shows more investor permits issued. It does not, by itself, prove that new Golden Visa investment demand grew by 29.0%. The published figures do not quantify the ARI approvals by original investment or filing year.
US investors led with 535 permits
US nationals accounted for 19.9% of the 2,685 investor permits. China followed with 14.6% and the United Kingdom with 9.4%. Together, those three nationalities represented 43.9% of investor permits issued.
Nationality | Investor permits | Share of 2,685 |
|---|---|---|
United States | 535 | 19.9% |
China | 392 | 14.6% |
United Kingdom | 252 | 9.4% |
Turkey | 188 | 7.0% |
India | 170 | 6.3% |
Russia | 160 | 6.0% |
Brazil | 154 | 5.7% |
South Africa | 97 | 3.6% |
Other nationalities combined | 737 | 27.4% |
Counts are reported in the AIMA 2025 data and cross-checked with ECO. Shares and the remaining-nationalities total are MFG calculations; rounded percentages may not sum to exactly 100%.
Nationality is not the same as country of residence, source of funds or tax status. For an American investor, the fund decision still needs to address onboarding, the actual share class, US reporting documentation, custody and tax advice. The popularity of a route does not resolve those questions.
What these statistics cannot tell an investor
Investment-route market share. The published 2025 figures do not provide a breakdown by qualifying investment type, so they cannot establish the proportion choosing funds, culture or other routes.
New capital invested during 2025. Permit counts are not a cash-flow series. Multiplying all 2,685 investor permits by the current fund-route minimum of €500,000 would incorrectly assume one route, one investment amount and one investment year.
An approval probability. A count of permits granted needs a comparable count of applications decided, including refusals, before an approval rate can be calculated.
The processing time for a new application. An annual permit total does not provide the filing-to-decision distribution needed to forecast an individual case.
AIMA processing in 2025: higher output across residence categories
The wider administrative picture also improved. New residence grants rose from 218,332 in 2024 to 337,880 in 2025, a 54.8% increase. This measures completed grants across residence categories, including older pending files.
AIMA activity | 2025 figure |
New residence grants | 337,880 |
Residence renewals | 189,331 |
New grants plus renewals | 527,211 |
Appointments recorded | 671,273 |
Appointments completed | 605,890 |
Sources: AIMA's 2025 report, cross-checked with reporting on its processing totals. The combined 527,211 figure and 54.8% growth are MFG calculations. These service figures cover multiple residence categories.
Our interpretation: the volume of completed work is encouraging. Investors now need to translate that broader improvement into the actual milestones of their own file. Annual output alone does not establish a median Golden Visa processing time or a date for completion of the remaining ARI backlog.
Portugal Golden Visa processing time in 2026: measure each stage
A useful timeline records four separate dates:
Submission: the application is filed. Bank onboarding, the qualifying investment and document preparation are separate earlier steps.
Appointment notification: AIMA communicates an appointment. The notice date and the appointment date answer different questions.
Biometrics completed: the applicant attends the appointment in Portugal. Track this for the investor and each family member.
First card received: the residence document is delivered following the remaining review, decision and issuance steps.
Consider the following worked date example. It illustrates the difference between milestones; it is not an MFG client result, an AIMA average or a service commitment.
Illustrative milestone | Date | Elapsed time from submission |
Application submitted | 28 August 2026 | Day 0 |
Biometric appointment notified | 16 September 2026 | 19 calendar days |
Biometric appointment takes place | May 2027 | 246–276 calendar days, depending on the day in May |
The notification interval is 19 days; the submission-to-biometrics interval is approximately eight to nine months. Card issuance adds a separate interval. Similarly, January biometrics followed by September card delivery would describe roughly eight months after biometrics, not eight months from the original application.
A forecast of biometrics within three to six months or a first card within one year needs evidence for a comparable application cohort. The 2025 annual report does not establish those forecasts for every new application. A more useful case update states the last completed milestone, the next scheduled date and what remains outstanding. Review the application, permanent residence and citizenship timelines separately.
What faster processing changes for an investor's capital
An earlier appointment can bring the family's residence plan forward. It does not automatically shorten a fund's contractual life, remove a lock-up or create an early exit. The investment clock starts before the residence card arrives; the fund's subscription date, maturity and redemption terms should therefore sit beside the immigration dates.
For a family relocating, add a separate cash reserve. An illustrative €6,000 monthly household budget requires €72,000 for twelve months. Added to a €500,000 qualifying fund allocation, that is €572,000 before immigration fees, professional fees, fund entry costs and any property purchase. This is a planning scenario, not a visa requirement or an estimate of every family's living costs.
A Golden Visa family maintaining its principal home abroad has a different budget: travel, accommodation, appointments and renewals still require planning, while a full relocation reserve may be unnecessary. AIMA's published minimum stay is seven days in the first year and fourteen days in subsequent two-year periods. Source: AIMA ARI FAQ.
