1. Minimum Residency  ​

• For the initial golden visa residence permit with a validity of 2 years, the minimum stay requirement will be 14 days stay within the 2 years.

• For the subsequent golden visa residence permit with a validity of 3 years, the minimum stay requirement will be 21 days stay within the 3 years.

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2. Present supporting evidence of a made and maintained qualified investment for five (5) years.  The main              applicant must maintain their investment for as long as their dependents hold a golden visa residency status.  When the main applicant becomes a permanent resident or a Portuguese citizen, the requirement to maintain the investment is not needed anymore.   

3. Documents to be provided:

• Passport copy or other government-issued travel document.

• Proof of evidence of the qualifying investment made by the main applicant individually.  I.e., for real estate, a title deed or promissory sale agreement accompanied by a proof of deposit transaction. For investment funds, a proof of fund subscription issued by the fund manager.  

• Portuguese financial institution proof of declaration confirming the fund transfer.  

• Health care coverage proof.  Within Portugal, you can obtain this from the National Health System.  Outside Portugal, you can obtain this from an internationally covered insurance company.  

• Present a criminal record issued from the current country of residence.  The issue date should not be more than 3 months from the form submission. 

• Completed form authorizing SEF to access criminal records in Portugal.  

• Sworn declaration of compliance with the minimum investment requirements for the necessary time period of 5 years.

• Documents showing good standing with the Portuguese Tax and Customs Authority and Social Security System. 

• ARI application payment receipt.  

***Unless otherwise implied, it is best to have the necessary documentations issued within 3 months of your golden visa application.  

4. Document Legalizations - the above mentioned documents which will be issued by a non-Portuguese entity will be required to be legalized.  The legalization must be apostilled if the subject country is part of the Hague convention.   

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5. Document Translations - all or any original document which is not written in Portuguese must be translated to Portuguese and certified.  Certifications are typically done by a notary.

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6. Fees Related:

• A processing fee of €533.00 per applicant plus €83 per dependent (if any) will be due at the time of application and then at each renewal period.  

• An initial application fee of €5,325.00 per person will be collected once at the beginning of the application.  

• A renewal application fee of €2,663.00 per person will be collected once at each renewal period.  

• Legal fees will differ depending on law firms and investment types.  

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7. Bank Account and NIF Number:

• Portugal requires the main applicant to transfer funds to an investment from a Portuguese bank account.  Appropriately, it is mandatory for the main applicant to have a Portuguese bank account.  The main applicant must also have an NIF number (this is a tax identification number) in Portugal to open a bank account.

• In order to obtain an NIF number, the main applicant must bring a government-issued identification and proof of address from their country of residence to a Financas Office in Portugal.  The NIF number can be issued within an hour, at the minimum.  Alternatively, the main applicant can provide their lawyers with a Power Of Attorney letter and they can complete this step on their behalf without the need to be in Portugal.  

• To open a bank account in Portugal, the main applicant will need to visit a bank branch with their government-issued identification, NIF number, proof of address from their country of residence, Portuguese phone number and proof of income or payslip to complete the process.  To simplify the process, the main applicant can work closely with their law firms to seek advice on how to get this done quicker.