For a second home alongside residency, the property remains a separate purchase. Compare Golden Visa + a Portuguese home with D7 + relocation.
Cultural-route data need their own source and cutoff
The cultural route has its own administrative evidence. GEPAC issues the declaration confirming the cultural-sector investment under its framework. That declaration and an AIMA residence permit are different stages, so their counts should not be treated as interchangeable.
The Portuguese Government's release of 29 September 2026 reports the following cultural ARI investment figures:
Cultural ARI measure | Official figure |
|---|---|
Investment mobilised from 2020 to 31 August 2026 | More than €104 million |
Share allocated to artistic production | 41.9% |
Share allocated to recovery or maintenance of national cultural heritage | 58.1% |
The amount above is cumulative through August 2026. It is not the investment total for 2025 and cannot be divided by the 2025 AIMA permit count to calculate an average investment or the cultural route's market share. A full-year 2025 figure, a year-to-date 2026 figure and a cumulative total must each retain their own reporting period.
Choosing between funds and a cultural contribution
The current fund route requires at least €500,000 in qualifying Portuguese non-real-estate collective investment undertakings, subject to the statutory conditions. For the cultural route, the standard qualifying amount is €250,000; the reduction to €200,000 applies where the activity meets the low-density requirements. Project-specific costs and professional and government fees may apply in addition to those base amounts.
For a donation-based cultural project, the contribution is non-repayable. Funds commit more capital and introduce investment risk, while offering the possibility of distributions and eventual capital recovery. Neither outcome should be assumed from a programme's approval statistics.
The relevant comparison is the complete family budget, capital at risk, liquidity, fees, holding period and residency objective. Within the fund route, compare manager concentration and overlapping exposures as well as the assets inside each fund.
Turn the data into your own decision
MFG Consultants is a Portuguese firm with a Portuguese team working inside the market. We connect route selection and investment analysis with the banks, managers, cultural providers and legal professionals involved in execution.
Start with your available capital, family circumstances, risk tolerance and holding period. The result should be a route and, where appropriate, a portfolio whose costs and exit terms you understand.
See your planning summary first. Request an MFG review when you are ready to discuss your circumstances.
Frequently asked questions
How many Portugal Golden Visa permits were issued in 2025?
AIMA reported 2,685 investor residence permits and 3,967 related family permits. Together they total 6,652 permits. This counts people receiving permits, not 6,652 separate investments or newly investing families.
How much did Golden Visa approvals grow from 2024 to 2025?
Investor permits grew by 29.0%, related family permits by 36.4%, and the combined total by 33.3%. These are MFG calculations from the reported 2024 and 2025 permit counts, rounded to one decimal place.
Does a biometric notification in 19 days mean biometrics in 19 days?
No. A notification communicates an appointment that may take place months later. In the worked example of a 28 August 2026 submission, a 16 September notification and a May 2027 appointment, the notification interval is 19 days while the appointment occurs 246–276 days after submission.
Do the 2025 AIMA figures prove a new applicant will receive a card within one year?
No. Annual permit counts measure administrative output. They do not provide the application-cohort timing data needed to establish a one-year completion forecast. Submission, notification, biometrics and card delivery should be tracked separately.
Does each eligible family member need a separate €500,000 investment?
No. Eligible family members can be included through family reunification connected to the investor's qualifying application. Each person still needs to satisfy the applicable eligibility and documentation requirements, with separate government and other costs where applicable.
Does a faster Golden Visa application make the fund investment liquid sooner?
Not automatically. Immigration milestones and fund liquidity are separate. The investor should review the fund's actual maturity, lock-up, redemption and exit terms alongside the residence process.
Sources and methodology
AIMA, Migration and Asylum Report 2025, released in September 2026: permits issued during calendar year 2025.
ECO, 25 September 2026: cross-check of reported ARI totals, nationality counts, the 2024 comparison and the absence of investment-type and investment-value reporting.
Portuguese Government, 29 September 2026: cultural ARI investment from 2020 to 31 August 2026.
GEPAC: cultural ARI declarations and framework. AIMA and the consolidated Portuguese immigration law: current qualifying routes.
MFG calculated the combined permit total, nationality shares, remaining-nationalities count and year-on-year change. Economic implications and decision guidance are MFG's interpretation. This page does not present permit counts as investment flows, forecasts or an individual approval probability.
Additional calculation notes: 2024 family permits totalled 2,909; the combined 2024 total was 4,990. Family-share and permit-per-investor ratios use annual totals and do not estimate household size. The wider AIMA operational counts cover all residence categories. The date example and the €6,000 monthly budget are planning illustrations, not MFG client results or AIMA forecasts. Original issue dates, route eligibility and the cultural reporting cutoff remain separate.
Additional statistical cross-checks: reported investor and family comparisons; reported AIMA operational figures; AIMA's publication announcement, 22 September 2026.
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